Sonia Roberts's Blog, page 3
November 22, 2019
Awakened Love Warrior Gift Guide 2019
Our holiday 2019 gift guide is here! Find a unique gift...
Shop our Love in Action apparel - Love in action invites you to become more fully yourself, as you allow others to do the same.
The Love In Action Crop Hoodie reminds us to not only love in words, but Love In Action. Take compassionate action with The Love In Action crop hoodie featuring raw hem and matching drawstrings. This hoodie is bound to become a true favorite.
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The Let Equality Bloom Unisex Tank is a classic, all-purpose unisex tank. Stand out and stand up for equality in this soft and comfortable tank.
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California knows how to party and keep warm in the California Love Unisex Hoodie. Everyone needs a cozy go-to hoodie to curl up in, so go for one that's soft, stylish and represents California Love. It's the perfect choice and flattering for both men and women.
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Keep your head warm in the be WILD Embroidered Beanie. The perfect beanie has arrived! The WILD Embroidered Beanie has a snug fit that ensures you're going to feel cozy and warm whatever you're doing.
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Don't forget about the celebration of KWANZAA this holiday season.
The KWANZAA Unisex Tee is in celebration of Kwanzaa, an African-American celebration of life from December 26th to January 1st. Kwanzaa is a Swahili word that means "first" and signifies the first fruits of the harvest.
Dr. Maulana Karenga introduced the festival in 1966 to the United States as a ritual to welcome the first harvests to the home.
The Seven Principles celebrated daily are: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity) and Imani (faith).
The tee is comfortable and flattering for both men and women.
*50% of profits for the KWANZAA Unisex Tee supports the Equal Justice Institute.
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And one my favorite is from our Superhero Collection. Coffee Gives Me Superpowers Glossy Magic Mug. The COFFEE gives me SUPERPOWERS Glossy Magic Mug adds a little magic to your morning routine. It appears black when cold, but reveals the text when exposed to hot liquids. This mug would make a great gift for your family or friends.
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Happy shopping!
If you have any questions or requests leave a comment below.
Share this article with a friend to spread love in action.
November 14, 2019
Product of the Month: Pride Tote Bag
Represent using the PRIDE Tote Bag. It is gorgeous, spacious and will help you carry around everything that matters. The photo was taken by Jon Tyson and we added the PRIDE text down the side of the bag.
The Somewhere Over the Binary Unisex Tank is a great way to show your pride, celebrate difference, and show your acceptance of gender fluidity. We can break down the barriers and limitations often placed on us because of our gender.
A portion of the profits for this tote and all of the items in our Pride Collection supports the Transgender Law Center.
Comments or questions? Leave them in the comments below.
Share this article with a friend to spread love in action.
November 8, 2019
Love In Action Collection
The Love In Action Collection was inspired by the Yama or yoga guideline, Ahimsa in yoga philosophy. The first Yama or yoga guideline is Ahimsa, a sanskrit word that means nonviolence or non-harming. Non-harming to yourself, to other people or the planet. Ahimsa is also about understanding, privilege, power and oppression.
Love in action invites you to become more fully yourself, as you allow others to do the same. Love in action is about choosing compassionate action — one person, one life, one small compassionate act at a time.
The Love In Action Crop Hoodie reminds us to not only love in words, but Love In Action.
The MudCloth Print Fanny Pack is the ultimate accessory for people on the go.
Mudcloth is a traditional African fabric. Each piece of mudcloth is unique and has a story to tell. The symbols, arrangements, color and shape, all reveal different secrets. The secret language of the cloth is passed down from mother to daughter to celebrate important life events.
Represent in the Awakened Love Warrior Logo Tee. Join the movement of compassionate action
*50% of profits for the ALW Tee support the Antiracist Research & Policy Center at American University. Their mission is to produce rigorous and accessible research that can support the innovation and enactment of antiracist public policies at the local, state, and national level.
October 30, 2019
Awakened Love Warrior is a Movement
A deepened yoga practice is not just looking inward on your mat, it is looking outward into the world. The physical practice of yoga transforms the human body, but I am more interested in using yoga philosophy to transform the human spirit. And that is why I created Awakened Love Warrior, a movement. First, awaken to your true self and the truth of the world and then connect to a higher purpose or compassionate action.
We are a movement with the goal of awakening the world and promoting compassionate action to end all forms of oppression. A deepened yoga practice urges you to create a world where people of all races, religions, socioeconomic classes, sexual orientations, gender identities and abilities are seen as human beings and treated equally.
