Despite the title, this article does not attempt to say if the contemporary somatic movement is racist – you are absolutely right, for that you’d need to speak to a lot of people including especially people who might be on the receiving end of racism.

I get the feeling spirituality these days is more diverse – more people of colour practicing western Buddhism, western yoga, psychedelics…and that’s partly why these issues of diversity and systemic racism are coming up. These spaces were much more white privileged before, and I think hopefully the greater diversity is a sign of wealth and leisure being shared more equally…and also of African Americans leaving the church and looking for alternative spiritualities. Anyway, it’s a fascinating question – is western spirituality still very white / privileged or is it more diverse now? I would love to know.