How Practicing Yoga Helped Me Become a Better Teacher: Reflections on Using Contemplative Practices in Race and Ethnic Relations Courses
Marc R. Settembrino
Humanity & Society February 12, 2026 DOI: 10.1177/01605976261418647 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Interventions | Yoga Meditation Reflective journaling Active listening |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | Argues that incorporating contemplative practices drawn from the author's yoga practice, including meditation, reflective journaling, and active listening, into courses on race and ethnic relations helped cultivate openness, empathy, and critical engagement with systemic racism among students, and helped the author move past early insecurity, resistance, and disembodiment as a White professor at a predominantly White institution. |
Abstract
This paper explores how yoga has helped me become a better professor. I begin by reflecting on the challenges of teaching race and ethnic relations as a White faculty member at a predominantly White institution, and how my early efforts were marked by insecurity, resistance, and disembodiment. I then trace how my personal yoga practice led me to incorporate contemplative practices such as meditation, reflective journaling, and active listening into my courses. Drawing on student reflections, I show how these practices helped cultivate openness, empathy, and critical engagement with systemic racism.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 5
- Loving-kindness and compassion meditation: potential for psychological interventions. Clinical Psychology Review July 26, 2011
- Contemplative Education: A Systematic, Evidence-Based Review of the effect of Meditation Interventions in Schools Educational Psychology Review March 1, 2015
- A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Effects of Meditation on Empathy, Compassion, and Prosocial Behaviors. Mindfulness June 1, 2018
- Mindfulness Meditation May Lessen Anxiety, Promote Social Skills, and Improve Academic Performance Among Adolescents With Learning Disabilities Complementary health practice review 2008
- Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits. A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research July 1, 2004