Starting the Conversation: Gender Identity

Starting the Conversation: Gender Identity in Yoga Spaces

Gender is something that goes way beyond just male or female. For many people, the gender they identify with doesn’t match the gender they were assumed to be at birth based on their physical and sexual characteristics.  How does this affect students when they are in a yoga class? What prevents gender-variant people from participating in yoga spaces, no matter how well-meaning the community is?

In our discussion, facilitators, Nick Krieger and Andrés León, will share their stories about coming into their transgender identities, as well as facilitate an activity that will help attendees better understand the language of gender and how to be a stronger ally to the gender-variant community at Adeline Yoga and beyond.

We invite you to start the conversation with us. Work to understand and include gender as part of your personal work, your yogic journey and your commitment to dismantle systemic transphobia in your larger communities.

The discussion will hold space for inquiry, offering you time to ask questions as they arise, explore your own relationship to gender, and reflect on how there may be hidden or underlying biases that are creating a barrier between you and people of other gender identities and expressions. These barriers, prevent us from really truly seeing the diversity of gender, and from advocating for true change and inclusivity.

This free event is for any student or teacher of yoga who wants to cultivate awareness and develop the courage to act.

ALL ARE WELCOME, regardless of gender identity.

This is a free event, part of our Social Justice Speaker Series.  Donations are accepted. They will go toward a speaker honorarium and supporting scholarships in the Yoga Blessings Fund

Cannot join in person?  This event will be live-streamed.  At 6 pm on Friday March 8th, log on here: https://adelineyoga.daily.co/gender

ABOUT NICK KRIEGER

Nick Krieger is a 500-hr certified yoga teacher with over 10 years of study under Janet Stone. He’s led donation-based classes for queer and trans folks and is passionate about making yoga spaces more accessible and inclusive to all. He’s interested in the intersection of yoga and social justice and has taken trainings through the Yoga Service Council, the Prison Yoga Project, and Off the Mat Into the World.

Nick is also a writer and educator about trans issues. He’s the author of the memoir, Nina Here Nor There: My Journey Beyond Gender, and has been a speaker at over a dozen universities across the country. Currently, he’s pursuing a master’s degree in counseling and is a psychotherapy trainee at the Integral Counseling Center in San Francisco.

ABOUT ANDRÉS LEÓN

Andrés León is a member of the Adeline Yoga community, a yoga and meditation student, and currently studying under the guidance of Rolf Gates in a 200-hour Vinyasa teacher training for people of color. They are interested in offering movement and mindfulness to marginalized communities through the lens of trauma informed care.

Andrés is also an educator and youth advocate. They have taught 4th grade in the South Bronx as well as community activism and organizing with teens in San Francisco. They are passionate about social justice and equity and are currently a high school mentor at Summer Search, a youth development organization committed to giving young people the opportunity to strengthen the skills they need to succeed in school and life.