Podcast appearances and mentions of susanna barkataki

What if yoga wasn't just about feeling better, but about becoming a force for healing in the world? Tune in for an inspiring discussion with Susanna Barkataki on her new book Ignite Your Yoga: How to Live, Practice, and Teach as an Authentic Yoga Steward. Moments with Marianne airs in the Southern California area on KMET1490AM & 98.1 FM, an ABC Talk News Radio affiliate! Susanna Barkataki is a yoga diversity and unity educator and the founder of Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute. Susanna holds an Honors degree in Philosophy from UC Berkeley, a Masters in Education from Cambridge College, and is an E-RYT 500-hour Master Teacher, a 500-hour Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner, and a Certified Yoga Therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapists (C-IAYT). A clear, thought-provoking, and inspiring speaker, she is known for making yogic wisdom accessible in everyday life and consults on yoga culture, history, leadership, social justice, curriculum, scope of practice with colleges, schools, businesses, and non-profit organizations. www.susannabarkataki.com www.ignitebewell.com  For more show information visit: www.MariannePestana.com

What does it look like to truly live your values, lead with purpose, and build a business rooted in ancient wisdom and modern impact?In this powerful episode, I'm joined by Susanna Barkataki — bestselling author, speaker, and founder of Ignite Institute for Yogic Leadership and Social Change and Yoke Yoga. From her multicultural upbringing to launching two mission-driven businesses, Susanna shares how her deep connection to yoga's roots has shaped her life, leadership, and legacy.We dive into everything from her viral blog moment and first book (Embrace Yoga's Roots) to money mindset, the spiritual side of entrepreneurship, and how to bring yogic values like Satya (truth) and Ahimsa (non-harm) into your business, relationships, and daily life.Whether you're a wellness leader, entrepreneur, or someone seeking more alignment and meaning, this conversation will inspire you to own your gifts, speak your truth, and lead from within.In this episode, we cover:Susanna's journey from childhood meditation to building a global yoga movementHow yoga helped her become a multi-passionate founder, author, and PhD studentThe truth about charging your worth in the wellness industryThe power of living and leading through yogic valuesHer upcoming book Ignite Your Yoga (April 2025 release!) and what you can expectWhy your greatest wounds often hold your greatest giftsHow to embody your values moment by moment — not just on the mat✨ Memorable Moments:“The very thing that made me feel like I didn't belong… became my greatest gift.”“Yoga is a practice of becoming more human. It's not about perfect poses, it's about presence.”“Your whole life can be your yoga practice.”Resources & Links:

Say "yes" to yoga as a vehicle for personal, social, and collective liberation with Susanna Barkataki, author of Ignite Your Yoga. Join us as she shares how to go beyond the physical practices of Yoga to discover how to bring all aspects of Yoga into your daily life.

Yoga and yogic principles are so powerful and exactly what we need in these turbulent times. Yet, the way we've been "sold" yoga in the West truly needs to shift in a way that honours Yoga's true roots and Susanna Barkataki has been leading that shift for years now. Susanna Barkataki (she/her) has been called “a trailblazing yoga leader and visionary for our times.” An Indian teacher building bridges in the West, she is known for her work in decolonizing and embracing the roots of yoga. She is a tech founder of Yoke Yoga, a SAAS company to bring yoga socially to all people to help solve everyday problems. She also founded Ignite Institute for Yogic Leadership and Social Change, award winning programs in yoga and wellness, to train students in using authentic spiritual tools to create positive social change. She's the author of #1 International Bestseller Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice.    Links Mentioned: Access The Round Table Replay Box: https://www.emilyannebrant.com/the-round-table-replay-box Download Yoke Yoga free app Apply to Be A Yoke Yoga Creator Follow Susanna on Instagram Watch Susanna's Ted Talk  

