Ah, so here’s where we disagree… I don’t believe it’s for me as a white person who adopted this tradition in the last 20 years to say how a South Asian person would respond to my class or my teacher’s class. Instead I could just ASK them. I also don’t think it’s my place, or your place, as a white person to make generalizations that yoga is for everyone or that it’s a “gift” from India to the world. These type of generalizations hide a world of suffering and oppression which implicate how yoga was treated under colonialism, how it arrived in the West, and how it’s been misconstrued and misused by many of us ever since. Let’s approach the practice with respect and humility and listen to the indigenous practitioners. Let’s believe them when they say they’ve been harmed by our actions and ask them what they need from us.
I’m grateful that you’re willing to engage and think about these issues with an open heart. Thanks for being here.
