Yoga is supposed to be chilled right? At least for the people doing it.

It’s not all slow breathing and aligning your Instagram posts, though. About a month ago we shared a study that pretty much proves that increased flexibility leads to an inflated ego.

The enlightenment that’s supposed to come with meditation and body contortion also doesn’t automatically translate to everyone – something that has become evident at Cape Town’s YogaZone.

A former employee of YogaZone and founder of Kafui Naturals, Kafui Awoonor (seen below), has taken legal action against the yoga studio for racism and discrimination. W24 reports that:

She recently posted a Facebook video, which has since gone viral and is being discussed on Facebook, Twitter and Cape Talk among other platforms; where she walks us through the alleged discrimination she experienced at her previous place of work, YogaZone, in Cape Town.

In the video she discusses the ordeal, saying that colleagues directed racist remarks at her on numerous occasions. The one that really stands out is a “joke” about slavery made on a particularly hot day:

 …a white colleague asked her to fan him like they were on a plantation.

After telling the colleague that she found his comment offensive and hurtful, he told her it was just a joke. She goes on to discuss the backlash she received from her employer once she reported the behaviour she found discriminatory.

She goes on to talk about the ways that racism can manifest without having to be overt:

“Clearly by the response to it, it’s an issue. Something we need to address within the yoga community and beyond. Racism is not just using the “K” or “N’ word. There is a lot more to it. What happened to me is not rare. At all.”

YogaZone issued a response on Facebook defending the racism:

The offensive comment was made directly associated to a very similar “back in the plantation” comment made by Kafui the previous day. This certainly does not excuse or dismiss the racial nature of the comment made but it does place it clearly into an existing context and its possible intent. The CCMA findings that “..the comment was mitigated by events that took place …(the previous day)”, refers.

Also relevant is that the offending party had immediately apologized to Kafui and did so numerous times verbally and in writing. The person took immediate and full responsibility for their actions and the hurt it caused and tried to reconcile with Kafui various times over a number of days.

Last week the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration ruled in favour of YogaZone, finding that:

…the alleged racist comment “was discriminatory on the basis of race and/or ethnicity, but do not find the employer to be liable for such discrimination for the reasons stated.”

…The CCMA found that Kafui’s experience was discriminatory, but that it didn’t warrant her being paid for the duration of her contract without her going to work. Thus, the employer was not held liable for a variety of reasons stated in said findings and judgement award’s document.

[Owner of YogaZone, Fulvio Grandin] told W24 that, “I have reached out to her after all of this to see if we can find solutions. In a positive and constructive manner. The yoga community is not hateful or racist, it’s not stitched into our fibre. Quite the contrary. Racism is not pervasive in the Cape Town community, the yoga community is very inclusive.”

The idea that the yoga community is inherently not racist or hateful seems bit naive. It also reads like wishful thinking. Check your ego, bro.

Kafui has been vocal about her experiences as a black woman in white spaces before. Grandin says that:

Kafui has made many “blatantly untrue”, “out of context” claims that has been proven to be untrue, and has been refuted in court.

Kafui claims in the video that the legal process was biased. And comments on her Facebook post have been very supportive of her sharing her ordeal.

You can watch her video here and decide for yourself.

Take it away Kafui:

[source:w24 & facebook]