The Yoga Manifesto: How Yoga Helped Me and Why it Needs to Save Itself

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Yoga’s appropriation by the white wellness industry is a 21st century form of colonialism. Its whitewashing is why I felt so lonely and out of place when I first started teaching. But having taught yoga to refugees and vulnerable teenagers, those in addiction recovery and people with mental health and mobility issues, I’m less interested in yoga being “decolonised” or reclaimed. To move the conversation forward, it’s imperative we understand why yoga has become out of reach for some of those who need it most – and find ways to make it available to more people. Nadia Gilani is a writer who teaches yoga (because she loves it). She first discovered the practice as a teenager when her mum took her to a class in the 1990s. Yoga hasn’t always been an easy ride. In fact it’s been really hard at times, but somehow the practice has been a constant source of inspiration in her life over the years. About his early years of growing up with chronic illness How his early life spending time on his own was the catalyst to his learning his craft How he discovered Zen at the end of the sixties. How he begun to understand how his creative process comes from him How the art of practice is intimacy How all relationship is intimacy Who the great Soto Zen master Dogen was. How non-separation is the key to creativity How creativity is expressed without language. How poetry lands in someone. How we finds words that move through us. How the language of poetry carries ineffable words. On how we are all creators About his book Fingerpainting On The Moon Seeing that we have choice with what we do with this moment --- Gregor Maehle on Yoga As A Mystical Experience Scott and Gregor talk openly about Gregor’s life as a yoga practitioner and mystic. Gregor shares:

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I had ended up on the course because I needed a break. I had decided to look upon it as a retreat and form of healing because after many years of troubles with food and alcohol and almost a decade of working as a news journalist, I was exhausted. I needed a rest but was also searching for some serious discipline in what had otherwise been a chaotic life for too long. I have read a lot of yoga books and this is definitely one of the more readable ones. It is a unique mashup of Nadia’s personal yoga journey (which like mine starts in the 1990s), yoga philosophy and history …with a focus on decolonizing modern yoga. Her paragraph on what Om means made me cry. I also think it is written in a very approachable way - there is even a reference section on types of yoga explained in very concise snippets. In late 2022 Peter released his latest book of translations, Yin Mountain: The Immortal Poetry of Three Daoist Women, co-translated with Rebecca Nie. You can find links to these books in the show notes. Set the container for yourself. Meditate, pray, set your intention. In your way, ground yourself in the widened awareness of the present moment and a sense of unity and connection that yoga offers us. 2. Prepare the Space

Integrate yoga's rich history and philosophy into the classes you teach. Author, teacher trainer, and yoga culture advocate Susanna Barkataki provides a simple structure for a non-appropriative yoga class, excerpted from her new book.

Rather than diving in with asana , consider beginning with dharana (mindful focus) or dhyana (meditation). The aim of yoga asana practice is to steady the mind for meditation and focus. By guiding students in this way, perhaps through a short guided meditation or through a sensory-based attention activity, you are helping direct them toward a more engaged yoga practice. 6. Include Yoga Philosophy as a Way of Inviting Students to Explore Yoga Beyond the Mat Share this event Save this event: Book Lunch at the Sheiling Training Restaurant session 2023-23 (Semester 1) I really wanted to speak to Waylon about Elephant and how he grew a small local magazine to a worldwide publication that we all recognise. His story of growing up in a spiritual school and being a Buddhist is fascinating. And his sharing of the power of the big social media companies is food for us all. This is a fascinating insight into someone who has shaped part of our modern yoga and wellness culture" Incredibly inspiring to reflect on our own privileges and on ways to transform how we practice yoga on the 21st century.