At Awakened Love Warrior, our calling is to motivate and inspire compassionate action in the yoga community and beyond. Our mission is to embrace and celebrate our differences. We offer workshops and products to advance this goal.
For every item sold, we donate a percentage of profits to the Antiracist Research & Policy Center at American University. Their mission is to produce rigorous and accessible research that can support the innovation and enactment of antiracist public policies at the local, state, and national level.
A portion of our proceeds also support additional organizations that we are passionate about such as Equal Justice Institute and Transgender Law Center.
September 17, 2019
ultimately there is no female or male, only Being.
I came into the world
fast and fierce.
So quick, my shoulders got stuck
and they had to do the McRoberts maneuver
so I could
squeeze
out
of my mommy.
I took my first steps at 8 months old,
began running shortly after that,
and haven’t stopped yet.
In preschool,
when I was star of the week,
I brought brown brown baby
AND my light saber to share.
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When I was three,
I told everyone to call me Jack
but I also liked the name Alexia.
By the time I was five,
I refused to wear anything in the girls section.
Booty shorts, crop tops and sparkles everywhere
were just
not
my
thing.
My mom finally bought me
basketball shorts,
comfortable tees
and Nike or Curry shoes.
I’ve always loved playing with the boys
because I love sports.
For some reason,
if you have friends that are boys,
some adults think that makes you boyfriend & girlfriend.
Pssst, I’m in second grade,
that is really shameful.
My dad never called me his little princess.
I don’t think it was a conscious choice.
He has a way of seeing people
and it was like,
he
sees
me.
I’m more of a super hero
or warrior
or ninja.
In first grade,
I played basketball in a league
and it drove my mom crazy
because sometimes our all girl team
had to play an all boy team.
Now girls,
can ball.
I can dribble down the court and get a lay up.
One time I shot a turnaround fade away,
swoosh,
and I’m pretty good at defense.
But the teams were not evenly balanced on a skill level
and our team would get demolished.
My mom said, Why don’t they make the league co-ed?
Right away the other moms said, Oh, the boys won’t pass to girls.
My mom’s facial expression in response was hilarious.
I know she was mad.
She said, They better learn.
My brother is older and his team was co-ed.
The fiercest girl on his team was the smallest.
She had no fear.
And the tallest, strongest girl on his team was snatching all the rebounds.
My dad said she just needed to work on her shot.
I pretty much only play with boys at recess.
My best friends are boys
and they include me and pass the ball to me.
One time, my friend laughed at me
when I was learning how to play kick back,
but now I can kick the ball further and higher than him.
I just never give up when I want to learn something.
All of these boys play with me at school
and my brother plays with girls on his team.
So, why do mothers think boys won’t pass to girls?
Why don’t they teach them to pass to girls and include girls?
I sometimes see those bumper stickers, “Boy Mom.”
People think boys and girls are so different
and treat us differently,
but ultimately there is no female or male,
only Being.
It’s kind of like how my mom tries to explain that
there is no Black or white race,
but people are treated differently
because of their race.
Boys and girls can be liberated from their gender
if parents would just get out of the way
and let us
Be.
August 29, 2019
Why I Quit Teaching Yoga (Asana)
After my children got out of school that day, I took them for a hike and wrote this:
Took my kids for a hike to be in nature and feel the healing magic of the sun. We may not like the outcome but we keep moving forward. It may be a long road but I’m keeping hope in my heart. We listen to each other more intently. We love harder. Pause. Breathe. Cry if you need it. But keep going. Everyone’s awake now. Now is the time for change.
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But no one in the yoga community was awake. And there was no change. “Stay woke” was just a popular phrase, not followed by positive change or action in the yoga community. I experienced the yoga community’s shock and disbelief that Donald Trump was elected president. Some people shared with me that their son’s voted for Trump and others told me, “Don’t worry, we got your back.” For me, that meant that most yogis, liberals and progressives didn’t see that racism still exists in our society, in our communities and in ourselves. And not just racial bias, but the overwhelming support of racist policies or policies that create inequities. It is easy to point to Donald Trump and other extremists, but much more challenging to look within.
