‘Skinny, bendy and blonde’: women of colour challenge racism in UK yoga

Despite its roots in India, the sector is not diverse, and women report wall of silence' about studios' lack of inclusiveness

When Sue Forde returned to practising yoga in a studio earlier this year, for the first time since the pandemic, it was with a sense of trepidation. Because it meant she was, once again, usually the only black woman in the room.

I've had my body pointed to as an African body'," said Forde, from Hackney, east London. Recently, in a class, this discussion sprang up about whether black women have a bigger tendency to a pelvic tilt. You think: Oh, please don't bring this into the yoga room.'"