The historical teachings of yoga have incredible lessons for our modern world. Understanding and unpacking the ancient teachings is a lifelong process, and those of us lucky enough to practice, study and teach yoga must investigate how these teachings can shape our worldview.

The bottom line is that the teachings of yoga point towards care of the collective as a path to enlightenment. The liberation of all beings (including ourselves) is where my personal study has led me over and over again. In our world today, that often looks like what we call social justice.

Jivana Heyman, is the founder and director of Accessible Yoga, an international non-profit organization dedicated to increasing access to the yoga teachings.