Making Financial Restitution for your Western Yoga Practice
Written by Healing from White Yoga under the direction and guidance of Dharmic mentors (Dharmic means Indigenous Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain people)
As a white person who was a former western yoga teacher and student, I know that I have contributed to the cultural appropriation of yoga. Yoga, as taught within the western yoga industrial complex, is causing a massive amount of harm to indigenous people of South Asia. It is particularly harmful to Hindus and people belonging to other Dharma traditions, and contributes to their ongoing oppression and colonization. Read this article about some of the ways western yoga causes harm.
Those of us who have been or are participating in the western system of yoga are perpetuating this damage, whether we mean to or not. When we cause harm we should do our best to heal that harm and make amends for it. Being a former western yoga student and teacher myself, I recognize that I stole and profited from the indigenous spiritual practices of yoga, and that this contributed to harming the people that true yoga belongs to. In an attempt to make amends, I have:
- Stopped practicing and teaching this inauthentic western yoga
- Stopped supporting the western yoga industrial complex financially or otherwise
- Made (and will continue to make) financial payments to organizations serving Indian and Hindu people
- Worked (and will continue to work) to educate other western yoga students & teachers, social justice activists, my communities, and the general population about the cultural appropriation of yoga
If you also recognize that you owe restitution for your yoga practice and/or teaching, it’s important to do all of these things too. Doing only one of them is not enough. Yes, you can and should start making financial restitution payments even if you are still practicing or teaching western yoga but making payments alone is not enough to absolve you. Read this article offering western yoga teachers a step by step guide to exiting the western industrial yoga complex.
When I stopped teaching and practicing western yoga I made a list of all the things for which I owed restitution. I considered the money that I made from teaching yoga, but also all of the money that I paid into the western yoga system. I did this because that money contributed to harmful practices and it is money that should have been paid to the indigenous people yoga belongs to. This is what I included in my list (to my best estimate):
- All the yoga classes, workshops, conferences that I ever attended.
- All money paid for yoga clothes, mats, accessories, yoga publications etc.
- Cost of my 200hr and 500hr teacher trainings
- Cost of a Yoga trip to Mexico
- Yoga Alliance/IAYT fees
- Profit from yoga related publications
- Profit from teaching yoga classes, workshops and private sessions
The amount I owed was overwhelming. But that is the amount I stole. What I stole is what I owe with interest. I added interest because colonial violence accumulates over time and becomes even greater than the initial damage — that is the cost of colonial trauma. Yes, I intend to pay it all back. No, I am not a rich person. I’m paying off a little bit at a time and you can too.
Below we have listed some suggested places to make financial amends. These are just some ideas to get you started, not a comprehensive list. These resources are focused on Hindus, as Hindus in particular are vulnerable to harm from the cultural appropriation of yoga. But if you know of organizations and places for other Dharma traditions then message us to share that information.
Places To Make Financial Restitution:
Hindu Temples
Here are some resources for finding Hindu temples to make payments to. There are Hindu temples all over the world.
Hindu temples in the United States: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hindu_temples_in_the_United_States
Hindu temples in Canada: https://www.deshvidesh.com/religious/list-of-hindu-temples-in-canada/
Hindu temples in England: https://shaivam.org/temples-of-lord-shiva/hindu-temples-in-england-uk
Hindu temples in India: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hindu_temples_in_India
Authentic Indian Hindu Ashrams
- https://sandipani.org/contact-us/support-us/?fbclid=IwAR1DfG8lAXMxx9lyKH_zNCPVzY5bZC-p-L8z0M4DJtWiO-J4yEze1ICm8NA (west India)
- http://www.chinmayamission.com/donation/ (south India)
- https://donations.belurmath.org/(east India)
- https://divineshaktifoundation.org/join-us/ (women)
- https://www.tathastucharitable.com/ (marginalized caste, children, and women)
- https://www.parmarth.org/how-you-can-help/ (north India)
India based Organizations serving Indian/Hindu People
- Auroveda (Serving Hindu refugees, put “Nimittekam” in remarks when you donate) https://www.auroveda.org/projects/fundraiser-for-refugees-in-india
- Aim for Seva (Educating Rural India) http://www.aimforseva.org/
- Action Aid India (Variety of Humanitarian projects) https://www.actionaidindia.org/
- Give India (Giving Platform provides verification and accountability of charities based in India — search for your favorite projects) https://www.actionaidindia.org/
- Maitri India (Addressing social and health inequities) https://maitriindia.org/
- Akshaya Patra Foundation (Food for children) https://www.akshayapatra.org/
- Apnalaya (Serves underprivileged kids & families) https://www.apnalaya.org/
Places to NOT make Financial Restitution
- Any person or organization working within the western/white yoga industrial complex. Even if they are raising money for a social justice cause. Even if they are South Asian. Even if they claim to be decolonizing yoga. If they are working within the western yoga industrial complex, they are participating in cultural appropriation and the colonization of yoga, and donating to them perpetuates that harm.
- Organizations that are run by white people while claiming to serve Indian people or South Asian people. White people who are truly in the service of racial justice and decolonization don’t make money out of it. Therefore, avoid giving money to white saviors and white people in the name of serving people of color.
- Other causes that are not about yoga. Of course it’s great to donate to many social and climate justice causes but we cannot count that as paying back what we owe from appropriating yoga. Restitution needs to be paid to the people who have actually suffered because of our colonizing actions and those people are the lineages of the spiritual traditions that yoga comes from and their followers.
- Anyone demonizing Hindus and/or perpetuating Hinduphobia, including people who claim to decolonize yoga but support people who are Hinduphobic. Cultural appropriation of yoga is one form of Hinduphobia/anti-Hindu practice but there are other ways that the violence of Hinduphobia is spread so pay attention to that. An example might be a writer who takes their inspiration from Hindu ideas but never credits where their wisdom came from. Or a dancer who appropriates Indian classical dance. Or people who attack and slander South Asians who speak up to defend yoga from appropriation.
- Any person or organization claiming to decolonize yoga but engages in culturally appropriating other traditions/cultures/practices. An example might be a white person who says she’s decolonizing yoga but wears dreads.
- Any person of color who says they want to make yoga available for people of color but ignores the critiques of South Asian lineage based practitioners.
- Anyone who claims to be a yoga teacher but cannot name an authentic lineage that authorized them to teach.
- Anyone who claims to be a lineage based yoga teacher when their lineage is not connected to the yoga practice they sell. For example, a Buddhist who teaches ashtanga yoga is selling a practice that is Hindu. Similarly, a Hindu person who teaches Tibetan tantra without any authorization from Tibetan lineages is stealing from a different yoga tradition.
Giving back to the people and cultures that we have stolen and profited from is important, and begins the process of turning ourselves towards a truer practice of yoga. If you still aren’t sure about making restitution, or if you want to further contemplate it within a yoga philosophical context, you can learn more about yoga philosophy in this article.
Need help figuring out what you owe or finding a place to donate? Want to share your story of leaving the western yoga world or of how you are making restitution? Contact us through our Facebook page or email us at healingfromwhiteyoga@gmail.com.
