“Whenever I’m practicing yoga I feel closer to God,” said Los Angeles native Marley Ralph. “I think because I feel closest to myself.” 

Ralph is a community activist and certified yoga instructor. In the conversation below, she shed light on what it’s like to be a Black woman within the practice and how she’s using her position to bring wellness to her community.

Marley On Her Introduction to Yoga

“I started while studying abroad in South Africa. I was alone, homesick, and felt that was taking away from the experience.” Ralph began. That changed though when she met a guy in what she called a ‘funny position.’ “He told me it was called the ‘happy baby pose.’ I thought it was weird, but he encouraged me to try.” she continued. “I did...and that was the most relaxed I’d felt.” Ralph spent the remainder of her trip running, stretching and doing yoga. 

Feeling more grounded than ever before, she was able to fully embrace the new mental space she was in, which encouraged her to continue doing yoga after she returned to Los Angeles.

“An African man by the name of Temitope led my first yoga class back here in America. He spoke like poetry, played great music, and effortlessly connected with us. I was blessed to be introduced to yoga in such a way,” Ralph said. After two years, she started training for her own yoga certification. 

‍

‍

Racial Disparity and Power Imbalances Within the Industry

Yoga has since become a part of a trillion dollar health and wellness industry. “Yoga is free. What is not free is westernized yoga studios,” Ralph said. “Yoga is amazing and should be taught, but it should also be feasible for people who look like us.”

Ralph noticed that there were no Black people during the teacher training. In fact, everyone from the corporate offices was white. Ironically, the vast majority of those benefiting from this practice, which dates back to ancient Egypt and India, do not reflect those whom it originated from. “The power dynamic of yoga studios in the west has been dominated by white people. We all need yoga to better ourselves, because when we are bettering ourselves we are able to better society as a collective.” 

This is why Ralph was grateful to teach others, despite earning low wages doing so. As expensive as training and client memberships are, she was paid only fifteen dollars an hour for hour-long sessions conducted one to three times a week. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

COVID-19 Layoffs Leading to New Horizons

“They laid everybody off in 2019. No furloughs. No benefits.” Ralph stated. Fortunately for her, she had another source of income, but the events left her thinking, ‘We can go the capitalist way to help the corporation or give it to actual people who are suffering.’ 

Some months later, she was presented with an opportunity that allowed her to take the knowledge of the practice and share it in a bigger way. 

An Athletic Response to the Pandemic and Recurring Injustices

Actor, filmmaker, and community activist Etienne Maurice founded WalkGoodLA as a “5K Run for Freedom” in response to the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. Maurice asked Ralph to lead yoga stretches before the runs and in those moments, she was “amazed seeing that many Black people taking a second to breathe.” Runs would take place every Saturday, followed by town hall meetings at LA High Memorial Park, where citizens discussed their feelings about the killings. Donations were accepted and the money raised was given to families who had been directly affected by police violence.

‍

‍

‍