Liberatory activism is not carrying a sign at a rally, although it can include that. Yoga is not stretching, although stretching can be part of the praxis of yoga. In Yoga for Social Change, the only thing we stretch is our hearts and minds.
Yoga is not a magic pill; it is a daily practice that slowly accumulates inner transformation over the course of a lifetime. Liberatory activism has no quick fixes, but when people metabolize it as a lifestyle, it’s collective benefits have the power to transform the course of the world over a lifetime and over many lifetimes. Social change work & Yoga are in many ways synonymous and both consist of a three-fold practice:
Cultivating the Spirit
Spiritual, psychological & physical resourcing.
Community rituals & mind-body practices that provide:
♾️ structured rest, respite, and joy towards renewal
♾️ processing and metabolizing strong emotions like grief, rage, fear & despair
♾️ structured silence & contemplative practice that fosters: deep listening, equanimity, and clear-seeing 🔹 compassion, humility, and empathy 🔹 healing of personal & generational trauma 🔹 uprooting internalized oppression & systems of domination
Cultivating Wisdom
Group Study, Learning, and Visioning.
Social education & history, movement & organizing strategy, spiritual principles & ethics. Letting go of hand-wringing and asking “what do we do???” by making a practice of reading, listening & learning from:
♾️ ancestors & elders of diverse social change movements of the past & present
♾️ ancestors & elders of diverse spiritual traditions of the past & present
♾️ personal stories & voices from marginalized groups and nations (they’ve been at this their entire lives, often for generations & they teach us about our political, psychological & spiritual blind spots)
Mindful Choice in Action:
Personal & Community Ethical Action. Any action that is within your current capacity is the right action and can include:
♾️ daily embodiment and role modeling of culturally transformative ethics & lifestyle
♾️ educating & having conversations with friends, family & co-workers
♾️ building mutual aid networks
♾️ vetting & holding representatives accountable
♾️ rallies, protests, marches, sit-ins & acts of civil disobedience
♾️ supporting boycotts & strikes; supporting local & ethical businesses; donating to causes & mutual aid fundraisers
♾️ writing & art-making
Yoga for Social Change is a community-building study and support group for living at the intersection of spiritual praxis and collective liberation and the place where self-care and community-care meet.
Through monthly reading & listening selections, group inquiry & reflection, and mind-body resourcing practices, we commit to learning to live in greater solidarity with our inner spirit, our local communities, and our global family.
What to Expect
🌈 Year-round, ongoing series. Participants can come and go or commit to participation in an ongoing way.
🌈 Participants receive a monthly newsletter introducing the reading and themes for the coming month.
🌈 A shared online space is available for sharing favorite quotes from the reading, personal reflections, articles & films, and opportunities for action and advocacy.
🌈 Monthly Tea & Chat takes place on Zoom the 2nd Sunday of each month (with some exceptions) @ 4pm. Come to share or listen, arrive late or leave early as needed. To view Tea & Chat dates for 2026, Click Here.
🌈 Resource & Refuge takes place on Zoom the 4th Monday of each month (with some exceptions) from 6:30pm – 8pm. We begin with a mind-body centering practice followed by a brief period for reflection and journaling. The session concludes with sharing personal reflections on the state of your heart & the world. To view Resource & Refuge dates for 2026, Click Here.
🌈 Group listening sessions and film screenings take place on Zoom each month featuring documentaries, dharma talks, and podcast interviews that support the month’s reading and themes. Times/days vary & are announced each quarter. To view Listening Session Dates for 2026, Click Here.
🌈 Participants are encouraged to choose their own level of participation and may register with the intention of participating in all of the group events, some of the group events or simply receiving the monthly newsletter and following along with the readings, practices, and commentary on their own time.
Cost & Registration
In the interest of accessible community care spaces, Yoga for Social Change is a donation-based series. Donation options:
➡️ Make a donation that covers your participation for an entire year
➡️ Make an ongoing quarterly contribution (quarterly reminders go out with group communications);
➡️ Make a one-time contribution to participate in part of the series if a particular book/theme captures your attention (with the option to continue or return at a later date)
Some books in the series are available to read or print online for free; others are available in used condition if you would like to cut costs. A slush fund is available to anyone who needs financial assistance for purchasing a book ❤️
When you click the registration link, you will be asked to choose one of the suggested donation amounts or you can enter a custom amount of your choice on the donation page by clicking the box that reads $0.00
Themes & Reading Selections
I pace the course so that reading selections do not generally exceed between 80 – 120 pages per month. Supplemental podcasts, videos, and articles (available for free online) are also offered each month for those who wish to do further reading or listening on the current month’s themes.
YSC 2026 Themes & Reading Selections
To View the 2026 YSC Event Calendar, Click Here
January 🔹 Disrupting Systems of Oppression
America’s Racial Karma. Dr. Larry Ward
February & March 🔹 Hope as a Discipline
Book Selection: Active Hope — How to Face the Mess We’re in Without Going Crazy. Joanna Macy & Chris Johnstone
April & May 🔹 Resilience and Refuge
Book Selection: We Were Made For These Times: 10 Lessons for Moving through Change, Loss, and Disruption. Kaira Jewel Lingo
— and/or —
Healing Our Way Home: Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy & Liberation. Valerie Brown, Marisela Gomez, and Kaira Jewel Lingo.
June & July 🔹 Right View and Mindful Action
Book Selection: Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds. Adrienne Maree Brown
August & September 🔹 Community-Building
The Power of Bridging: How to Build a World Where We All Belong. john a. powell
— and/or —
Belonging without Othering: How We Save Ourselves & The World. john a. powell
October & November 🔹 (R)evolution-Building
The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the 21st Century. Grace Lee Boggs
December & January 🔹 (R)evolution-Building Part Deux
Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care. Kelly Hayes & Mariame Kaba
YSC 2027
February & March
The Fire Inside: The Dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde. Rima Vesely-Flad
April & May
Fierce Vulnerability: Healing from Trauma, Emerging through Collapse. Kazu Haga
— and —
Healing Resistance: A Radically Different Response to Harm. Kazu Haga
June & July
Exile & Pride: Disability, Queerness & Liberation. Eli Clare
YSC 2025
February & March 🔹 Building Beloved Community
Book Selection: Brothers in the Beloved Community: The Friendship of Thich Nhat Hanh and Martin Luther King, Jr. Marc Andrus
April & May 🔹 Yoga in the Real World
Book Selection: Skill in Action — Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World. Michelle Cassandra Johnson
June & July 🔹 Our Bodies are Agents of Social Change
Book Selection: The Body is Not an Apology. Sonya Renee Taylor
Additional Essay: Notes on How to Save the World. Jenne Sluder
August & September 🔹 The Wisdom of No Escape
Book Selection: Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism. Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
October & November 🔹 Anger, Spirituality & Action
Book Selection: Love & Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger. Lama Rod Owens
December 🔹 Disrupting Systems of Oppression
Jesus & The Disinherited. Howard Thurman
Selected essays from Thomas Merton.
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