If yoga is freedom, why has it been used to justify war, uphold caste systems, and mask state violence?

In this deep conversation, activist scholar Sheena Sood, PhD unpacks the shadow side of yoga — from its weaponization and “Omwashing” to its long history and present entanglement with state violence among supremacist entities. We explore how governments, militaries, and nationalist movements co-opt yoga, and we dare to ask how to reclaim it for justice, anti-oppression, anti-imperial values, and collective healing.

If you’ve ever felt uneasy about the commercialization, appropriation, or politics of yoga, this episode will nourish both your critical mind and radical heart.

A full transcript and show notes are available on the blog at shaynagrajo.com/podcast

People & Mentions

Lenni-Lenapehoking people · Baba Ramdev · Hindutva ideology · Highlander Research and Education Center · Movement to Free Mumia Abu Jamal · George Floyd · “Little Israel” in Himachal Pradesh · Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank · Narendra Modi · Magnolia Zuniga · Nissim Amon · Tejal Patel · Hadeel Gharbawi · Al-Jawad Camp · Donald Trump · Mariame Kaba

Key Takeaways

* Decolonial yoga does not stop at BIPOC representation — it demands radical ethical frameworks.

* “It’s important to talk about the harmful weaponization of yoga by the Zionist entity and other members of the far right who are in alliance with Israel right now.”

* The liberatory potential of yoga includes organized political action — even militant political action — in the face of injustice.

* A truly decolonial approach is built in the present toward the future; it can’t simply be reclaimed from the past.

* Recognizing yoga’s entanglement with systems of violence invites more intentional, politicized practice.

* Naming contradictions creates the space to birth more liberatory ways of practicing and teaching yoga.

ABOUT SHEENA SOOD, PHD

Sheena is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Delaware Valley University; and a Philly-based activist scholar, yoga practitioner, and healing justice visionary. She earned her yoga certifications at Kailash Tribal School in McLeodganj, India, and her research “Omwashing Yoga: Self-care and State Violence among the Global Far-Right” examines how right-wing movements in India, Israel and the U.S. appropriate yoga to advance ethnonational, colonial, and supremacist agendas. Her work appears in Jadaliyya, Race & Yoga Journal, Al Jazeera, and multiple edited volumes, such as Practicing Yoga as Resistance: Voices of Color in Search of Freedom and The Yoga Teacher's Survival Guide: Social Justice, Science, Politics, and Power. She co-founded Yogis for Palestine and created Yoga Warrior Tales, a social-justice–oriented yoga program for children. Read more here → sheenashining.com

Differentiate between doing and being in this episode of the Equitable Wellness podcast. We speak with Irene McKenna, human design specialist, on how to hack the Law of Attraction to step into the aligned version of oneself at their highest vibration. Explore equity as divine alignment as we learn of Irene's midlife rebirth, the human design system's origins, and the application of human design in business strategy. The conversation delves into the different human design types, their strategies, common mistakes, and learning to show up as the person you were born to be.

A full transcript is available on the blog at shaynagrajo.com/podcast.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Human Design and Alignment07:12 Irene's Rebirth and Start with Human Design14:18 Understanding Human Design: The Energetic Blueprint of Self-Awareness18:06 Applying Human Design in Business and Marketing27:15 Reframing Misalignment and Purpose in Business and Life33:59 The Role of Human Design in Business Strategy39:53 Honoring Authority and Centers in Human Design45:46 Client Transformations Through Human Design

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH IRENE

Run your human design chart and get the cheat codes: irenemckenna.com/chart

Join her group on Facebook, where Irene teaches soul-aligned human design strategy for business and life. Here she breaks down the human design chart so that it’s easier to understand and apply! https://www.facebook.com/groups/humandesignstrategy

Visit her website… irenemckenna.com

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/irenemckenna/

Embrace self-leadership and become unstoppable: insights from coach Ishani Tewari

Become unstoppable in this episode of the Equitable Wellness podcast with guest Ishani Tewari, a coach dedicated to helping individuals overcome people-pleasing tendencies. Ishani shares her own journey of healing from chronic health issues and the turning points that led her to embrace self-leadership, authenticity, and ultimately coaching others. Our conversation touches on the mind-body-spirit connection, diverse healing modalities from EFT to breathwork to Ho'oponopono, and cultural context in understanding people-pleasing. Ishani also shares about emotional wound healing, what it feels like to become ‘unstoppable,’ and on the significance of joy. Finally, Ishani reads us a poignant poem of her own, in the spirit of encouraging healing.

