How Practicing Yoga Helped Me Become a Better Teacher: Reflections on Using Contemplative Practices in Race and Ethnic Relations Courses

Abstract

This paper explores how yoga has helped me become a better professor. I begin by reflecting on the challenges of teaching race and ethnic relations as a White faculty member at a predominantly White institution, and how my early efforts were marked by insecurity, resistance, and disembodiment. I then trace how my personal yoga practice led me to incorporate contemplative practices such as meditation, reflective journaling, and active listening into my courses. Drawing on student reflections, I show how these practices helped cultivate openness, empathy, and critical engagement with systemic racism.