Susanna is a yoga educator, yoga unity activist, founder of the Ignite Institute and co-founder of the Yoke Yoga Social App. She is the author of Embrace Yoga's Roots, and offers a free chapter of her book linked here. As an Indian teacher in the West, Susanna is known for her work in decolonizing and embracing the roots of yoga. She reminds us — with much compassion and often levity — that yoga is much more than fancy asana and expensive yoga wear. Amidst a resounding silence throughout the yoga and wellness community over the last six months and counting, Susanna's teachings of yoga ethics are a call back to our deepest humanity. In this episode, we talk about the necessity of connecting the dots of white supremacy and imperialism to spaces including the yoga industry. Susanna shares where her work in social justice started, offers insight into the birthplace of yoga, and invites us all to shed our ego and show up for others. Susanna is a beautiful example of how to continue doing one's work of passion while also engaging with the world at large. I am so honored to bring you this conversation with the wonderfully wise and ever encouraging — Susanna. Susanna's IG Susanna's website Susanna's viral reel Leah's IG

In this episode of Business Witch, I have the pleasure of hosting Susanna Barkataki, a distinguished yoga unity activist and author of 'Embracing Yoga's Roots'. We dive into the profound impact of yoga as a tool for both personal and collective transformation, underscoring the critical need for decolonizing yoga.  Plus, Susanna shares her transformative journey from an LA public school teacher to a business owner and yoga instructor, emphasizing the essential bond between authentic practice and the origins of yoga.  Connect with Susanna:  - Susanna's Website - Susanna's Instagram - Embracing Yoga's Roots Book Additional Resources:  - Get started with my Freebie, Business Brain  - Learn about my signature program Business Witch HERE  - Explore my Values - Apply to be a 1:1 client HERE

Many of us in Western culture “practice yoga,” but do we understand the full meaning of yoga and its various branches? Turns out most of us don't!Susanna Barkataki, yoga teacher and advocate for the decolonization of yoga, joins Motivational Mondays to share the true meaning of yoga and how we can liberate it and ourselves through our practice. Barkataki chats with us about yoga's roots and provides advice for finding your pathway to a mindful, yogic lifestyle, even if you've struggled with yoga in the past. You'll learn about the Western appropriation of yoga, what yoga truly is, and how you can decolonize your practice.LEARN MORE:>>Learn how the Ignite Institute promotes equity and yogic values. (https://www.ignitebewell.com)>>Read Barkataki's blog and check out her speaking and writing work. (https://www.susannabarkataki.com)>>Begin your yoga practice with Barkataki's courses on YogaGirl (you'll first need to sign up at YogaGirl). (https://www.yogagirl.com/susanna-barkataki),(https://www.yogagirl.com)>>Keep up with Barkataki on Instagram. (https://www.instagram.com/susannabarkataki)NSLS MEMBERS ONLY:>>Listen to the bonus episode to learn about Barkataki's hope for the future of yoga. (https://thens.ls/3GB3tzD)Mentioned in this episode:Get 20% Off at the NSLS ShopUse code MONDAYS for 20% your entire purchase at shop.nsls.orgNSLS Shop

Zoey is joined by trailblazing yoga leader and visionary, Susanna Barkataki. Susanna is an Indian teacher building bridges in the West, best known for her work in decolonizing and embracing the roots of yoga. She founded Ignite Institute for Yogic Leadership and Social Change to train students in using authentic spiritual tools to create positive social change. She's also the author of an international bestselling book, Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice and she runs 200/300 Embody Yoga's Roots Yoga Teacher Training programs which take place to change the face of yoga and the wellness landscape by centering accessible, trauma informed practices for folks from diverse backgrounds left out of wellness.   Zoey and Susanna discuss cultural appropriation, how modern yoga practices can cause harm and ways to combat it as a practitioner or partaker, how commercialization of eastern practices impacts the authenticity and roots of yoga, systemic shifts and representation challenges within the yoga community, her own personal experiences with discrimination, incorporating yoga for personal and societal well-being, and so much more.   Connect with Susanna: https://www.instagram.com/susannabarkataki/ https://www.instagram.com/ignitebewell/ www.SusannaBarkataki.com   Connect with Zoey: Schedule a 1:1 with Zoey www.instagram.com/the_merhipsy www.tiktok.com/@the_merhipsy  