I continued teaching yoga classes, and about a year after the election, I found myself spiraling into depression. I had not been to that dark, helpless place for a long time. I realized that I was complicit in maintaining this false sense of reality that exists in the yoga world. The yoga community likes to use the phrases, “We are one,” “We are all connected,” “Spiritual Gangster.” I did not feel connected. The yoga that I loved and the yoga that helped to put the pieces of my broken self back together, began to dissipate. I began to see how much cultural appropriation, spiritual bypassing and racism exist in the yoga community. I could see how I was perpetuating and contributing to this surface level of consciousness in the yoga community. But, I wanted to do more, so much more. I wanted to help awaken people and shift this paradigm.
I saw yoga philosophy, not yoga poses, as an opportunity to create change. Many master yoga teachers will say, ultimately it does not matter if you can do a handstand or drop back into a backbend. It is fun, though. It is even fun to take a picture and post it on Instagram. I know because I have done it. People will think you are really cool. However, it does not make you a better person and it does not make you a more compassionate person. A deepened yoga practice is not just looking inward on your mat, it is looking outward into the world. The physical practice of yoga transforms the human body, but I was more interested in using yoga philosophy to transform the human spirit. And that is why I created Awakened Love Warrior , a movement. First, awaken to your true self and the truth of the world and then connect to a higher purpose or compassionate action.
I wrote the book, White Ally: A Guide to Cultivating a Deeply Spiritual AntiRacism Practice , using the first two limbs of yoga, the Yamas and Niyamas or yoga’s ten guidelines, to help you become more mindful of recognizing racism within yourself and to help you recognize the patterns and systems of oppression in the world. This book is not written for the extreme racists such as the ku klux klan, white nationalists or other hate groups. If you are reading this, it is written for you. It is written for everyone who thinks, “I’m not racist.” Racism is insidious. We are all born into a racist society. It informs our thoughts, words, actions, and inaction.
The first Yama or yoga guideline is ahimsa. Ahimsa is a Sanskrit word that means nonviolent or non-harming. Non-harming in your thoughts, words, actions or inaction. This includes examining racism in our society and in ourselves. A deepened yoga practice urges you to create a world where people of all races, religions, socioeconomic classes, sexual orientations, gender identities and abilities are seen as human beings and treated equally.
It is important to separate being a “good person” from being racist. Anti-racism is a continuous practice. Antiracism is moment to moment. In any given moment, you will need to pause, reflect, and ask yourself, “Am I being racist?” It is not a fixed arrival; it is a continuous practice and a lifelong journey.
The yoga principle Svadhyaya or self-study is an intense path of self inquiry. It encourages you to discover and understand who you are and all the layers wrapped around you that shape your identity — your race, nationality, culture, gender, ancestors, family history, education, society and personal experiences. Everyone, all people — black, brown, and white people, have to look closely at race and whiteness and how they have internalized whiteness. Whiteness was created to justify oppressing Black and brown people. To be antiracist is to unpack whiteness, to do the work of healing, and to redefine what it means to be white.
Being an antiracist will help you to:
1. Be a better ally to Black, indigenous, and people of color.
2. Liberate yourself from whiteness.
There is a racial hierarchy and to be white means to be the superior race. White is the norm and everyone else is expected to erase who they are and assimilate into whiteness. We must let go of this ideology. Whiteness or white supremacy is not only killing Black and brown people, it is killing white people too. White supremacy is an attack on humanity. White supremacy is genocide.
Denial and looking away from the truth is not an option. We have to look to the future. We have to look at the truth and begin to live reparatively. Together, we practice yogic principles and we practice antiracism in order to create a more just and equitable country.
From the introduction of the book So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo writes:
“These are very scary times for a lot of people who are just now realizing that America is not, and has never been, the melting-pot utopia that their parents and teachers have told them it was. These are very scary times for those who are just now realizing how justifiably hurt, angry, and terrified so many people of color have been all along. These are very stressful times for people of color and who have been fighting and yelling and trying to protect themselves from a world that doesn’t care, to suddenly be asked by those who have ignored them for so long, ‘What has been happening your entire life? Can you educate me?’ Now that we’re all in the room, how do we start that discussion?”
What if the 2 billion people around the world practicing yoga (poses) began practicing yogic principles? What if those same people began practicing antiracism? What if we used our yoga practice to awaken to our own suffering and the suffering of the world, then began healing and took compassionate action?
What if we really did take our yoga practice off the mat and into the world?
August 1, 2019
White Ally Available Now on Amazon
White Ally: A Guide to Cultivating a Deeply Spiritual AntiRacism Practice is available now on Amazon.
This is a book about a deepened yoga practice, a spiritual practice, of intense self-inquiry, of examining who you are and your racial identity. Below is a preview from the book.
