On Thursday, Nov. 16, Scripps Presents hosted author, yoga teacher, entrepreneur and advocate Jessamyn Stanley to speak at Balch Auditorium. Stanley is the co-founder of The Underbelly, “an inclusive digital wellness experience featuring yoga classes … and a curated collection of products,” according to her website.
Her speech promoted representation in wellness, the power of individuality in community settings and the necessity of disrupting dominant narratives.
Paired with a visual presentation, Stanley also offered a re-articulation of the book “The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom” by Don Miguel Ruiz. The four agreements, which are “be impeccable with your word, don’t take anything personally, don’t make assumptions and always do your best,” resonated with the audience of parents, students and members of the broader Claremont community.
“In [The Four Agreements], Don Miguel Ruiz [explains] that all of life is a collective dream that we’re all having together, with agreed upon rules that were agreed upon before we were even born,” Stanley said. “Thinking of the dream of the planet helps me understand that there are dominant narratives in our society that are a part of that dream.”
After finishing the section about “The Four Agreements,” Stanley emphasized the importance of one’s ancestry to their individual wellness, especially in a world which she regards as consumed with intergenerational trauma and complexities of parent-child relationships.
“[Your lineage] tells you … [how] you were primed to understand … your reality,” Stanley said. “It helps you understand how deep within and how far back those dominant narratives go.”
Stanley consistently connected the themes of the “Dominant Narrative” and “The Four Agreements” to promote the subjective human experience and ability of the individual to disrupt the dominant narratives they inherited. She implored the audience to close their eyes and think of a time when each audience member was the “only” in order to craft her idea of the human experience as that of simultaneous interconnectedness and isolation.
As the speech continued, Stanley articulated several philosophical concepts that informed her path to wellness along with the path she hopes others will continue on. She spoke of her upbringing as a queer Black woman, articulated by her as being the “only,” and attending a predominantly white institution. To Stanley, her experiences of marginalization and the lack of representation — both in her college experience and the wellness space —are fundamentally linked to her self-education on how to become a “disruption.”
“[Your lineage] tells you … [how] you were primed to understand … your reality,” Stanley said. “It helps you understand how deep within and how far back those dominant narratives go.”
“I derived great power from being the ‘only,’” Stanley said. “It was very lonely, very scary, and it made me doubt myself constantly. But it also gave me an opportunity to unequivocally look within myself for validation. I could either believe the dominant narrative or look within myself. I chose and continue to choose to be the disruption.”
Elita Kutateli SC ’26 felt connected to Stanley’s personal path to disruption and self-acceptance. She believed in her message of recognizing self-representation, personal identity and lived experiences in order to pursue a path of self-acceptance and institutional reform, especially for the wellness community.
“Intersectionality, especially in wellness, is really important because … accessible practices and love and support are the overall goals of wellness,” Kutateli said. “Wellness speakers are predominantly white, so it is important to go back to the roots of community and support.”
Reese Rutherford SC ’26 resonated with the messages of self-love and recognition of personal traumas described by Stanley.
“I loved her metaphor of comparing the self to the celestial body and us living with other people being other celestial bodies in our galaxy,” Rutherford said. “This talk gave me good ways to center myself and it was just nice to sit, listen and be mindful in the moment.”
Briana N. Salmon, a Black yogi in the wellness community, discovered the Scripps Presents event from Eventbrite after following Stanley’s work for years.
“When you’re driven, we have purpose and focus and direction, but by going inward we must … figure out how to reattach … to healthier, more balanced, outward expressions,” Salmon said. “I definitely do feel more clarity, mostly because I have been working on mindfulness for the past few years … the talk has helped me reconsider what I’m here to work on today.”
Social Teases: On Thursday, Nov. 16, Scripps Presents hosted author, yoga teacher, entrepreneur and advocate Jessamyn Stanley to speak at Balch Auditorium. Stanley is the co-founder of The Underbelly, an inclusive digital wellness experience featuring yoga classes and a curated collection of products. Her speech promoted representation in wellness, the power of individuality in community settings and the necessity of disrupting dominant narratives.
“[Your lineage] tells you … [how] you were primed to understand … your reality,” Stanley said. “It helps you understand how deep within and how far back those dominant narratives go.”
“Intersectionality, especially in wellness, is really important because … accessible practices and love and support are the overall goals of wellness,” Kutateli said. “Wellness speakers are predominantly white, so it is important to go back to the roots of community and support.”