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Share this event Save this event: Thirsty Thursday with Highland Business Women - Christmas Jumper Special! In this beautiful and enlightening conversation Scott Johnson talks to Zen teacher, poet and author Peter Levitt about his book Fingerpainting On The Moon, his life as a Soto Zen practitioner and poet and how we can all use contemplative practices to find our own unique creative process. In this deeply inspiring and wide ranging conversation Scott talks to Waylon Lewis on his life as a buddhist and the growth of the world renowned yoga and wellness magazine, Elephant Journal. Nadia is a brilliant and vibrant voice on social media who I've enjoyed following for a number of years and so I was chuffed to hear that this book was to be published. Share this event Save this event: Nairn | 50 Years Of Runrig | Beat The Drum (The Runrig Experience)Nadia Gilani has been practising yoga for 25 years. She has also worked as a yoga teacher. Yoga has saved her life and seen her through many highs and lows; it has been a faith, a discipline, and a friend, and she believes wholeheartedly in its radical potential. However, over her years in the wellness industry, Nadia has noticed not only yoga's rising popularity, but also how its modern incarnation no longer serves people of colour, working class people, or many other groups who originally pioneered its creation. Together, I know we can use the power of yoga to connect with one another and spread inclusion, diversity, and positivity. Viv asked what I was writing. ‘Lots,’ I said. ‘How do I turn it into a book?’ I asked. ‘Do what I do,’ she told me. ‘Write it all in short bits and move it around later.’ It took a while for me to understand what Viv meant, and I didn’t actually write anything for several years, but when I started this book I remembered her advice. The chapters in Viv’s first book Clothes, Music, Boys are exceptionally short. This method had clearly worked for her. So I did the same – wrote a bunch of stories and threaded them together later. A bit like taking a set of yoga poses and linking them with a series of flowing movements (more on that soon). This is what you’ve got in your hands now. This is an incredible book, and provided such valuable insight in to the yoga and wellness industry, and reflections for how we could be doing things different. It is absolutely essential reading for those practicing or teaching yoga and wanting to do so in a way that honours the roots of yoga and challenges the wellness machine bullsht and all the harm it can do. Please put this on yoga teacher trainings reading lists! In The Yoga Manifesto, she investigates how the practice has evolved into a modern billion-dollar industry and asks at what cost. Does yoga in the west shut out people of colour, working-class communities, or those who don’t identify with bendy, slim, able-bodied wellness gurus? From slogans like ‘Namastay in bed’ to pricey bum-sculpting leggings, has this enduring spiritual practice lost its way?

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The Yoga Manifesto excavates where the industry has gone wrong, and what can be done to save the practice from its own success. Instead of including yoga philosophy as an afterthought or an add-on, ensure that it is an integral part of your class. Perhaps you may tie in a short explanation of a theme from yoga philosophy that you are personally working on in-depth to help the class see more of what is possible in yoga. From the beginning, you can let students know they are the leaders and you, as their teacher, are the guide. This focus on the practitioner and their own deepening awareness and connection to their own truth and wisdom is at the heart of yogic practice. A longtime student of Zen, he edited Thich Nhat Hanh’s classic,The Heart of Understanding, and recently he served as Associate Editor of The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye – Zen Master Dogen’s Shobo Genzo, edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi (pictures above with Peter) and he co-edited, with Tanahashi, The Essential Dogen: Writings of the Great Zen Master. In addition, Peter has published many fiction and literary translations from Chinese, Japanese and Spanish. Sima Kumar, co-founder and CEO of The Other Box and founder of Sima Says Raw. Vulnerable. Open. Truthful. Exposing the darker side of the industry provides us all with the pathway to reach the lightness that yoga brings. This is a book that will open up the floor for even more honest conversations about the side of yoga we don't often see.i enjoyed reading this- very readable and combines yoga history, current yoga and the authors personal story well. When inviting students to set an intention for class, you can refer them to yoga philosophy. For example, you can mention they are exploring their own satya , or truth, and engaging in vichara and svadhyaya as they self-reflect. 8. If You Teach Asana Class Additionally, as your teaching journey unfolds, you might work with some of the following reflection and application questions and ideas for incorporating your learnings into your teaching: Scott shares intimate moments with his guests over the year. Hear beautiful words from his conversations with Ty Landrum, Sarah Powers, Ty Powers, Nadia Gilani, Pamela Weiss, Shyam Ranganathan and Jon Yuen.