New ‘Undoing Whiteness’ yoga class aims to banish the ‘pathology of whiteness': 'All lives matter in yoga'

Yoga trainer Laura Humpf has started a yoga class specifically for those people seeking to "unpack the harmful ways white supremacy is embedded" inside them.

What are the details?

Humpf, a trainer at Rainer Beach Yoga in Seattle said that the class — called "Undoing Whiteness" — is a specific type of yoga that practitioners can engage in to squash the "pathology of whiteness" that affects the psyche of a white person.

According to the Seattle Times, Humpf — who has taught yoga for 15 years — said that she witnessed people showing up to yoga classes in "racist ways."
"I was seeing white people show up in yoga spaces in racist ways," she told the outlet. "All lives matter in yoga; why see color?"

Humpf said that she was moved to create such a class after hearing local police officers engaging in what she interpreted to be racial profiling.

"I do stand behind white people needing to talk to other white people on how to undo whiteness," she told the Times. "Can I keep refining it and doing it differently and better? Yeah, and I will forever and ever. But I believe in this space as one tool."

Humpf told the outlet that her specialized class is made up of 90 minutes of yoga exercises, meditation, and listening to lessons of "Witnessing Whiteness," which is a self-help book intended to help white people deal with racial issues.

The website for Humpf's class asks, "Are you a white person wanting to unpack the harmful ways white supremacy is embedded in your body, mind and heart? Are you looking for an embodied approach to racial and social justice? Are you craving a spiritual community where oppression and privilege can be addressed with compassion and honesty?"

If those things are for you, then such an "awareness-building exploration" is the way to show your support of "racial justice."

The Times reported that not all people are into Humpf's class, with one participant reportedly calling "Undoing Whiteness" nothing more than a class in "white shame."

Previously, Humpf reportedly attempted to create a class that excluded all white people, but it apparently didn't work out.