Preface
My granddaddy called me “yellow girl.” As a young child, I never understood why. I didn’t want to be different than him, or my brother, or my sister, or anyone. I didn’t want to be singled out or alienated. In middle school one day, my white friend said, “Well, you’re not really Black.” And I thought, why not? What is Black? Am I not Black because I don’t ‘look Black,’ ‘talk Black,’ or ‘act Black?’ This demeaning, offensive and backhanded compliment stripped away the race from which I had come. Being a light-skinned Black woman forces me into racial ambiguity. I live in between races. However, I identify as Black. It’s what I experience in the world, it’s how I choose to identify and it’s what I feel in my heart. I recognize my light-skin privilege and I embrace my Blackness.
I was born in 1976 in Redwood City, California, to a white race mother of Mexican and Spanish descent and an African American father. Interracial marriage, once outlawed in the United States of America, became legal in the entire United States in 1967, just eight years before my parents were married.
When I was two years old, we moved from an apartment building on the west side of Redwood City to a house in the suburbs. We were the only Black family in the neighborhood. When my parents rented that house, my “white passing” mother purposely went to sign the lease without my Black father. She also left us, her three Black children, in the car, just in case the landlord had any racial bias. Later, when the landlord met my father, he let him know that the neighbor across the street had said to him, “Why are you renting to that nigger? I would hang him by that tree.”
Sadly, Jim Crow laws legalized racial segregation and existed for about 100 years from the post-Civil War era until 1968. Segregation not only occurred in the southern states of America; California also has a rich history of discrimination.
“Hail Mary full of grace. The Lord is with thee.” I grew up attending Catholic church with my mother and Mexican grandfather. It was a quick one-hour mass of sitting, standing, kneeling, standing again, worshipping rather quietly. I also grew up attending my granddaddy’s church, Church of God in Christ (COGIC), a Pentecostal tradition. My father is now the pastor. I come from a long line of pastors and preachers who have a passion for Jesus Christ. I sometimes attended Sunday school followed by three hours of church. Long sermons where my granddaddy preached, walked, ran, and danced around with a microphone, in order to get his biblical message across to the church members. He would be sweating and swaying to the rhythm of the organ. Eventually, someone would “catch” the gift of the holy ghost, dance around uncontrollably and speak in tongues.
One day, my sister and I were playing in our living room. We decided to reenact the experience of catching the holy ghost at church. I may have danced around a little too crazy because I fell and hit my face right on the corner of the coffee table. Blood squirted everywhere, I went to the ER and had to get a few stitches right under my left eye. My father said, “God don’t like ugly.”
I am grateful I was able to experience two very different religious traditions. My parents always had tremendous faith in God, but as a teenager, I was influenced by mother’s shift into a more spiritual path. I witnessed how a spiritual person deeply cares about people and has a strong desire for soul searching reflections. I respect all religions and don’t follow any one in particular. I believe in one God, and often say, “Love is my religion.”
I deeply care about people. I think the seed of desire to be of service, help improve people’s lives and change the world was planted somewhere around middle-school age. That’s when I started to read and learn about the pain and suffering in the world and to reflect on my own. I discovered Harlem Renaissance poets and I devoured Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, James Weldon Johnson and Countee Cullen. I was activated by Assata Shakur, Mumia Abu Jamal and Malcolm X. Reading their work helped me learn more about slavery, Black identity, and the effects of institutional racism. It changed my world. During that time, I began to write as a way of healing. I wanted to make a difference in my own life and in the world.
June 26, 2019
White Ally: A Guide to Cultivating a Deeply Spiritual AntiRacism Practice
I'm excited to share with you that my first book will be published soon!
White Ally: A Guide to Cultivating a Deeply Spiritual AntiRacism Practice
You can pre-order the ebook here and paperback will be available August 1st.
I have always loved books and began writing as a way of healing when I was twelve years old. It's been a dream of mine to write a book. However, this is not the book I had in mind. The way babies choose their parents, this book chose me in so many ways.
...
The Yamas and Niyamas, yoga's ten guidelines, guide you to live in peace and harmony with yourself and the world. In this book, learn how to cultivate an anti-racism practice using the framework of yoga's ten guidelines, the Yamas and the Niyamas. Examine your biases, conditioning, values and beliefs by exploring the philosophy of each guideline in every chapter. Brief guided meditations are provided at the end of the chapter to enhance mindfulness and self-awareness. Reflection questions are included at the end of the chapter for deepened understanding and self inquiry.
