Tristan Katz

Tristan Katz (they/them) is a writer, educator, digital strategist, and one of our Spring 2021 Impact Grant recipients. Learn more about their work and support.

Tell us – what excites you about your work?

I'm excited to step into more of an educator role, supporting people in learning how to create trans* affirming spaces in yoga and wellness, and how to engage in digital marketing strategies from a justice-centered perspective. I'm also excited to call myself a writer again, after a long break from that part of my work and interests, and to devote more time to a book project in the coming months.

What feels rich and abundant in your work right now?

My creative projects, envisioning, and writing feels deeply rich and abundant right now as I continue to reflect on and explore how I want to shift my work to be less service-oriented and more education-oriented (which is also service, of course—I've been in "admin roles" for most of my professional life, supporting other educators without necessarily seeing myself as one!).

Who do you dedicate your work to?

I dedicate my work to every person who has ever felt othered or unwelcome in a yoga or healing/wellness space—every person who has felt like they didn't see themselves reflected in studio culture, and every person who has ever felt like they "didn't fit" at some point in their lives. I also dedicate my work to every trancestor who has come before me, particularly the Black trans women who paved the path for trans* identity, self-expression, and awareness, which inherently paved the path for my own self-discovery.

“To receive the support of my community, which now includes this generous grant award, is all deeply healing for me, in ways I am only beginning to understand and recognize.”

Who inspires you, who are you learning from, what books are you reading? We are really excited to learn this about you!

I am always and forever inspired by the work of Michelle Cassandra Johnson, adrienne maree brown, Andrea Gibson, Lama Rod Owens, Alok Vaid-Menon, and Roxane Gay, though this list could go on...! I'm currently reading Susan Stryker's Transgender History: the Roots of Today's Revolution, Lama Rod's Love & Rage, and re-reading adrienne maree's Emergent Strategy.

What something you didn’t know, that now you understand differently with wellness?

As a white able-bodied person, I know I've been "accepted" into studio culture in a way others largely haven’t. As a queer person who has never conformed to typical beauty standards, I have also felt the effects of dominant culture in most studio spaces. I didn't realize this was something I was experiencing, witnessing, or carrying in my body until I began to devote more time and energy to studying social justice in all of its forms, and to explore my own gender identity, and discovering my transness. Until I found Michelle Cassandra Johnson's work, I didn't have the language to name or identify the way dominant culture was functioning in so many yoga spaces I've frequented over the last twenty years—Michelle's work has invited me into greater, more meaningful relationship across lines of difference and into greater relationship with myself.

What is your own wellness practice? How do you find balance?

I am dedicated to beginning my day with 10-20 minutes of meditation, to pulling tarot cards and journaling each morning, and to moving my body through long dog walks and hikes, getting on my yoga mat, and engaging in more dynamic exercise activities.

I am now scheduling one week per quarter to take time away from emails and work, and I'll soon be carving out space to devote to my writing, which is very exciting and scary, and definitely connected to my own wellness. I am also fortunate to have a rich community of friends, both in-person and through the gift/mess of social media, and to be cultivating relationships with other trans* and non-binary folks, and other folks engaged in the work of justice and equity, in yoga/wellness and beyond.

How can people reading this support the work you are doing?

Come to one of my workshops, invite me to teach for your community, purchase one of my digital offerings (I'm releasing a Social Media Workbook in April along with a Digital Marketing 101 webinar for yoga and wellness professionals—both of which will be justice-focused), share the free resources I offer in my Instagram feed, donate to my Venmo/PayPal, or have me on your podcast!

And! Reflect on how you're showing up for the trans* community and what more you might be able to do to unpack your own biases, internalizations, assumptions, and create trans* affirming spaces in yoga and wellness, and beyond.

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