She Made Me Go To The Back Of The Yoga Class Because My Fro Was “Distracting"

Fitness is a very important part of my lifestyle. To maintain a healthy body, it is vital that you stay active and relax your mind. For me, yoga allows me to do both.

I started practicing yoga in July of 2013 as an outlet to get through a stressful time in my life. I was self-taught for the majority of my practice because, lets face it, yoga classes can be expensive. It wasn’t until I moved to the DC area that I wanted to start going to more live classes. So I hopped online and found a deal at a yoga studio not too far from where I live.

When I got to the studio and was checking in, the first thing I noticed was that I was the only woman of color. Not surprising because from experience I have noticed most yoga classes are, unfortunately, not very diverse.

As soon as I finished signing in and was putting my bag in a nice cubby hole, the instructor walked up to me and asked in a sweet voice as she glanced at my voluminous fro if I could sit in the back of the class as to not distract the other students with, well…my hairstyle.

I was immediately taken a back. I mean my fro wasn’t even that big. Students would definitely have no problem seeing around it.

To not to kill my mood, I found a space in the back of the class but couldn’t help but feel offended throughout the entire session. There was another curly haired girl in the class except she was Caucasian. So just because her hair doesn’t defy gravity she gets treated differently?

After class, I spoke with the studio manager who immediately refunded my money and offered me a free unlimited week pass as a way to apologize but it didn’t undo the unpleasant taste in my mouth at this studio.