Yoga is political whether you like it or not

Honoring yoga's roots means understanding that yoga has been used to fight against oppression and to establish freedom across the globe

I know. You’re sick of politics. But, we cannot dilute yoga down to a just workout when it has historically been a tool for liberation through collective resistance.

The practice of yoga originates from southeast Asia and India. British Imperialism gravely harmed people in these areas and desecrated cultural healing practices, including yoga.

Yoga threatens institutional control because it empowers individuals to connect to each other and to believe they have choices. As captured in a 2020 journal article:

“Yoga is a practice of coming to unlearn what keeps us stuck in patterns and operations that only serve to benefit a conditioned mind. But before anything can be unlearned it must be unearthed. Yoga is a means of unearthing what sits in the depths of our wells, looking to be spoken and verbalized. Yoga is a means of unearthing what has been kept invisible for the sake of protecting vulnerability. And yoga is a means of exposing fear. And fear, as we all know, is the mind created tool for self-preservation.”

There are hundreds if not thousands or historical documents that reference how yoga has been used by communities to resist, persist, and rebuild. While not inherently religious, yoga is political. Yoga is social justice and liberation.

If you want to reject yoga as political to stay comfortable, you are actively causing harm through misappropriation of a cultural practice. Rather than seeing this as a threat, embrace it for what it is - an invitation to your own freedom.

Yoga presents us with insights to stop oppressing ourselves and accepting injustice as the only option. It gives us a door to see how we are conditioned. From there we have the choice to stop imposing the ideas and rules of others on ourselves and to free ourselves.

Yoga says you are allowed to love your imperfect body, and you get to decide what happens to it. Yoga says you are allowed to need something different than your friend. Your needs are valid. It says you can still be friends with people who have a different truth than you. You can love others and let them be themselves. You don’t need control or sameness. You can build paths to understanding and acceptance. Yoga says be embodied, unique, and claim your power. Yoga says, do no harm, but take no shit.

To ignore that our being is political plays directly into the plans of the oppressors.

Kindness, truthfulness, and non-stealing are three elements of yoga. I think you’ll find that as you build a yoga practice it becomes easier to be kind, honest, and fair with yourself. Once you’ve found ways to do this internally it will radiate out into your community. Your very existence will empower others to live boldly and vulnerably.

So, go, be messy, wild, and fierce! Your existence is political, so claim it. Don’t comply and hand over your rights.

I highly recommend checking out the posts below and all of Susanna’s content to learn more about yoga’s roots.

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5 Ways I Practiced Yoga Last Week

1. Dhyana (meditation): Meditation practices this week were short, yet effective. I enjoyed the silence in several savasanas to just let everything pause around me.

2. Ahimsa (kindness): I’m found more kindness for my body this week, as I realize this may be what a nourished and loved body looks and feels like.

3. Pratyahara (withdrawal of sense): When I feel rushed and robotic, I like to close my eyes and disconnect from all the external inputs for a few breaths so that I can connect back to myself.

4. Pranayama (breathing): Like most weeks, I rely on this tool heavily to help me through overwhelm. The next few weeks are stacked with extra obligations, and I am feeling a bit anxious about it. One breath at a time.

5. Asana (physical postures): I was able to take Molly’s Saturday class at Current Bliss this week and valued the long holds in poses that brought a burn. I also liked having poses I don’t normally add to my flows, like break dancer.

5 Ways You Can Practice Yoga This Week

1. Dhyana (meditation): Try meditating for one minute at lunch each day this week.

2. Ahimsa (kindness): Take your yoga off the mat and express kindness towards people this week.

3. Pratyahara (withdrawal of sense): Close your eyes when you feel overwhelmed and take three breaths before you open your eyes slowly and shake out your body.

4. Pranayama (breathing): Practice lion’s breath by inhaling through the nose and exhaling through a wide open mouth. I dare you to stick your tongue out and shake your head.

5. Asana (physical postures): Practice rhythmic left-right (bilateral) movements to calm nerves and anxiety. Try tracing your eyes back and forth across a room or taking windshield wiper movements with bent knees from the front or back body. Pair these movements with an affirmation to creating a short moving meditation.

This week paid subscribers gain access to Meditation 101 and a guided meditation to melt the defenses around the heart. Weekly affirmations and updates on added classes also included when you upgrade your subscription.