Ashley Mitchell has plans for the future.
Named one of 5 Black Women making the fitness scene more inclusive and one of 9 Black Fitness Professionals to Follow (Boston Magazine), Ashley Mitchell is a powerful voice against racial inequality in the fitness space.
She is also the founder of The Courage Campaign (a nonprofit leveraging physical exercise, journaling, and discussion to empower kids by redefining our relationship with fear). Daughter of a professional boxer, All-American track athlete, theatre major, fitness professional, educator, and social justice advocate, Ashley has shown the ability to dissect self-limiting beliefs and trauma to summon grit, fortitude, and creativity. She is renowned for serving up some of the most intense, high-energy classes in the fitness space, while understanding and influencing the collective behaviors of those around her with empathy, instinct, and unapologetic candor.
"Stepping into leadership as a strong black female voice at Down Under sees me joining a bunch of other strong unapologetic women who lift each other up vs tearing people down.
The best part of being surrounded by such a richly diverse group of people is comprehending that they are amazing teachers because they are such interesting, fulfilled people outside their teaching. It's cool to be in an environment where everyone is willing to help you learn and where you are surrounded by such incredible talents.
There's an incredible bad-ass female energy here and when I met teachers like Kate Robinson, I knew it was safe to speak here.
Then you connect with Sara Bravo and it shocked me into realizing I never took yoga in another language before. When Stephen came in to teach in Teacher Training, I realized how much he facilitates a growth mindset environment. Then he became my Faculty DIrector and now he's a colleague and we run Accomplice Circle.
Our studio has an open door to collaboration and voicing opinions that see our whole school benefit from the combined intelligence and experience here. The mere existence of the Teacher Leadership Council in itself is magic - it is unheard of in our industry. The ways that Down Under puts its faculty first is also unheard of. As a professional teacher, one usually feels like a cog in a machine - you are one of many and your expertise is serving a pure profit purpose. We serve as an example that says you can be a successful business and be equitable and put your teachers first, holding each other accountable and raising each other up. We are so comfortable being in front of everyone and setting a new standard and it's impressive the massive amounts of work that go on behind the scenes to make these things happen.
At Down Under, we tend to not make noise or tell others how to run their shop, since we are all so connected and happily focussed on setting a new standard for ourselves. But there will reach a point, where I'll advocate for us to begin to call out how differently the rest of the industry is running and how many abuses are occurring in other places.
While I can't possibly represent the experience of black folks, I'm excited to be a respected black female voice that can speak to an experience our students of color have and that many yoga students have not considered, pushing us constantly to be more inclusive. As a Co-Chair of the TLC, I love collaborating with my teammates to explore how to improve the diversity of both student and teaching bodies. Our studio has some great inclusion going on and I feel like a lot of what I experience as a teacher is deeply equitable. Justine and the entire team help me thrive individually and in programming which is the ultimate equity. When I took 3 months for maternity leave, just knowing that I could come back to a schedule that worked and that my students would still support me was key for my mental health and wellbeing. Whoever gets pregnant should feel good about their decision being supported here. Today my teaching time is more meaningful than it was 6 months ago. I commit to my students in a totally new way now.
That said, as a Co-Chair, I also want to see more brown bodies in the room and for those students to feel like the studio belongs to them.
We as teachers are not seeking a certain demographic and we are passionate about everyone feeling welcome. I want to see us develop more community partnerships with black-owned businesses. As a teacher, I want my students to feel strong in their bodies and to walk away knowing that the way they navigate discomfort in class directly applies to life.