A full transcript is available on the blog at https://shaynagrajo.com/become-your-unstoppable-self/

Keywords

equitable wellness, people pleasing, self leadership, healing journey, mind body spirit, cultural context, unstoppable self, emotional wounds, holistic health, coaching

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH ISHANI

Join the Self-Leadership School on Facebook - community and weekly free trainings on how to be the leader of your life:https://www.facebook.com/groups/selfleadershipschool

Connect with Ishani—Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ishani.tewari.3/Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/ishanicreates/

Download two great resources—

Break Free from people-pleasing in 7 Steps:https://ishanitewari.kit.com/b31aeeaa30

The ‘Say No’ Playbook: How to Set Boundaries Without Feeling Like a Monsterhttps://ishanitewari.kit.com/noplaybook

Once a high-impact dancer who moved audiences through performance, Megan now practices healing art and care through therapeutic touch

Welcome back to exploring the intersection of holistic health, equity, and the healing arts with the Equitable Wellness podcast. In this episode with Megan Yankee, a high-impact dancer turned licensed massage therapist, we explore Megan’s dearly held values and ask what it means in practice for healing (and continuous learning) that is consent-driven, trauma-informed, culturally responsive, all-abilities and 2SLGBTQIA+ friendly? The conversation delves into systemic issues, the significance of inclusivity, and challenges faced by marginalized communities. Megan shares her insights on the healing process, the complexities of chronic pain, and intending safe spaces for all clients. The episode concludes with a look at Megan's future aspirations in the healing arts and her commitment to serving equity-deserving populations.

Keywords

equitable wellness, holistic health, consent-driven practice, trauma-informed care, cultural responsiveness, LGBTQIA+ friendly, chronic pain, healing arts, massage therapy, systemic issues

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH MEGAN

Megan’s massage therapy practice

https://nepantlabodyworks.com/

Connect with Megan

https://www.linkedin.com/in/megandry/

See some uncovered gems of select dance reviews referenced in the episode:

https://indyweek.com/culture/stage/the-commons-crit-megan-yankee-open-wounds-border-policy/

https://indyweek.com/culture/stage/the-commons-crit-megan-yankee-dances-through-mestizx/

Get full access to Equitable Wellness at 

https://shaynagrajo.substack.com/ 

Connect and collaborate: 

[email protected]

Welcome to the Equitable Wellness Podcast, available on Substack, YouTube, and traditional pods.In video and audio format, we will explore passion topics about equitable practices in holistic health and healing arts. For instance, how spas, retreat centers, holistic practitioners and luxury services incorporate collective liberation.We also call out systemic oppression broadly and in health and wellness, systems that perpetuate the harm that people seek healing from in the first place.Let’s ask how we can have businesses that are just as profitable as they are equitable, and what they look like.This podcast is perfect for business owners, artists, personal brands, coaches and service providers destined to find one another in solidarity for justice and healing as one.Could this be you? Are you looking to partner and collaborate with practitioners who are passionate about equity and liberation work? 

Let's connect.

The second episode of the Equitable Wellness podcast is the pregnancy and maternity story of Ariel Herrera-Molina, who in Episode 1 shared her vast experiences as a spa owner and licensed esthetician in the aesthetics world as a person of color. In this emotional and raw installment, we shift the conversation to Ariel’s birthing experience the week after the presidential election. Here Ariel shares her story bravely and unabashedly, revealing what American mothers don’t talk about. I also share what maternity leave looks like in Spain: 16 weeks minimum paid maternity leave after birth and 16 weeks minimum paid paternity leave after birth, federally mandated.

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH ARIEL AND NOVA

Follow along Ariel’s spa at @arielpopspimples for the entrepreneurial journey as her spa, staff, visions and baby Nova grow! ♡ You might catch a rebrand and location change comin’ up this year.😜 

Connect and collaborate: 

[email protected]

Meet Ariel Herrera-Molina: licensed esthetician, Reiki practitioner, and proud spa owner in upstate New York. Ariel, the mom and star of today’s show, gave birth to Nova Elizabeth Herrera-Molina on November 12.

Before we ask Ariel about pregnancy and equitable maternity—which is the next podcast episode, part 2—we’re talking all things holistic skincare and justice and beyond.

In this installment, we chat about DEI in the spa industry, specifically amidst the current sociopolitical climate in the US, tension in public spaces, and the Trump administration’s initiatives to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs.

Ariel touches on her vast experiences in the aesthetics field as a person of color: from feeling like an outsider to workplace discrimination and finally to entrepreneurship. We discuss the lack of education and training on diverse skin types, the “facade” of the spa industry, and the economic barriers preventing BIPOC professionals from launching skincare brands.

The episode closes with reflections on legacy and Ariel’s transition into motherhood.

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH ARIEL

Follow along Ariel’s spa at @arielpopspimples for the entrepreneurial journey as her spa, staff, visions and baby Nova grow! ♡ You might catch a rebrand and location change comin’ up this year.😜