Cultural Appropriation + Yoga
1/15/23
Happy Sunday everyone!
Woohoo! I am HAPPY to be home on solid ground after driving to Indiana for the weekend. Once again, I was blessed to spend time with the incredible crew at Vibe Yoga Studio in Bloomington as a guest instructor for their 200 hour Yoga teacher training.
I feel so lucky that in my years of teaching I found such strong connections with students and teachers across the country, and I love getting to reconnect with my people and meet new friends along the way. We had a great training weekend where we covered one of my favorite topics, the history of Yoga. The trainees were wonderfully attentive and full of great questions. Though yes, there were some sleepy faces at times (see the girl in the picture above 😅).
This was the first weekend of training for these soon-to-be teachers, and many of them are Juniors and Seniors at Indiana University. It was so inspiring to see a new generation of Yoga enthusiasts exploring this field of study. I was delighted that they were interested to know more about the roots of Yoga and the ugly history of colonization and oppression in India.
I think a lot about how cultural appropriation and white washing are rampant in the Yoga and wellness industry. Whether I like to admit it or not I am extremely privileged to practice Yoga, and I have to ask myself regularly if I should even be teaching it. Below is a quote from Rina Deshpande that does a great job of naming this problem:
Cultural appropriation is the taking, marketing, and exotification of cultural practices from historically oppressed populations. The problem is incredibly complex and involves two extremes: The first is the sterilization of yoga by removing evidence of its Eastern roots so that it doesn’t “offend” Westerner practitioners. The opposite extreme is the glamorization of yoga and India through commercialism, such as Om tattoos, T-shirts sporting Hindu deities or Sanskrit scriptures that are often conflated with yoga, or the choosing of Indian names.
Yoga teachers and students are starting to ask the questions, “What is the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation?” and “How can I still practice yoga without being offensive?”
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If you'd like to hear/reflect more on this concept, check out this week's Tucker Talks video —> https://vimeo.com/789261815/e45f3f75c3 I discuss a bit about this matter. It's truly just the tip of the iceberg, but it's a great starting point for looking at these uncomfortable truths.
As always, I hope you know that if you ever have any questions or concerns about your practice, my teaching schedule, how to sign up for classes, or using your class pass, you can reach out to me any time at info@tuckeryoga.com.