048. Queer Dharma with Jacoby Ballard

Jacoby Ballard is a social justice educator and yoga teacher in Salt Lake City, Utah known for his playfulness, heart-opening, and commitment to change from the inside out. As a yoga teacher with 20 years of experience, he leads workshops, retreats, teacher trainings, teaches at conferences, and runs the Resonance mentorship program for certified yoga teachers to find their niche and calling. In 2008, Jacoby co-founded Third Root Community Health Center in Brooklyn, to work at the nexus of healing and social justice. Since 2006, Jacoby has taught Queer and Trans Yoga, a space for queer folks to unfurl and cultivate resilience. Jacoby received Yoga Journal’s Game Changer Award in 2014 and Good Karma Award in 2016. Jacoby has taught in schools, hospitals, non profit and business offices, a maximum security prison, a recovery center, a cancer center, LGBT centers, gyms, a veteran’s center, and yoga studios. He leads workshops and trainings around the country on diversity, equity, and inclusion and consults on DEI for yoga and meditation organizations. He is the author of A Queer Dharma: Yoga and Meditations for Liberation, released in 2021.  In this episode, Jivana and Jacoby discuss: Jacoby’s book: A Queer Dharma: Yoga and Meditations for Liberation   What do queer spaces look like in yoga and spirituality? How did Jaocby find his voice in writing this book? What is the role of anger in spiritual practice? How can you release the energy of anger safely? What is the relationship between yoga/dharma and social justice? How do you find equanimity while still fighting for change? How does he feel about having his book out in the world?