Intro to Yoga and Decolonization

“Though we have made some mistakes and gotten confused in our practice of yoga in the West, the criteria for practicing yoga itself is simple.  Anything not leading toward unity is not yoga. If our thought, speech or action is not bringing us right there, toward connection, it is not yoga.” -Susanna Barkataki

In this section on Yoga and Decolonization, you gain a better understanding of the practices of yoga, on and off the mat and take a deeper look at of yoga’s history and what the practice of yoga has become today.  Learn ways you may begin to decolonize (or deepen) your yoga practice and enjoy it in a more authentic and liberatory way.  Drawing on a variety of different resources, you explore themes related to accessibility, connectivity, domestication, and social justice increasing your awareness to how yoga was colonized and a genuine path forward as practitioners. 

This section is an opportunity to slow down, pause in mindfulness, and reflect. 

As part of this section, please read three Chapters of your choosing from Embrace Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Practice by Susanna Barkataki.

It is important to acknowledge that enlightenment isn’t always light.  Thank you for your bravery and courage as you embark on this journey to explore your yoga practice with the understanding that individual and collective healing and liberation is an ongoing process.

Brave Space by Beth Strand

There is no such thing as safe space.
We exist in the real world and we all carry scars and have caused wounds.
This space seeks to turn down the volume from the outside world and amplify the voices that have to fight to be heard everywhere.
This space will not be perfect.
It will not always be what we wish it to be, but it will be ours together, and we will work on it side by side.

Invitation to Brave Space by Micky Scottbey Jones

Together we will create brave space
Because there is no such thing as a “safe space”
We exist in the real world
We all carry scars and we have all caused wounds.
In this space
We seek to turn down the volume of the outside world,
We amplify voices that fight to be heard elsewhere,
We call each other to more truth and love
We have the right to start somewhere and continue to grow.
We have the responsibility to examine what we think we know.
We will not be perfect.
This space will not be perfect.
It will not always be what we wish it to be
But
It will be our brave space together,
And
We will work on it side by side.

Please read the article, “Yoga and Activism” by Anjali Rao.
Please read the article “Defining Yoga: Agency, Liberation, and the Wisdom of Interconnectedness” by Anjali Rao.
Please read the article “How to Decolonize Your Yoga Practice” by Susanna Barkataki

“Make a commitment to decolonize your practice and to understand that the true wisdom of yoga lies in its philosophy. You’re not going to find it in a handstand. You’re not going to find it through the physicality of the postures. Meditation is yoga.”  -Anusha Wijeyakumar

“If we truly want to create conditions for liberation for all, it is important to practice dismantling the behaviors within ourselves that create barriers to liberation.  One behavior that needs to be dismantled is equating intent and impact.  Our good intentions do not guarantee a positive impact.  Intent does not equal impact.  One can have good intentions and still cause harm.” – Michelle Cassandra Johnson

“The Sanskrit word, asana, translates to “seat.” This seat is a connection made to the earth. Asana, one of the most popular yoga practices today, is a tiny fraction of the overall practice of yoga. Asana practice may be used to boost an unhealthy ego that displays an attitude of arrogance, conceit, or superiority or to enhance our healthy ego that encourages humility, self-acceptance, and self-love. We may utilize it to handle life’s situations with ease or to grit our teeth and power through the hard stuff. When postures are practiced with conscious breathing and intention, asana is a way to introduce stress to your body and maintain a state of peace, calm, and grace throughout the process. The response to the challenges of the asana practice is a reflection of reactions to challenges in daily life.

In connection to the deeper meaning of the poses, in an asana practice, a yogi becomes a dog, a mountain, a cobra, and other aspects of creation as a whole. As practitioners, we engage in a variety of forms that we see in nature and throughout the cosmos. In becoming these forms, we make a connection with all forms. Essentially, in an asana practice, we are putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes, claws, hooves, wings, paws, fins, and so on, in an effort to empathize and understand our interconnectedness or sameness with others.” -Anna Ferguson

“a teacher or guide, let people know that you will offer modifications or options and encourage individuals to listen to their bodies and hearts more than they are listening to your cues. This gives people the opportunity to practice discernment and to clarify what will best serve their bodies and hearts in the moment. This service to the body and heart isn’t just about the individual, it is tied to coming back home to the self to then be able to expand out in service of the larger collective. When people choose to modify or adjust I reinforce that what they are doing is tuning into to their needs and then responding by honoring what they hear as they tune in. In this way, people are taking care of themselves not from a self-centered space but from a space of deep listening.” -Michelle Cassandra Johnson

“What do I mean by World Peace Yoga? World Peace Yoga is a holistic, courageous, and practical approach to yoga that incorporates practices both on and off the yoga mat. Since a significant portion of our time is spent off the yoga mat, we carry our philosophy and values into other aspects of our daily lives. World Peace Yoga is a school of yoga—and a movement—that encourages others to reveal or remember their authentic self, allowing for radical change to occur within, and creating a more peaceful world without. As more individuals create peace within—through the liberation, un-domestication, and decolonizing of their body and mind and soul—this impacts their actions without. I believe that inner peace creates outer peace and that outer peace creates inner peace.

As a practice that incorporates physical wellness with spiritual living, World Peace Yoga touches on more than just one aspect of life. It sparks positive transformation in both individual and collective lives.

The only change we are truly able to create is within the self. It is not possible to change others; only they are able to do that. World Peace Yoga embodies a practice of creating both inner peace and outer peace, which has a ripple effect on our treatment of others. This, in turn, often has a ripple effect on how those individuals decide to treat others as well. When we emanate authenticity and love, our energy is infectious and people may feel inspired to recreate similar energies in their own lives. The World Peace Yoga practice is also about what works from within us. When we experience liberation at a cellular level—through our thoughts, words, actions, and consumption—we see it manifest in the world.

Through generosity, respect, sustainability, community, intuition, empathy, and compassion for all beings, we offer yoga for people who breathe to inspire inner peace and create world peace.” -Anna Ferguson

Book Recommendations for this Section Include:

Activating the Common Good: Reclaiming Control of Our Collective Well-Being by Peter Block
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
Decolonizing the Body: Healing, Body-Centered Practices for Women of Color to Reclaim Confidence, Dignity, and Self-Worth by Kelsey Blackwell
Embrace Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Practice by Susanna Barkataki and Sonali Fiske
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem
Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey
Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World by Michelle Cassandra Johnson
The Trauma of Caste: A Dalit Feminist Meditation on Survivorship, Healing, and Abolition by Thenmozhi Soundararajan
The Wisdom of Wildness: Healing the Trauma of Domestication by Ren Hurst