The Love of Yoga Podcast

Saira Rao is an activist, producer of the provocative documentary, Deconstructing Karen, co- author of White Women: Everything You Already Know about Your Own Racism and How to Do Better, and host of radically honest conversations at Race2Dinner. Since our last conversation on this podcast, Saira has embarked on a new movement effort, called Here 4 the Kids, to push “unexplored and unprecedented action to end gun violence”.

During this conversation, Saira and Anjali discuss:

• Saira and Regina’s experiences of hosting sold-out events all over the country at Race2 Dinner conversations

• Gun violence is the number one cause of deaths for children in the United States. How we move past the political gridlock

• How dominant culture is complicit in suppressing efforts to end gun violence

• What Here 4 the Kids is

• How listeners who want to be a part of this movement can join in

• Join the Denver June 5th Here 4 the Kids sit-in! It's history in the making!

Check out https://here4thekids.com/ and follow them on Instagram to learn more about how you can get involved with Here 4 the Kids today! You can follow Saira on Instagram and keep up with everything she’s up to here. Thank you, Saira, for this incredible and timely conversation!

A huge thank you to the support of our partner OfferingTree - an all-in-one, easy to use business platform for classes, courses, memberships and more. Check them out www.offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to get a discount today!

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This conversation with Dr. Sravana Borkataky Varma demystifies Tantra. Sravana is a historian, educator and social entrepreneur, currently working as a Lecturer at Harvard University and at University of North Carolina-Wilmington, where she teaches introductory courses on World Religion and higher level courses on Hinduism, Buddhism, Religion and Film and the History of Yoga. She is also the co-founder of the non-profit, Lumen Tree Portal. Sravana invests in building communities with individuals from various faith backgrounds who believe in kindness, compassion and fulfillment.

In this conversation Anjali and Dr. Sravana Borkataky Varma discuss:

Dr. Sravana Borkataky Varma’s initiation into a Sakta Tantra lineage in Kamakhya, India and her journey as a scholar-practitioner-professor of Religious Studies

The definition and fundamental elements of Tantra

Dominant narratives of Tantra and cultural appropriation

Recommendations for modern practitioners and students who want to study Tantra

You can find Dr. Sravana Borkataky Varma on Instagram, sign up for her newsletter to stay updated on everything she’s up to in the world, and check out her website. 

A huge thank you to the support of our partner OfferingTree - an all-in-one, easy to use business platform for classes, courses, memberships and more. Check them out www.offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to get a discount today!

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The Dalai Lama is a symbol of hope and peace for millions of people all over the world, and has given the world much, so generously for decades. The world saw an edited clip of the Dalai Lama and a child that went viral a few weeks ago. Many non-Tibetans were numb, outraged, shocked and dismayed at an interaction that brought up much discomfort based on personal and collective history of harm and abuse by religious leaders and Yoga teachers who have misused and abused their power.

Since then, Tibetan leaders, activists and practitioners, and people from the community have spoken up about how this has been misinterpreted. An expression of affection, a phrase often used by Tibetan elders misconstrued. This conversation unpacks all this with Chemi Lhamo, a repeat guest on the podcast. Chemi is a community leader and human rights activist, often called to speak about Tibet on global platforms.

During this conversation, Chemi and Anjali discuss:

• The impact of the video and how the ensuing backlash felt in the Tibetan community

• The intergenerational trauma of displacement and erasure from the Dominant cultural narratives

• How Tibetans in Tibet are responding to this situation Differences in cultural norms of affection and expression; the harm of ethnocentrism

• Reflections on how non-Tibetans can show solidarity with the Tibetans right now

• What we can learn from this and how we can move forward

• How we can practice discernment at a time like this

• How we can anchor ourselves into the teachings

• How we can be in solidarity with the Tibetan people

A huge thank you to the support of our partner OfferingTree - an all-in-one, easy to use business platform for classes, courses, memberships and more. Check them out www.offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to get a discount today!

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Born and raised in rural India, Prachi Patankar was raised by a freedom-fighter grandmother and parents deeply involved in anti-caste, feminist, and peasant movements. Over two decades in New York City, she has been an activist, educator, grantmaker, and writer involved in social movements which link the local and the global, police brutality and war, migration and militarization, race and caste, women of color feminism and global gender justice. Through her work, Prachi has been involved in innovative projects to link social justice movements between the United States and the Global South.

In this episode, Anjali and Prachi discuss:

• Prachi’s background growing up in rural India and how that informs her work and life now

• How caste system as the oldest system of social stratification and the most insidious has been institutionalized

• The manifestation of caste in the diaspora

• The inroads of caste abolitionists into some institutions

• Ways in which we can be allies and in solidarity with the movement

• Prachi’s thoughts regarding the intersection of caste and Yoga

• Prachi’s non-negotiables of self care

A huge thank you to the support of our partner OfferingTree - an all-in-one, easy to use business platform for classes, courses, memberships and more. Check them out www.offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to get a discount today!

