Brown Girl Yoga
I’ve been a little busy this year already, with recovering from witnessing an insurrection and then switching administrations and dealing with my feelings, 2021 is already off to a busy start!
The main reason I’m busier than usual is because I am also fulfilling my dream of becoming a certified yoga teacher! With shelter-in-place still happening, I figured I had the time to learn a new skill and potentially be able to share it with others. As I’ve mentioned before, yoga has been one of the ways that I love to move my body and get a workout in, but more and more I’m learning to appreciate its philosophical and spiritual benefits and excited to see how life-changing it’s going to be.
One of the reasons I decided to get certified in yoga teacher training aside from how much I love it, is because my memories from the studios and online classes I’ve taken have mainly been from white instructors and it honestly bothers me. I’ve never taken a class from anyone who looks like me (let alone an Indian person!) teaching yoga. Why is that? When you close your eyes and think of a yoga teacher, what does that person look like? Ultimately I want more representation of POC in the yoga industry, and if I can contribute to a POC yoga community and make it accessible to as many marginalized people as possible, then dream achieved.
In the West, it seems like yoga is mainly an activity for middle to upper middle class white people who are part of expensive studio communities, even though at its core yoga was intended for anyone and everyone to practice. How did it become so whitewashed? While I’m not able to go into a thorough history lesson in yoga, basically what happened is a combination of a yogi named Swami Vivekananda coming to Chicago in 1893 and introducing the US to yoga, Indian immigrants bringing their practice to the United States, and Westerners going to India to learn the practice and bringing it back to the US. During the 1960s and the counterculture movement, yoga became super popular among young whites and then in the 1980s with the rise of the fitness movement they decided to make a profit off of an ancient spiritual practice.
How do we begin to change who has access to yoga? For starters, pay attention to who you take class from. I want to make the distinction that taking yoga classes from white people isn’t inherently bad, but how does these non-POC teach the class? Is their price range accessible to all types of communities? Do they offer modifications for all types of bodies? Do they integrate the spiritual side of the practice or use Sanskrit vocabulary? The approach to how a teacher shares and respects the practice is crucial for not appropriating it.
Being in a yoga teacher training, I’ve been thinking about how I can help prevent any type of cultural appropriation in my practice since I’m not Indian. I want to make sure that I’m respectful to this ancient practice while still appreciating and sharing its benefits to those who typically wouldn’t have access. Here are some of the ways I’ve gone about my own practice and teacher training without appropriating that you can try:
Look up some history and philosophy of yoga to understand the deeper spiritual meaning behind the asanas or poses. In my training I’ve been learning how there’s so many different types of yoga that come from different philosophies, and it’s really helpful to know the deeper meaning behind each practice every time I get on the mat. For example, start with looking up “history of Vinyasa yoga” or whichever type you most often practice.
Follow Indian and other BIPOC teachers on the internet! Social media has been such an amazing tool when it comes to finding Indian and BIPOC teachers and studios. A few of my recent favorites are @oaklandohmies, @yogateachersofcolor, @yogawalla, @blacktoyoga, @bhavcat, @shantiwithin, @saraclarkyoga, @brownyogigirl, @tejalyoga
There are SO many BIPOC yoga teachers out there, you just gotta do some slight digging.
One of my favorite ways to learn information is through podcasts, and in my research I stumbled upon the Yoga is Dead podcast! Made by two Indian-American women who are certified yoga instructors, they share their experiences in the yoga industry and their own personal history with the yoga practice. The description alone is amazing:
“A revolutionary podcast that exposes the dirty underbelly of the yoga industry. Get ready to have your eyes opened and your perceptions challenged…this ain’t your white yoga podcast. Grab your chai and settle in, Becky.”
LOL! Holy shit did this podcast open my eyes! The 6 part series touches on subjects such as vegans, karma capitalism, why gurus are problematic, and more. I was personally triggered by some of the topics but I loved it because I knew it meant it would only help me grow in my own practice.
While these are just 3 ways of appreciating and respecting yoga as a non-Indian, there are so many other ways to do it! Yoga is not just a physical practice, there is a rich history of spirituality and philosophy behind it, and while we in the West have a more non-denominational approach, it’s important for us to remember where it comes from and integrate all sides of the practice if we truly want to respect it.
