Leena here. It’s Victoria Day, which has got me thinking about colonization (and decolonization). It’s something I think about often in relation to my work, as discussions of decolonizing yoga have become more mainstream in the past few years.
A few weeks ago The Branches hosted a historian and yoga teacher named Indu Vashist for a workshop entitled “Yoga History & Cultural Appropriation: Building Conversation Stamina”. There was a moment in the workshop that stood out to me, because it was a slightly shocking moment for most participants. Someone asked about how something Indu was presenting related to cultural appropriation, and Indu replied,
“Well, this might be controversial, but I don’t really believe in cultural appropriation.”
The room went quiet. Um, wasn’t that term in the title of the workshop? …
Indu clarified, “I think to believe in cultural appropriation, we’d have to define culture. And I have a really hard time doing that, drawing boundaries around culture. So it might be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t really navigate by thinking about cultural appropriation.”
The workshop continued, but that declaration seemed to loosen things up for the participants. People spoke up a bit more, wondered aloud a bit more often, and asked more questions. It seemed that turning assumptions about cultural appropriation on its head freed people up to think in new ways.
What I was freed up to think about was this; Is the conversation about cultural appropriation actually distracting us from addressing racism and inequity? If our focus moved to taking action around racism and inequity, and things shifted there, would the conversation around cultural appropriation look different?
And…has cultural appropriation in yoga has become a mainstream discussion because it’s less scary to talk about than racism? Are “we” (white yoga practitioners and teachers) stuck on trying to get cultural appropriation “right” rather than getting into the crucial work of actually transforming a racist culture? Is discussing whether we should or should not say Namaste actually part of dismantling white supremacy?
It could be. But Indu certainly had me thinking about yoga, history and authenticity in new and different ways.
I’m sharing this to invite you into the discussion. Indu is returning for a second opportunity to engage in community learning: She’ll be teaching a 4-week virtual course starting May 30.
Learn more about Yoga History & Cultural Appropriation: Building Conversational Stamina here.
I am so glad that I crossed paths with Indu, and that she’s joined our faculty during our upcoming 250-hr Yoga Teacher Training, which kicks off in October. Learning with Indu has been invaluable for me to question and clarify my thinking around how I relate to yoga as a practitioner and a teacher.
With commitment,
Leena
The Branches 