As with many spaces, the wellness industry doesn’t always operate with people of color in mind. For Julio Rivera, an Afro-Latino with a background in software engineering, the New York Insight Meditation Center offered him the help he needed. Because of his schedule, he decided to turn to a digital platform that fit with his schedule. But after failing to find what he needed, he decided to create his own app, one that caters to communities of color.
Liberate Meditation was created to provide support to Black, Indigenous and other people of color. “We want to help empower people, not only to meditate but to show them that there’s something you can do about your suffering,” Rivera said, according to Black Enterprise. “We can help each other get free and be liberated.”
Upon opening the app, users can see it’s separated into different topics, including Ancestors, The Body, Gratitude, Love, Micro Aggressions and more. Users can also pick classes by teachers. The teachers section offers a biography of each person featured and a list of topics they cover. The practices are between five to 20 minutes.
You can download Liberate Meditation on either Apple or Android devices.