Join Susanna Barkataki and Kim Saira as they delve into the transformative world of yoga, challenging and redefining its Western perceptions. Susanna, an ardent teacher and advocate for inclusivity within the yoga culture, shares her journey from facing racial prejudices to using yoga as a tool for self-empowerment. Co-host Kim Saira amplifies this dialogue, weaving in her insights about authenticity and representation. This episode aims to bridge the divide between yoga's ancient roots and its modern interpretation. Discover a vision where yoga transcends physical postures and becomes a force for unity, diversity, and social change. Dive into discussions that stretch beyond the mat and into personal and communal evolution realms. A must listen too! Susanna Barkataki follow: https://www.instagram.com/susannabarkataki/ Co-Host: https://www.instagram.com/kimsaira/ More: https://www.susannabarkataki.com/ ___ This Episode is sponsored by: The Magic Mind team created a super offer for me to share with you guys. You get up to 56% off your first subscription in the next ten days and 20% off your one-time purchase with CKPODCAST. You can get it at https://www.magicmind.co/consciouskitchen, and redeem the discount code CKPODCAST, but hurry up, the 56% discount only lasts 10 days from our episode airing date. What is Magic Mind? A matcha-based energy shot infused with nootropics and adaptogens designed to crush procrastination, brain fog & fatigue.

The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast 335: Black Lives Matter is Yoga with Danielle Tridenti   Description: Black Lives Matter (BLM) was formed ten years ago, and while many people jumped on the bandwagon and pledged their support for the cause a few years ago in light of the murder of George Floyd, it seems like BLM is getting “less popular”. It is important to continue this conversation about BLM and explore how it relates to yoga. Danielle Tridenti shares their experience in showing up as an ally for the cause.   Danielle is a facilitator of yoga, an embodiment coach, and an equity + inclusion group facilitator/consultant, who believes that cellular and personal change informs and affects institutional, collective, and cultural change. They have over 5000 hours of training in yoga, somatics, trauma informed care, anti-racism, equity + inclusion, as well as 20 years of experience in teaching and group facilitation, and 10 years as a mental health clinician and social worker. Currently, Danielle offers individual and group experiences, education/training, coaching, and consulting centered around embodying equity, LGTBQIA2S+ affirmation and inclusion, and solidarity with a trauma informed, intersectional, anti-racist, anti-patriarchal, and anti-oppression framework to individuals and organizations.   Recently, a student in Danielle's class asked Danielle to remove their BLM shirt. Danielle shares more about how they handled that situation with the student and the studio they were teaching at, as well as their thoughts on why yoga is political. Danielle also explains why BLM and showing up as an ally is part of yoga. And discusses privilege, creating “safe spaces” in yoga, and how ahimsa (non-violence) ties into all of this.   Key Takeaways: [2:39] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Danielle Tridenti. [8:12] What does Danielle do and who do they do it for? [11:17] Recently, a yoga student attending Danielle's class asked them to remove their Black Lives Matter t-shirt. Danielle recounts the experience. [16:21] How did Danielle follow up after the incident? What kind of reaction did the studio she was teaching at have after this incident? [19:57] Why is Black Lives Matter yoga? [26:47] What is Danielle's reaction to people who complain about how these discussions always feel "in your face" or that we are still having these conversations. [34:34] Shannon pops in with a shout out of thanks to sponsor, OfferingTree [37:01] What are some of the actions that people can take to support Black Lives Matter and create a world that is equal and just? [43:01] What are some other resources yoga teachers can use to get educated and learn more about this topic? [48:39] Learn more from Danielle by connecting with them on Instagram. [49:28] Shannon shares some of her key takeaways from this conversation with Danielle.   Links: Danielle Tridenti Dr. Bettina Love Michelle Cassandra Johnson Resmaa Menakem Susana Barkataki Are We Free Yet? by Tina Strawn  Lara Rod Owens Octavia Raheem Tristan Katz Jacoby Ballard Related Podcast Episodes: 203: Do Politics Belong in Yoga? with Chara Caruthers & Maria Kirsten 199: Creating Inclusive Yoga Spaces Erin Ajayi 189: Your Movement Science is Racist with Jesal Parikh  BONUS: Anti-Racism & Yoga with Michelle Johnson 273: Yoga is a Revolution with Jivana Heyman 266: Social Location, Power & Privilege with Raudhah Rahman 231: Conscious Marketing with Tristan Katz 230: Anti-Oppression Yoga with Pooja Virani 246: Anger, Forgiveness & Self-Care with Jacoby Ballard 276: Caring for Yoga's South Asian Roots with Susanna Barkataki 334: Many Shades of Brown in Yoga with Anjali Rao Shannon Crow on Instagram The Connected Yoga Teacher Facebook Group Pelvic Health Professionals   Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree.   Quotes from this episode: "It's not my [Black Lives Matter] shirt that was making her uncomfortable, right? It was her beliefs that were causing this discomfort."   "The bigger issue is exercising your white supremacy and your racism."   "I believe that in teaching, I can leverage my privilege and practice co-conspiratorship and take a stand and take risks for folks who are historically erased and marginalized and oppressed and invisible and killed."   "Picking what you want and leaving what you don't - that's very privileged too."   "The bottom line is, if any of us are harmed, we're all harmed. We're all impacted. This is not a passive practice. It's an active practice."   "People who have marginalized identities can't just leave the oppression behind. It's just not possible."  

