Diversity, Inclusion, and Racial Equity (DIRE) in the #YEG Wellness Community - Part Two
In part-one of the blog I wrote a couple of weeks back, we explored colonization as well as the history and origins of yoga.
The second part of this blog is a further dive into understanding the historical realities of colonialism, and how these events impact society today. The modern-day structures created by colonial mindsets continue to impact the lived experiences of Edmontonians.
The wellness industry is not immune to these influences. New age spirituality and the industrial complex of the Western wellness industry are invited to take pause to reflect on this reality.
It is important for the collective to understand the harm that is caused by not recognizing the inequities in the current wellness landscape in #yeg.
As we continue on from part one of this two-part blog, let us continue to unpack historical colonial practices and how they manifest today. The chart below seeks to explain the intentional formula that was created by European Nations to acquire monetary and economic wealth in the forms of conquering nations, seizing land, human trafficking (slave-trades), and exploiting natural resources.
The Formula for Colonization:
India
• East India Company
• Starvation, Genocide, Seizing of Land – I.e., Zamindar system
• Establishment of British Viceroy -- English Medium Schools – many run by
the church
• Illegal to practice Yoga, Ayurveda, & Classical Indian Dance
Canada
• Hudson Bay Company
• Starvation, Genocide, Seizing of Land - I.e., Reserve system
• Establishment of Indian Agent – Residential Schools
• Illegal to practice Sundance, Potlatch, spiritual ceremonies, speak diverse Indigenous languages.
Yoga & Colonization
Yoga across India: During the colonization of South Asia- despite the British making it illegal to practice Yoga and Ayurveda, yoga teachers/practitioners continued to travel across South Asia spreading the knowledge of yoga and its practice. Yoga was used as a tool of self-determination and activism by South Asian peoples to fight back against colonization and British Occupation.
Yogas formal establishment in the West (US & Canada): The west was introduced to yoga in 1893 by Swami Vivekananda at the Conference of World Religions. There is a statue of Swamiji, at the Winnipeg railway station because he had a stop in Canada on the way to the conference.
Swami Vivekananda’s message to bring yoga to the west was part of an opportunity also to share a message to attempt to establish independence from the British Occupation in South Asia.
Evolution of Yoga in West
Yoga has evolved in the West in many different ways and forms: from the 1900’s to the 1950’s many Indian yogis settled in the US to share the teachings of yoga according to their traditions and lineages.
The influence of yoga continues from 1950’s Fitness to 1960’s influence of India’s popular cultural icons such as Ravi Shankar. The Beatles partnered with many artists and yoga gurus to learn the philosophy of yoga in order to share the messages of peace and unity in their music.
Recognizing that it is Black history month in February it is interesting to note that yoga philosophy was studied by Civil Rights freedom fighters in the USA such as Martin Luther King Jr. MLK went to India to seek these teaching to incorporate into the actions of civil rights demonstrations and speeches he established and delivered in the quest for equal rights in the USA.
In the 1980’s fitness, the western practices of yoga emerged as part of capitalism and a new product of the industrial complex of wellness practice. This is seen in the rise of the corporation Lululemon, yoga in the gym, the branding of yoga as diet/health-conscious depicting and marketing “white skinny able bodies that began in the 1990s and continued to the current day. Now there are numerous yoga teacher training certifications offered, to professionalize the practice.
White ownership of yoga is often seen in big studios being mostly on the forms and interpretations of asana – physical activity or “new age” spiritual practice. How many people are not honoring, sourcing, or recognizing the South Asian Indigenous knowledge base of yoga?
There is often spiritual by-passing expressed in this format of offering “new age” spiritual practice. Focusing on only asana does not enable the realization of holistic wellness. Taking bits and pieces from spiritual traditions from the Asian subcontinent without the realization that this is appropriation is problematic and contributes to upholding the structures of systemic oppression and the exclusion of equity-seeking communities to access wellness spaces. The pandemic we are currently in is wreaking havoc on people’s mental health. The whole practice of yoga can help us heal individually and as communities.
Acknowledging these truths is challenging. We must realize this is difficult work. However, within the current state of global awakenings in 2020, in 2021 this inquiry is needed for collective healing.
Yoga is not only an individual wellness practice but a framework that offers wisdom for mutual transformative change in society.
I write this blog in an attempt to offer an opportunity for us to take a pause and examine: where are our collective blind spots? How can we come together in the #yeg wellness community to make yoga & wellness accessible for everybody?
I would like to build this inquiry together to find solutions for equitable yoga & wellness spaces and practice.
Come join me for my workshop being hosted at City and Soul Studio on February 13 of 2021 @ 2 pm as we continue to examine solutions for building an equitable practice together.