Last fall, I bought a book called The Trauma of Caste and intended to read it in preparation for this year’s yoga teacher training. This book sat on my bookshelf all winter. I looked at it from time to time but I didn’t pick it up.
Earlier this spring I was having some major climate anxiety, really stressing about the state of our planet. For some reason, I picked up The Trauma of Caste and started reading it. And once I started, I couldn’t stop. I would put my baby in the carrier, go for long walks and read this book.
For some reason, though reading this book was devastating and complicated, it put my climate anxiety into perspective. This book spoke of an impending genocide, yet it was inspiring. It reminded me of how resilient and beautiful people are, even in the absolute worst of circumstances. It reminded me that we can still act out of and embody love, for ourselves and for the world.
I am sharing this because yesterday was International Day of Yoga, and while yoga is very much worth celebrating as a cultural and spiritual gift to the world, there is a dark side to this day, linked to caste apartheid. In India, yoga is being used as a tool by the current BJP government to push a larger agenda of Hindu-exclusive nationalism that tries to justify violence and imprisonment. It is too complex for me to summarize in this newsletter, so here is one anti-oppressive action you can take on this day: read this article, “Why I Don’t Celebrate International Day of Yoga,” to inform yourself about the dark side of International Yoga Day.
The author of “The Trauma of Caste”, Thenmozhi Soundararajan, writes with such a sense of love. Though the subject matter is beyond dark, she brings light to it. She writes, “I am a daughter of a people who have been oppressed for thousands of years, I am also the artifact of centuries of their love and resilience. In that there is a hope for everything. May a thousand flowers bloom in your heart and in mine for our liberation.”
The world is so much, but grappling with it all with a sense of love is my spiritual practice. On some days I call that yoga, on other days I’m not sure what to call it. But I’m grateful to be part of a community taking steps every day towards equity, love and justice.
With gratitude,
Emma
P.S. I’m thinking of restarting our anti-racist book club to discuss The Trauma of Caste. Get in touch with me at emma (at) thebranchesyoga (dot) com if you’re in.
If you’d like space to process and discuss issues like these in community, consider our Yoga Teacher Training Program, starting in October. The Trauma of Caste will be on our reading list this year.
Learn more at our next Info Session, happening on Monday, July 10 at 8:00-9:00pm (virtually). Sign up here to attend.
The Branches 