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rüdrāksh chand is an organizer, anti-carceral practitioner of abolition, lifelong student of Yoga, an artist at large.

Tristan Katz is a trans-queer equity inclusion facilitator and consultant/teacher/space holder, and creator of courses on Conscious Marketing. They are also on the Board of Accessible Yoga and are working on their first book!

In this episode Anjali, rüdrāksh, and Tristan discuss:

• rüdrāksh and Tristan’s introductions into the teachings and practice of Yoga

• The ways in which the Dominant culture manifests in Yoga spaces, especially for gender non-conforming practitioners.

• Holding the tension between the performativity and the necessity of TDOV and other days/ months of celebration

• Commodification of yoga and social justice programs 

•Allyship is a verb as you say, in the context of the attack on trans rights, ways  to be in solidarity with the trans community

• Mutual aid as an ongoing practice of solidarity

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Indu Arora is a Yoga and Ayurveda teacher, mentor, and author, based out of the USA. She considers herself a student for a lifetime. Indu has been sharing about Yoga philosophy, Yoga Therapy, and Ayurveda for the last two decades across more than 50 cities worldwide. Her unique gift is making Yoga and Ayurveda a practice, which is equally useful and accessible for a beginner as for a sincere seeker who has made Yoga a lifelong journey. She is inspired by and taught under Kriya Yoga, Himalayan Yoga and Kashmir Shaivism Yoga lineages. She has studied in a traditional Guru-Shishya parampara. 

Her teaching style is rooted in empowering and inspiring students to awaken the inner Guru through insight, discernment and self-inquiry. Her core philosophy is ‘Yoga is a Work-in and not a Work-out’. 

She is the author of Mudra: The Sacred Secret (2015), Yoga: Ancient Heritage, Tomorrow’s Vision (2019), and SOMA: 100 Heritage Recipes for Self-Care (e-book, 2020; updated hard copy, 2022).

In this episode, Anjali and Indu discuss:

Indu’s personal story of learning and studying Yoga with her elders and teachers in India

Self care as Svadharma: The role of self care in knowing, being and observing our Dharma

Self care as Ahimsa: We are practicing ahimsa by taking of our physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual self and this is a journey toward the SELF (Atman)

Discriminative discernment: Are we checking in or checking out?

Mudras are accessible, powerful, accessible and subtle practices of self care

Indu’s non-negotiables of personal self care

Resources:

The Mudras discussed in the episode are:

Vata Mudra

Energy Mudra 

Sleep Mudra
 

You can connect with Indu on Instagram, Facebook, and her website! 

A huge thank you to the support of our partner OfferingTree - an all-in-one, easy to use business platform for classes, courses, memberships and more. Check them out www.offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to get a discount today!

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Residing at the intersection of leadership and mindfulness, Shawn creates sacred spaces for stillness and self-inquiry to help changemakers align their strengths, intention, and impact. Reckoning with his own contemplation of burnout, purpose, and alignment from a career in higher education and student affairs for over 10 years, Shawn transitioned out of his role as Associate Dean of Student Life & Leadership at Morehouse College in the fall of 2021 to focus more on mindfulness and stillness-based training programs and workshops.

He is a Buddhist Dharma practitioner, whose impact filters through the practices of meditation, sound healing, yoga nidra, restorative yoga (E-RYT® 200, RYT® 500, YACEP®), and Gallup-Certified Strengths coaching, with a blend of over 18 years of personal practice and trainings. In addition to holding community space through classes, he provides training in leadership and strengths-based development, and workshops in mindfulness, meditation and sound healing. He has contributed workshops, practices, and educational opportunities for celebrities like Questlove, and various yoga studios and colleges, Yoga International, Embodied Philosophy, Sounds True One, the Human Rights Campaign, Spotify and Lululemon. He currently serves as the Community Engagement Specialist for Muse®, the neuro-technology, brain health, and meditation company.

While being a proud dog dad, a hardcore gamer, and lover of all things anime, Shawn also hosts a podcast called The Mindful Rebel® Podcast that creates a platform to continually explore this unique intersection of leadership and mindfulness.

In this episode, Anjali and Shawn discuss:

• Shawn’s personal journey into Yoga and other mind-body-spiritual transformative practices: From academia to a spaceholder of folks in the justice movement

• Finding the connective tissue between academia and Buddhist teachings

• Liminality liberatory movements: the need to consciously acknowledge and cultivate spaces

• Reimagining “ not knowing”

• How systems and institutions of Dominant Culture work against the slowing down

• Non-negotiable rituals and processes to cultivate capacity

• How we can cultivate spaces that allow for mindful processing/metabolizing change

You can connect with Shawn on Instagram at @shawnj_moore and by signing up for his newsletter where he periodically drops new practices for his community.

