DECOLONIZING yoga

My relationship to yoga was informed by my upbringing an Indian household where I embodied an ayurvedic lifestyle, practiced asana and pranayama, and experienced the power of community, all without even knowing it was yoga.

It wasn't until I started to explore the uncomfortable sensations at the edges of my body during posture-centered white-led yoga classes that I realized how far yoga has strayed from its roots. I learned about the pervasive misappropriation and commodification of yoga in the West, and found its harm to be just a fraction of the harm caused by leaders and religious institutions in India that have used yogic philosophy to perpetuate violence for centuries.

I am still coming to understand how Brahmanical patriarchy, white supremacy, colonialism, and capitalism are deeply ingrained in our cells. Through my offerings, I invite us to (un)learn, shed these layers of conditioning, and nurture a new relationship to yoga.

Check out “Yoga’s Origins from a Decolonial Lens” found in the Resources Section for more on this!