Chris has been practicing meditation for more than ten years now. It's his daily morning routine to sit and be present in the moment. The practice of meditation has been life changing for him. Today, Chris gets into the roots of yoga and meditation as he speaks with Rosie Acosta and Susanna Barkataki - both women of color in the world of wellness.

Exploring your intuitive nature is BEAUTIFUL and essential in honing in on your personal power.  As we reach out to what calls to us, it's important to look at WHY and WHAT.  WHAT'S calling you, and what does integrating it into your life look like, while honoring the essence of the Woo you're practicing.   This episode goes in on all of that, and more.  Below is a list of references I used for this episode, to keep the focus centered on exploring the culture behind the Woo: -"Reclaiming The Power Of Hoodoo: A Beginner's Guide To African American Folk Magic to Cultivate Peace & Abundance Within Your Life Through Rootwork & Conjure", by Alisha J. Brown "Red Road: Traditional Voice of Afro-Indigenous American", by Clan Mother Shoran Waupatukuay Piper "The Little Book of Rootwork", by Paris Ajana "Shallow Waters", by Anita Kopacz "A Letter to White Yoga Teachers", by Susanna Barkataki (www.susanbarkatki.com/post/a-letter/to-all-white-yoga-teachers "The Appropriation of Religion in Southeast Asia and Beyond", by Michael Picard1st ed. 2017 Edition1st ed. 2017 Edition "Mystical Origins of the tarot: From Ancient Roots to Modern Usage" by Paul Huson "The Ultimate Guide to the Witch's Wheel of the Year", by Anjou Kierman For more information on how I apply woo to my coaching, and to learn more about how my coaching can uncover your personal power, book a discovery with me on deepenedroots.co.  You can also check me out on Instagram @deepenedroots. Also:  Do you like this episode, or Deepened Roots Podcast, in general?  Share with a friend!  It's available for a listen anywhere you listen to podcasts, and also on my website, at deepenedroots.co/podcast. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deepened-roots/message

This week is a special audio moving meditation experience. RhythmTherapy Creative Arts Salons are my virtual space to spread joy. RhythmTherapy Creative Arts Salons are for anyone who loves to connect to joy through creativity. I lead virtual weekly sessions Thursdays at Noon on zoom exclusively for  my Subscribers. Folks can join live or watch the recording whenever they like. SUBSCRIBE HERE Experience transformative movement-based theater, creative writing and sketching and unleash your inner artist to relieve stress and connect to your natural state…Joy.