A huge thank you to the support of our partner OfferingTree - an all-in-one, easy to use business platform for classes, courses, memberships and more. Check them out www.offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to get a discount today!

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Ash Williams is an anti-carceral and reproductive justice organizer. He received his BA in Philosophy from UNC Charlotte in 2015 and his MA in Ethics and Applied Philosophy from UNC Charlotte in 2016. For the last five years, Ash has been vigorously fighting to expand abortion access by funding abortions and training other people to become abortion doulas.

In this episode, Ash and Anjali discuss:

• How Black queer and trans folks have been and are at the frontlines of justice and liberatory movements

• Abortion and the medical industrial complex

• Decolonizing birth and learning from reproductive justice history

• How we can refuse binaries

• How each of us can disrupt and heal from carceral logic and lean into Abolition

• Building solidarity across movements: How can we show up as allies?

Connect with Ash on Instagram @ashwilliamclt

CALLS TO ACTION:
• Donate to your local abortion fund.
• Seek out your local abortion doula collective to find out how you can support them.

Also, thank you to the support of our partner Offering Tree! Check them out offeringtree.com/accessibleyoga to get a discount today!

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Chemi Lhamo is a community organizer and a human rights activist. She served as the Community Health Lead at Parkdale People’s Economy and on the Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust’s board. She is recognized in Maclean’s Top 50 Power List and as the Toronto Urban Hero for Social Issues for 2022. Formerly the CEO/President among many other roles at the University of Toronto Scarborough Student’s Union, she has served the board of Canadian Tibetan Association of Ontario and Students For a Free Tibet Canada.

In this episode, Anjali and Chemi discuss:

- Chemi’s work on Free Tibet as well as community organizing in Toronto

- How we cultivate a sense of belonging in our communities

- Tibet's human rights struggles

- A snapshot of the contributions that Tibet has made in the world of Yoga, including Tibetan Buddhism, mindfulness, centering community

- How Tibetan Buddhism is appropriated by western practitioners

- How we can show up as allies

- Staying centered in the midst of so much suffering

Connect with Chemi on Instagram @chemilhamoooo 

Call to action: Sign the petition (here) for Thermo Fisher CEO Marc Casper to stop collecting of DNA from Tibetans.

We're so grateful for our sponsor, OfferingTree – an all-in-one, easy to use business platform for classes, courses, memberships and more.

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Thenmozhi Soundararajan is a Dalit Civil rights artist, organizer, and theorist who has worked with hundreds of organizations to better understand the urgent issues of racial, caste, and gender equity. Working across disciplines she is an innovative strategist and thinker that has built bridges between many communities around the world.

Through her work at Equality Labs, Thenmozhi has mobilized the South Asian American community to confront their historical trauma and to break the silence about caste, and to commit to ending caste apartheid, gender-based violence, white supremacy, and religious intolerance. Thenmozhi previously co-founded Third World Majority, an international media training organization and collective that supported people from disenfranchised

Her intersectional, cross-pollinating work—research, education, art, activism, and digital security—helps to create a more generous, global, expansive, and inclusive definition of South Asian identity, along with safe spaces from which to honor the stories of these communities. Thenmozhi’s work has been recognized by the U.S. Congress, The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, The Producers Guild of America Diversity Program, The Museum of Contemporary Art, The Sorbonne, Source Magazine, Utne Reader, The National Center for the Humanities, The National Science Foundation, The Ford Foundation, and The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. She is a frequent contributor on issues related to South Asia, caste, gender, and racial Equity, as well interfaith issues and peacebuilding, and has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, BBC, Guardian, ABC, and NBC news.  She was also an inaugural fellow of the Robert Rauschenberg Artist as Activist,  Atlantic Foundation for Racial Equity, and is a current fellow at Stanford Center for South Asian Studies. 

In this episode, Anjali and Thenmozhi discuss:

- The behind the scenes process for Thenmozhi's book, The Trauma of Caste: A Dalit Feminist Meditation on Survivorship, Healing, and Abolition.

- How caste operates as a system of oppression

- How embodiment acts as a form of resistance

- The importance of caste abolition ancestors like Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar and feminists like Savitribai Phule

- How we can unlearn caste even when it's invisibilized and ignored to lead to shared healing

- How folks living in the diaspora can show up during these times as unchecked ethno nationalism and religious fundamentalism rise in India

- How we can practice yoga as Allies of the caste abolition movement

- How we can create spaces that invite and nurture folks from all backgrounds

You can connect with Thenmozhi on her website and on Instagram @dalitdiva.

We're so grateful for our sponsor, OfferingTree – an all-in-one, easy to use business platform for classes, courses, memberships and more.