Diversity and Inclusion Matters
Here at Bumblebee Yoga, we're deeply committed to accessibility for everyone. That means inclusivity in every way, from physical diversity and neurodiversity, though the gender and sexual identity spectrum, across cultures and languages, different body types and abilities, from every belief and faith, and of all ages.
We are all human.
But we acknowledge that people's experiences bring different challenges. Our top priority is making everyone feel welcome and safe with Bumblebee Yoga.
Read on below to find out what we're doing to make our business more accessible. If you have any feedback or suggestions of how we can be more inclusive, we'd love to hear! Head to the feedback form at the bottom of this page or send us an email.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Reconciliation is an incredibly important part of what we believe at Bumblebee Yoga. In order to address inequality, it needs to be at the forefront of our day-to-day practice.
All of our videos features this acknowledgment of country at the beginning, and we try to incorporate this into our live classes and workshops. One way we do this is by bringing the acknowledgment and thanks into the meditation and gratitude practices in the class. You'll notice that on the footer of our website, each page features the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags.
We also love to get involved with events throughout the year, including Survival Day, NAIDOC, and Reconciliation Week.
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Bumblebee Yoga would like to acknowledge that the lands we practice on in Australia are the traditional lands of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and that we recognise their continuing connection to land, water, and culture.
We also acknowledge traditional land custodians worldwide.
We express our heartfelt gratitude for being able to share this beautiful land today, and we acknowledge the costs of that sharing.
We pay our respects, and express our hope and belief that we can move to a place of equity, justice, and partnership together.
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LGBTIQA+ - Welcome Here Project Member
Bumblebee Yoga is a proud member of the Welcome Here Project, which helps businesses shout loud and proud that LGBTIQA+ diversity is warmly welcomed and celebrated. You'll also notice the Pride flag on the footer of every page of our website.
This topic is something that is particularly close to us and our loved ones, so being active in this community is something that we're really passionate about. And there ain't no party like a queer party, so we have loved being involved with all the pride events in Adelaide.
When we talk about LGBTIQA+ issues in a yoga practice, there can sometimes be things that come up when it comes to connecting and relating to our bodies. By being aware of these issues, we can be better equipped to create classes that feel like safe spaces.
Vision and Hearing Impaired
Every student with different abilities has different access needs, so when we're planning classes, events, and online content, we try to make sure as many people as possible can enjoy.
For our friends who are Deaf or hard of hearing, we've added Closed Captioning to all of our online yoga courses. Plus, we're hoping to release some content in Auslan (Australian sign language) in the near future!
And for our Blind or vision impaired friends, we are releasing some specially designed Audio Description classes, where we talk through every position through the class. We also try to put image descriptions on our social media posts, which are compatible with assistive technology.
Neurodiversity
More and more, the scientific community is recognising that our neurological functioning is on a spectrum. Neurodiverse is a word that incorporates people with all different backgrounds and might refer to people with Autism, ADHD, Intellectual Disability, Tourette Syndrome, Dyslexia, and psychosis. Of course, everyone on this spectrum has very different needs and different ways to access things.
Some people might need things expressed in a different way to help them understand it.
So we've decided to design classes and content that does exactly that. We run classes that are adapted to suit people who might need instructions given in simple English, rather than abstract ideas. We can also do classes that are sensory-friendly for those who are looking for a less stimulating experience.
We then have our Easy Read Blog Series and the Easy Listen Meditations, which are also done in Simple English. It was important for us to not just advertise these as options for children. Even though they are also written in a way for children to understand, we wanted it to appeal to people of all ages without feeling condescending.
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Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
As an avid traveler, being culturally competent has always been important to Leah, She has worked and studied yoga and mental health in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, and Europe, and is passionate about global sharing of culture and experience. Bumblebee Yoga is invested in the fight against discrimination and bias in all forms, and make this a conscious part of our business.
In our classes, we make our practice more accessible by working with people to do yoga in a way that is sensitive to their culture, faith, and experiences.
We're also hoping to run projects in the future with people who are new arrivals in our country, including people who are refugees and asylum seekers.
And we're always up for some new language vocabulary if you'd like to teach us some of your native tongue! Help us pepper our classes with new phrases and jokes from across the world.
Planet
Bumblebee Yoga is proudly Plant Powered! As a long term vegan, Leah is passionate about minimizing her ecological and ethical impact, which is so closely tied to yoga. While we don't often bring this into class, it's an incredibly important part of what we do and how we approach things.
Another way we're doing our best to be sustainable is through our gear. Almost all of our equipment is from Stretch Now, an Australian yoga props wholesaler. We chose high-quality eco-friendly mats, bolsters, and blocks that were going to stand the test of time, and have the smallest footprint possible. You'll never find products we use that are derived from animals, or that aren't ethically made.
We're also working really hard towards becoming carbon neutral and plastic-free in all our business operations!
And catch us at all sorts of planet loving events, everything from rallies and protests to vegan food festivals