Wellness retreats, many of which are hosted by snake oil salesmen, are notorious for scamming people out of their money. Still, people need to decide what they’re going to waste their money on. And if you’re going to blow thousands of dollars on a wellness retreat, you hope you’re at least treated with fairness and inclusivity, right? They’ve been known to lack diverse marketing and cater to white women who have dominated the idea of ‘wellness.’ Now, a Maryland black woman is speaking up once she realized the wellness retreat she attended…well, may be a little racist.
Ali (@yourneighborhoodshaman) posted a TikTok video captioned, “This retreat didn’t feel so fair and safe today.” She said she attended a wellness retreat in a “beautiful” area and was excited to take some classes. However, she said a “white woman had to ruin it” and she meant the director of the entire retreat. So, what happened at the retreat? Ali said that, during a course, a bunch of white women were talking and asking questions. However, when Ali tried to ask a question, she was immediately silenced. The director of the retreat told her that they were being silent and she wasn’t allowed to ask questions yet. This stunned Ali, who felt like it was a white woman just trying to tell a black woman to be quiet.
On top of this, there were other instances that bothered Ali. For one, the director couldn’t remember Ali’s name, even though she remembered the names of the other guests. She said there was a general sense of discomfort there, as if they didn’t want her there. Ali also said that the director kept putting a hand on her shoulder even though she implied that she didn’t want her doing that. When Ali said she told the director that she didn’t want her to put her hand on her shoulder, the director acted like she was burned. She said her reaction was unnecessary, and she decided she just didn’t want to be there anymore. She wasn’t having a good time, and the place didn’t feel safe to her.
In the end, Ali said that the retreat director was defensive about the interaction and tried to defend herself instead of being kind and understanding of Ali. Others have experienced unfortunate matters like these at retreats as well. One man shared, “I once went to a joe dispenza mediation retreat. The first night… THE FIRST NIGHT at the end of setting up the first morning event reminding us it started at 6a.m. he closed with, and pointed to the audience, ‘And Latinos, don’t be late. I’m watching you’ and he laughed. 2,000+ people in that space. It took me 4 days to get regulated. So sorry this happened to you.” Another person said, “Too many white women in wellness spaces are not creating inclusive, safe spaces.” That needs to change. Anybody should feel welcome anywhere.
