Making Yoga More Accessible For BIPOC Communities

Equity and community support are central to our values at JP Centre Yoga. In an effort to bridge the divide that has long existed within the yoga community between privilege and underserved populations, we have strived to create more access and opportunity for communities that are unrepresented within our industry. One of the ways we have worked towards the realization of this vision is by offering scholarships to prospective teachers from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. In 2020 we formed an interracial teacher training committee, and through collaboration expanded our focus to provide full funding for an ongoing fellowship program for incoming BIPOC teachers. The BIPOC Fellowship program is a uniquely supportive initiative because it provides mentorship both during and after training. The Fellowship Fund also supports other programs and mentorship opportunities that aid in creating a more equitable yoga community.

In order for us to offer this Fellowship again in 2023, we need your help meeting our $12,000 fundraising goal by January 1st, 2023.

As practitioners of yoga, we know the power that this practice has to eradicate both personal and collective suffering. Here at JPCY, we do our best to create space for a more diversified yoga community, but we cannot do it alone. That is why we are reaching out to you to assist us in sharing the gift of yoga teaching with everyone.

What You're Funding

Fellowship Program:

Full tuition for up to three BIPOC students.
Weekly one-on-one support between fellowship recipients and BIPOC teacher mentors throughout the training and after graduation.

Group Mentorship opportunities:

Monthly affinity spaces for all BIPOC and white-identified trainees, led by BIPOC and white teaching staff respectively.

Increased Access Scholarship:

Your donation will also fund an additional full tuition of one teacher committed to teaching yoga in underserved populations.

Our fellowship program was developed in conversation with past BIPOC trainees and teachers. Through our collaborative efforts we aim to provide specific support to new BIPOC teachers with the hope of further diversifying the leadership of the yoga industry. Your donation supports the JPCY community effort to build access for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color teachers and leadership.

A Little More Back Story...

The seeds of our BIPOC Fellowship were planted in 2015 when, in partnership with Yoga Diversity Initiative, we began offering a full scholarship for a Person of Color to attend every cycle of our 200hr Teacher Training.

In 2017, this evolved into two scholarship opportunity tracks: one that continued to be in collaboration with YDI for BIPOC individuals interested in becoming teachers AND another led solely by JPCY for anyone, regardless of race or ethnicity, interested in teaching yoga outside of studios in communities that have little to no access to the practice.

These educational pathways evolved once again in 2021, when having felt the impacts of the 2020 Movement for Black Lives, we realized we needed to do more for BIPOC students and future teachers. We fundraised and partnered with You Good Sis? to offer four fully funded scholarships, and weekly one-on-one mentorship from current BIPOC teachers to our fellows. The Fellowship Fund also covers the additional costs of incorporating mentors into the course material throughout the training, providing a monthly affinity group spaces for all BIPOC students in the training cohort as well as an antiracist affinity group for white yoga teachers and trainees.

The addition of this program's active supports for BIPOC and racial education was HUGELY SUCCESSFUL in our 2021 and 2022 trainings. As a small independent studio in an expensive market, we are turning to you, our community, to contribute to this BIPOC Fellowship Fund and join us in the impactful work of lifting up BIPOC yoga students and teachers here at our studio and beyond.

Fellow Testimonials -

“To me, representation is important and it meant everything to be mentored by an experienced, woman of color, yoga instructor. We were able to connect and discuss our experiences, as Black women navigating the yoga space. I gained so much perspective and insight” - Tiixa C.

“Removing the economic barrier and having guidance from mentors gave me access to a life changing experience and I feel both humbled and grateful for the chance to participate.” - Hazell I.

2023 BIPOC Fellowship Fund

By JP Centre Yoga

2023 BIPOC Fellowship Fund

Support Three Fellows who identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color in the 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training Cohort at JP Centre Yoga