Join Jyoti & Susanna as they explore: Susanna's experience growing up as a mixed race child Susanna's journey to becoming a yoga teacher The history of yoga and how it came to the West The effect of colonisation on yoga Susanna's book - Embrace Yoga's Roots The 8-fold path of yoga Simple steps we can all take towards decolonising yoga ABOUT SUSANNA: Author of #1 International Bestseller in Yoga, Nov 2020 Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice. She has an Honors degree in Philosophy, UC Berkeley, and a Masters in Education, Cambridge College. Barkataki is a diversity, accessibility, inclusivity, and equity (DAIE) yoga unity educator who supports practitioners to lead with equity, diversity, and yogic values while growing thriving practices and businesses with confidence. Learn more and take her free masterclass: www.namastemasterclass.com. An Indian yoga practitioner, Susanna Barkataki, is founder of Ignite Institute for Yogic Leadership and Social Change, 200/500 Yoga Teacher Training programs. She is an E-RYT 500, Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT). Website: www.susannabarkataki.com Instagram: @susannabarkataki CONNECT WITH JYOTI: Jyoti (she/her) is the Founder of My Wellness Company, Yoga Teacher and Menstrual Cycle Coach. View her offerings & free wellness tools: www.mywellnesscompany.co.uk Instagram: @mywellnesscompany Email: hello@mywellnesscompany.co.uk With special thanks to Hanna Francis who has written & performed the music & song for this podcast Website: www.selfhelpsongwriter.com Instagram: @selfhelpsongwriter --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jyotichadda/message

An Indian yoga practitioner, Susanna Barkataki, is the founder of Ignite Institute for Yogic Leadership and Social Change,  200/500 Yoga Teacher Training programs. She is an E-RYT 500, Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT).  Author of #1 International Bestseller in Yoga, Nov 2020 Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice. She has an Honors degree in Philosophy, UC Berkeley, and a Masters in Education, from Cambridge College. Barkataki is a diversity, accessibility, inclusivity, and equity (DAIE) yoga unity educator who supports practitioners to lead with equity, diversity, and yogic values while growing thriving practices and businesses with confidence. Learn more and take her free masterclass: www.namastemasterclass.com Connect with Susanna on Instagram and YouTube. ---This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp: Get 10% off the first month of online therapy at https://betterhelp.com/carlyWill's Vegan Store supports this episode. Click here to start shopping so they know I sent you!Terraseed sponsors this episode: Get 50% off your first month of vegan vitamins at: https://lddy.no/11h0l---Thanks for listening to another episode. Follow, review and share to help Consciously Clueless grow!Work with me: https://www.consciouslycarly.com/ Support Carly on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/consciouslycarlyConnect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/consciously.carly/Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/consciously.carly.blogConnect on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/carlyjean5/Music by Matthew BaxleySupport the show

