Mookaite Jasper – Belong | Be | Love

Last Updated: March 2026

This policy is intended to be a living document which reflects my ongoing antiracism learning journey.

The wisdom and tools of yoga come from ancient India. I am a White person practicing, teaching, writing about, and benefiting from yoga. I acknowledge that this makes my role as a White yoga teacher inherently problematic, living in a racist world where the heritage and cultures belonging to Global Majority people have been appropriated by White people throughout history.

I am committed to my own antiracism education, with the aim of contributing towards antiracism activities, particularly within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, asexual, plus (LGBTQIA+) community, and within the yoga industry, as well as my everyday life.

Here are my current commitments (last updated March 2026):

1. I believe there is only racism or antiracism (there is no such thing as not being racist), and I strive to be an antiracist. I subscribe to the following viewpoint from Ibram X. Kendi’s book How to be an Antiracist: 

“‘Racist’ and ‘antiracist’ are like peelable name tags that are placed and replaced based on what someone is doing or not doing, supporting or expressing in each moment. These are not permanent tattoos. No one becomes a racist or antiracist. We can only strive to be one or the other.” 

I examine my choices and behaviours to work towards living and teaching yoga in an antiracist way. I commit to the routine self-examination that this requires.

2. I honour yoga’s origins from ancient India. I create opportunities when speaking or writing about yoga to reference the roots of yoga, and to share a more expansive view of yoga beyond asana practice alone.
3. I continue to educate myself about the roots of yoga, and to deepen my understanding of the complexities around the origins of yoga, and the ways in which it has been appropriated.
4. I honour the Global Majority roots of the Pride movement. In my work as a Queer Yoga teacher and writer, I create opportunities to pay tribute to Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, who were Global Majority trans women, who fought for freedom for the whole LGBTQIA+ community.
5. I create space for people to show up as their whole selves. I take an intersectional* approach to inclusion, recognising how multiple layers of oppression impact Global Majority people with intersecting identities, e.g. actively seeking out queer Global Majority stories of how racism and homophobia / biphobia / transphobia combine to create oppression.
6. I use my privileges to shine a light on the work of Global Majority creators, writers, activists and yogis, especially queer Global Majority voices. I actively seek out yoga books and resources which help to dismantle systems of oppression such as racism. 
7. I speak out against racism and campaign for more active approaches to anti-racism within the yoga industry. I recognise the harm that the Western yoga industry continues to perpetuate, and I aim to contribute to a yoga industry that is truly more inclusive and equitable. For example, I make conscious choices about where I spend my resources of time and money within the yoga industry, to invest in learning from Global Majority yoga teachers and writers. I raise awareness of lack of diverse representation at yoga events, organisations, or marketing.
8. I support antiracist protests, movements, and organisations, including campaigning for the rights of the Palestinian people, and campaigning against the rise of the far right in the UK. 
9. I educate myself about the relationship between climate change and racism, and commit to supporting environmental movements which aim to combat climate change. 
10. I acknowledge my own privileges as a White person and try to see the ways I uphold whiteness.  I aim to contribute to dismantling systems of oppression by becoming more aware of the privileges afforded to me personally as a White person living in a racist world.
11. I take responsibility for my own antiracism education. I seek out books, talks, courses, and workshops to better understand the lived experiences of Global Majority people. I pay for this education and spread the word about such resources. I pay for membership to the Accessible Yoga School’s ambassador programme, to attend their monthly workshops, which often centre the voices of Global Majority yoga teachers.
12. After making a mistake, I own it by listening, apologising, rectifying the mistake, de-centring my own feelings, and continuing my education. I listen and respond with gratitude to feedback, complaints, criticism.

*intersectionality is a term coined by legal scholar Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw to describe how different protected characteristics interact with one another, specifically to explain the way racism and sexism impact Black women.

Comments, suggestions, recommendations or questions? I’d love to hear from you.

Email: info@mookaitejasper.com