avatarCamille Prairie

Summary

The author, a white yoga teacher, discusses the importance of decolonizing yoga and not perpetuating the whitewashing and colonization of the practice, focusing on the misuse of "Namaste" and the hierarchy of asanas in Western yoga classes.

Abstract

The author, a white yoga teacher, acknowledges her privilege and discusses the importance of decolonizing yoga and amplifying the voices of the South Asian and Desi community. She explains that "Namaste" does not mean "the light in me honors the light in you" and that many Western yoga teachers use it without understanding its cultural significance. The author suggests alternative ways to end a class, such as chanting "om" together or saying "thank you for coming to class." She also criticizes the hierarchy of asanas in Western yoga classes and emphasizes that yoga was created to be accessible to everyone, regardless of their physical abilities. The author believes that the responsibility falls on teachers and studios to emphasize the importance of everything beyond the physical practice and to honor the roots of yoga.

Bullet points

  • The author acknowledges her privilege as a white yoga teacher and discusses the importance of decolonizing yoga.
  • "Namaste" does not mean "the light in me honors the light in you" and is often misused by Western yoga teachers.
  • The author suggests alternative ways to end a class, such as chanting "om" together or saying "thank you for coming to class."
  • The hierarchy of asanas in Western yoga classes is criticized, and the author emphasizes that yoga was created to be accessible to everyone.
  • The responsibility falls on teachers and studios to emphasize the importance of everything beyond the physical practice and to honor the roots of yoga.

Why I Don’t Say Namaste In A Yoga Class

It’s not because I don’t honor the light in you

Photo by Hans Vivek on Unsplash

I don’t say Namaste at the end of class because it does not mean, “the light in me honors the light in you.” We’ll get deeper into that in a bit, though.

I am a white, able-bodied woman.

It’s important that I acknowledge where I stand in this conversation before I dive into a topic that contains a lot of intersections between race, ethnicity, history, and colonization.

I’m going to talk about some of the ways I have learned yoga has been colonized and whitewashed. It matters to me to educate others on these issues.

I care a lot about decolonizing yoga and not only amplifying the way we’ve made yoga more digestible for white people in the West but amplifying the voices of the South Asian and Desi community.

Let’s jump in.

Namaste

Does not mean, “ the light in me honors the light in you.” I did not grow up in India, so I have never had the lived experience of greeting someone this way. I do know that Namaste is a way of greeting someone with deep reverence.

If you’ve had other experiences with Namaste, let me know in the comments.

Many yoga teachers in the West, from the ones at my local studios to Adrienne Mishler of Yoga with Adrienne, end classes with Namaste without acknowledging or being aware of the cultural significance.

How else should I end a class?

Classes are beautiful when they are ended with an “om” chanted together. Say, “ thank you for coming to class.” My personal favorite was passed to me in the lineage of my teacher.

Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu. May all beings be happy and be free ❤

What do I do if I don’t want to say Namaste, but that’s how my teacher ends class?

I personally reverently bow, without saying it back. If you’re feeling like uprooting systems of oppression, you could tell your teacher about “Embrace Yoga’s Roots” by Susanna Barkataki, an amazing book that goes in-depth on this topic- and many others.

Susana Barkataki with her book, Embrace Yoga’s Roots ❤

Asana Hierarchy

“Asana”, literally translating to “pose”, refers to the physical part of the practice of yoga.

In yoga asana classes and in yoga studios, you’ll often hear phrases like this.

“Take the fullest expression of the pose”

“This is an advanced yoga class”

“You’ll get the most benefit from this pose if you …”

Yoga was created as a practice to be accessible to everyone. Everybody. Every body. You benefit from the practice simply by showing up as you are.

People think they can’t “do yoga” because the bodies we most often see doing yoga are skinny, white women whose feet are on their head.

As much as we emphasize tapas(discipline) in yoga, I’m interested in a class where every asana is available to everyone in some form and child’s pose is always an option.

I’m interested in a class where we honor alignment in our bodies, knowing that our Anjaneyasana (Crescent Lunge) will look different from our neighbors.

No one is “holier” or more enlightened than anyone else if they are in a wide-legged forward fold instead of a forearm stand.

The first thing I see when I search “ yoga”. The last thing most people can do. Photo by Carl Barcelo on Unsplash

Emphasis On The Physical Aspect

Asana is the 3rd limb of yoga. A lot of people are aware that yoga is a practice meant to help us reach enlightenment but still only seek it out for the physical benefits.

I started out my own practice only doing the physical part of yoga for 4 years. I knew there was more to yoga, but I didn’t know it was accessible to me. I felt so much better after doing physical yoga classes that I didn’t make it a point to seek out further yoga teachings.

When I started meditating, my life changed. The path of yoga has unfolded in ways I could only know through direct experience. My entire yoga practice has been a way of coming home to myself.

As a yoga teacher myself, I believe the responsibility falls on teachers and studios that train teachers to emphasize the importance of everything beyond the physical practice.

The physical practice is only meant to help us sit in meditation.

Yet, I go to class and see yogis forcing themselves to bend more. Move through injuries. Strain muscles. This is not what yoga is about. It is the way we have distorted yoga to make it digestible for a culture that only values productivity.

Saraswati, one of my favorite goddesses in the yogic tradition. PC: dreamstime

Honoring Yoga’s Roots

There are wonderful South Asian voices I will recommend at the end of the post who speak to this in ways that I cannot. I have not walked this world as a person of South Asian descent.

Yoga has a rich history that is illustrated in texts like the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, just to name a few.

So much of the richness of yoga comes from:

  • the gods and goddesses found throughout Vedic/Yogic/Ancient Indian texts and their stories
  • the language of Sanskrit
  • teachings from the different lineages of yoga and the historic texts that gave rise to yoga(the Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Vedas)
  • accurate representation of the different facets of yoga, such as tantra/non-dual tantric Kashmir Shaivism

So much of this list you cannot find in most studios, save for the name of a pose in Sanskrit- maybe.

Recommendations

Instagram

Susanna Barkataki

@YogaIsDeadPodcast with @tejalyoga and @yogawalla

@alchemystic_studio- Queer + Desi yoga studio

@skillinaction- Michelle Cassandra Johnson is a Black yogi and activist

I hope this article gave you a new way of looking at the practice of yoga and/or inspired you to ask some questions ❤

Song of The Day

In honor of Earth Day, enjoy this song by Beautiful Chorus 🌏

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Yoga
India
Decolonization
Change
Culture
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