Following the philosophy of each guideline, interwoven with examples and personal stories, invites you to become more mindful of recognizing racism within yourself and in the world. The Yamas and Niyamas guide you toward letting go of limiting and harmful behaviors and beliefs. These guidelines free you to see beyond your own desires into the collective good. As you become more mindful and begin to acknowledge systemic racism and injustice, you can use this awareness to become a more effective ally to people of color.
Open your heart and mind, gain the awareness, skills and compassion to change the world from the inside out.
May 16, 2019
Heart Chakra Meditation: Awakening to Suffering
Sit or lie down in a comfortable position
Close your eyes or soften your gaze
Draw a deep cleansing breath into your heart
And exhale out through your mouth
Now allow gentle, easy breaths through your nose
As you are breathing, notice the rise and fall of your chest
Begin to breathe full and complete breaths through your nose, into your heart center
Exhale out slowly through your nose
Full and complete breaths into your heart center
Exhale all the way out
Notice your own suffering
Notice how it manifests in your body and emotions
Hold compassion in your heart
Return to awareness of full and complete breaths
Release suffering with each breath
Notice suffering of marginalized and oppressed people
Feel the suffering in your body and emotions
Hold compassion in your heart
Release suffering with each breath
Notice suffering of privileged people
Feel the guilt, defensiveness, and disconnection
Feel this energy in your body and emotions
Hold compassion in your heart
Release suffering with each breath
Go deeper into the body
Into the heart
As you breathe
Imagine pure light radiating from your heart
Fills you with glowing love
Infinite love
Spreads throughout your entire body
Into the Universe
Know you are an Infinite Being of Light
You are Divine Love
Sense your body and your breath
Sense pure light at your heart center
Return to easy gentle breaths through the nose
When you are ready open your eyes
Namaste, And so it is
April 17, 2019
7 WAYS TO REDUCE YOUR "RACISM FOOTPRINT"
EARTH DAY, an annual event which began on April 22, 1970, will be celebrated next week. It is a day to celebrate the planet’s environment, and raise public awareness about pollution and climate change. We have been warned of climate change and the effects are now upon us with heat waves, fires, flooding, and droughts.
In protecting the earth, it is important for every person to examine their carbon footprint. What is a carbon footprint? Your carbon footprint is the total amount of CO2 and methane gas you release into the environment by consuming energy. Everyone can contribute to reducing climate change by reducing their carbon footprint and adopting a personal sustainability practice. You can practice sustainability and reduce your carbon footprint by eating less (or no) meat, driving less, eating locally grown food, and by reducing, reusing and recycling.
Lately I have been thinking about how similar this is to developing an anti-racism practice. Once you are aware that racism exists in the United States and throughout the world, then you will understand the importance of personal responsibility, protecting black lives and developing an anti-racism practice. It is not enough to acknowledge that racism exists, one must actively work to dismantle racism. Racism is woven into the fabric of our country, we are all living and operating within a deeply racist society.
To dismantle racism, it is important for every person to examine their “racism footprint.” What is a “racism footprint?” Your “racism footprint” is your conscious or unconscious, implicit, racial biases. Racial bias is a belief. Racism is what happens when that belief becomes an action.
*Here are 7 WAYS to Reduce Your “Racism Footprint”:
1. Identify your racial biases and prejudice if/when they arise.
2. Speak up when you hear racial slurs or remarks that indicate racial bias or prejudice.
3. Educate yourself about the history, life, and culture of people of color. Listen closely to the experiences of people of color.
4. As a parent, expose your children to diverse cultures and traditions. Provide opportunities for them to experience festivals and museums celebrating different groups of people.
5. Improve your workplace by promoting racial justice and equity. Actively recruit and hire a racially and ethnically diverse staff, board members, executives and managers. Talk to people of color and ask them what barriers they face at work.
6. In your school, recognize holidays and events relating to a variety of cultural and ethnic groups. Include anti-racism education in the curriculum.
7. Welcome your neighbors regardless of what they look like, with “safe zone” signs or by talking to them.
*Adapted from the Community Tool Box.
Commit to an anti-racism practice AND promote the importance so that more people are aware of the critical actions we need to take to dismantle racism.
Protecting our planet, black lives and dismantling racism are critical work for our world. Every person must do their part to create positive change and dismantle racism. However, it will also take a commitment from corporations and lawmakers to create lasting, sustainable change at the individual, institutional and community levels.
We can work together to build a mindful, healthy and inclusive society, that values diversity.
