GANJA YOGA AND CULTURAL APPROPRIATION

Hey fellow white yoga practitioner, … have you done some reflecting on cultural appropriation in your practice?

A South Asian in my community recently asked me to speak up about my own complicit participation in the oppressive practice of appropriation in yoga, and like you, I’ve had to look hard at the ways my spirituality and profession have inadvertently caused others harm.

It’s hard to look inward, but I know we can do it.

You ready to five into an uncomfortable but necessary conversation about ways we might be culturally-appropriating in yoga?

Yes? Great! Roll up your doobie, and let’s jump in!

Thought #1 - We Have All Participated In Systems Of Harm

I want to begin by saying that we all have priviledged identities, and therefore, have accidentally caused others harm.

As I have learned about antiracism and diversity and inclusion, I realize I have committed so many examples of appropriation, - and the more I learn, the more I realize that I have to learn. Probably this is the case for many of us, particularly when we hold the more privileged identities (white, North American, non-disabled, thin, middle class or higher, Native English speaker, cis-gendered, etc.).

Thought #2 - Not Knowing Is Exactly Perfect

We added Susanna Barkataki’s ‘Embrace Yoga’s Roots’ to the Ganja Yoga Training last year, which helps us map our privileged and oppressed identities. In our discussions, our budding Ganja Yoga Teacher family often expresses uncertainty about whether we should stop practicing and teaching yoga, and whether adding cannabis is somehow more-appropriative than regular yoga.

I’m not sure the answer, and that is exactly the point.

Not knowing, not being certain, being uncomfortable, teasing things out mentally and emotionally and in our very bones, is exactly how we dismantle systems of harm.

Being certain is a function of white supremacy, as we learn in Susanna’s book.

We are being invited to embrace both the roots of yoga, and to sit in our own discomfort.
Breathe into it. Keep going.

Thought #3 - Take Action

Whether or not we are new to conversations about appropriation in yoga, and whether or not we decide to continue on the path of yoga as our profession (or leave it to South Asian and Egyptian teachers, since these are the origins of yoga), I’d like to share some suggestions for decolonizing yoga that we should all consider if we love the practice.

These are taken from Susanna’s amazing book, ‘Embrace Yoga’s Roots’, which should be required reading for *every* yoga teacher training, in my opinion.

Note, these are just ideas, and places to begin reflection.

They are not demands, and might not be appropriate suggestions for you.

Action #1 : Educate Yourself And Feel The Emotional Pain Of The Truth

Learn about the unimaginably-horrific treatment South Asian yogis endured at the hands of British colonizers.

Reflect on how you have benefited from colonization, even if you’re not from British ancestry, or even if you’re not white., but live in America or Europe.

Reflect on how colonization continues.

Me? I always thought India “freely gave” yoga to the world, but as I learned about how the nation was impoverished from the British invasion, I realized that I had been told the story of yoga’s path to the West by white people.

And it hurt. But feeling the hurt is exactly where we heal, when we let ourselves open up to the horror, we become warriors of justice. Once we become educated and sit with the emotions that the education arose, taking action will come more naturally.

Action #2 : Learn From South Asian Women (And Nonbinary) Teachers

Start to notice who’s not being invited to the table, then ask the studio or festival why there aren’t more diverse (and specifically South Asian) voices being represented. Take trainings and workshops on cultural appropriation in yoga from BIPOC people.

During the pandemic I hired a South Asian cannabis activist to create a new ‘History of cannabis in yoga’ module for us, - where we get to hear the ancient stories of Shiva from the mouth of someone from the tradition and lineage. And, I paid her fairly. This is one small action step that came from educating myself.

Action #3 : Respect The Whole Of Yoga, By Not “Cherry Picking” Only The Marketable, Sexy, And Westernized Aspects

I have been guilty of this. I know the Gunas and the Koshas but I have never spoken of them in my classes.

Moving forward I’ll remind my students that posture and breathing are a small portion of the yoga pantheon.

If you’re also a teacher, reflect on what you’re leaving out when you present yoga to an American audience, why you’ve been doing that, and who gets harmed by that choice.

Action #4 : Reinvest In The Culture That Brought You Yoga

Amplifying those who have been marginilized, educating ourselves on systems of oppression, and embracing the whole tradition of yoga are some ways to honor the practice and reduce appropriation.

Another is to donate a portion of profits as aid for South Asian NGOs, or to collaborate with South Asian yoga teachers.

Action #5 : Stop Glamorizing Yoga

This might look like no longer depicting only hard, sexy poses on Instagram.

It might look like not wearing malas and Om necklaces (sacred objects) for fashion (oops).

We can appreciate, (instead of appropriating) yoga by using statues, sacred symbols, and Sanskrit properly. For instance, - did you know “Namaste” doesn’t mean “goodbye” or “class is over?”

It’s more commonly used to mean “hello.” Perhaps we open our classes with it, instead of closing them with it, to honor the roots of yoga. Just a thought.

And lastly, - hey, if you truly do yoga in a thong, well, then do you, - but don’t put ON sexy lingerie to take a picture of yourself doing yoga, maybe?? Haha, just a suggestion….

While there’s nothing wrong with thongs or being sexual as a yoga practitioner, the (mostly) white “glamorization” of the practice further oppresses South Asians. If you’re not sure how, be sure to read Susanna’s book for the full download.

Action #6 : Understand What A Privilege It Is To Even Learn Yoga

You might not know this, but many South Asians were prohibited from practicing their own traditions and customs, - the very traditions and customs we’ve adopted for inner peace and relaxation.

Let’s acknowledge this. While we’re at it, we can acknowledge the privilege to use cannabis medicine when BIPOC folks have had their lives ruined for the very same plant.

Action #7 : Keep Going

This is just a starter list, an introduction, to begin to reflect and share honestly some of the places where I’ve gone wrong (all of the above), and to tease out how we all might do better in the future.

I’m not sure if I’m going to change professions and make space for South Asian yoga teachers, or stay here and use my platform and privilege to amplify others in the space who have been historically excluded.

I shall ponder and report back, but if you have insights to aid in my process please share.

The more we share this (super vulnerable and scary) aspect of what it’s like to do this type of inner work, the better.

APPRECIATE YOU!
XO D.