Yoga Journal, which is the long standing print magazine for yoga professionals, and the yoga community, is owned by the same parent company that publishes Clean Eating magazine. So there’s a lot of intersection in the writing and the journalists between them. And I find it very problematic. Extremely problematic. But that’s capitalism, right? You’re listening to Burnt Toast. This is the podcast where we talk about diet culture, fatphobia, parenting, and health. Today I’m chatting with Jessica Grosman! Jessica is an experienced anti-diet registered dietitian and certified Intuitive Eating counselor, weight inclusive health practitioner, and yoga teacher. She is on the faculty of Yoga for Eating Disorders, where she teaches the popular compassionate and mindful yin yoga series. And she’s a co-founder of Anti-Diet Culture Yoga, a platform with a mission to keep diet culture out of yoga spaces by providing training and educational opportunities for teachers. So, as you can probably guess from her bio, Jessica and I are discussing the intersection of diet culture and yoga today. This was such a fascinating conversation for me, because I truly did not know the extent to which yoga has been colonized and appropriated by white people and diet culture. If you have a fraught relationship with yoga, or have had that over the years like I have, I think you will get a lot out of this one. I do want to acknowledge that Jessica and I are two white, privileged ladies having this conversation. I’m very aware that in order to divest from yoga from diet culture and white supremacy more completely, we need to be learning this from people of color. We do shout out some of those voices towards the end of the episode. But I would love to know who else you are learning from—post suggestions in the comments so we can continue this conversation! If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, rate and review us in your podcast player! It’s free and a great way to help more folks find the show.Keep sending in your questions for Virginia’s Office Hours! If you have a question about navigating diet culture and anti-fat bias that you’d like to talk through with me, or if you just want to rant about a shitty diet with me, you can submit your question/topic here. I’ll pick one person to join me on the bonus episode so we can hash it out together.PS. Also hi new subscribers/listeners! I think a bunch of you found me through Julia Turshen’s podcast Keep Calm and Cook On. I have loved her entire series on Unapologetic Appetites and was delighted to join her for this conversation. Episode 52 TranscriptVirginiaHi, Jessica! Why don’t we start by having you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself and your work?JessicaMy work is primarily patient-focused nutrition therapy, and I work to help individuals reestablish a comfortable connection with food and body most often after years of living and diet culture. I am a member of ASDAH, the Association of Size Diversity and Health and use HAES principles in my individualized care. I’m also a yoga teacher, as I mentioned, and really love bringing together all sorts of ways to help people feel comfortable in their body.VirginiaI think you’re our first yoga teacher on the podcast and today that’s going to be our focus — this intersection of diet culture and yoga. I think for a lot of listeners, this probably isn’t breaking news. We’ve all kind of seen the Lululemon version of yoga, and the Gwyneth Paltrow / Goop version. I think a lot of us may assume that diet culture has been baked into yoga from the start. But is that true or do you see this as a more recent co-option of yoga?JessicaI want to start by asking you if you know what the word yoga means. So I want to spin this question back to you. VirginiaI feel like I knew this when I did a lot more yoga, and now I’m going to fail this quiz. JessicaIt’s okay! Yoga is a Sanskrit word that means “to yoke” or “to join.” So right there, the word yoga does not mean acrobatics, leggings, green juice, restrictive diets, or any other stereotype that has been portrayed in the media through diet culture. I want to acknowledge that right from the start that yoga has nothing to do with diet culture in its origin. I’m going to give you a little history lesson here. There are eight limbs of yoga, with only one being the physical practice of yoga, the poses and postures that we see so often. In the classic, traditional sense, yoga really is about the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind. The physical practice of yoga was developed to help rid the body of distractions, of impulses, to be able to sit and meditate. So if you think about kids in a classroom, we know that if we want kids to sit and concentrate, first we let them get all their energy out, and they run around on a playground have play time before they’re able to sit calmly and concentrate. Yoga, the physical practice of yoga, is in the same vein, to give the body time to rid itself of the distractions to be able to turn inward and sit and focus in meditation.VirginiaI love that framing and I’d never thought of it that way. And nothing you mentioned has to do with weight loss or changing your body size or shape. So when did the shift happened? JessicaSo, yoga was brought to the west from southern Asia about 100 years ago—and notice I said Southern Asia and not India, because yoga’s inception was not just in the land that is currently India, but all throughout southern Asia. So we want to give respect and honor to those lineages. But it was brought to the West about 100 years ago by a Russian woman named Eugenia Peterson who later changed her name to Indra Devy. She was an actress and a spiritual seeker who traveled to India and became the first female student of Krishna Macharia, who was considered the father of modern yoga. He created the posture-based yoga practice, the physical yoga that was influenced by martial arts and wrestling and British calisthenics. Remember, this was in colonized, British-occupied India. And so Indra was able to bring her yoga studies to the west with her when South Asians were not able to come West due to the Immigration Act of 1924, which set quotas for immigration from “less desirable” countries. Indra came back to the west, came to Hollywood dressed in saris and was emulated by movie stars and Hollywood types seeking exotic practices from the East to keep themselves young and beautiful. This was the start of the modern wellness movement and with yoga at the core. VirginiaShe’s like a proto-Gwyneth Paltrow.JessicaExactly. And you know, how ironic that she was on Gwyneth Paltrow land?VirginiaSo, the Western conception of yoga has always been more linked to diet culture. We wouldn’t have called it diet culture back then, but certainly this idea of the body and controlling the body. JessicaI would say so, especially in the yoga space that is full of white practitioners. I think South Asians in the West practicing yoga that are coming from that lineage, from their motherland, it’s a different type of practice. But the yoga of diet culture is very whitewashed.VirginiaLet’s talk specifics about how that manifests. What are some of the most surprising ways you’ve seen diet culture infiltrate yoga?Jessica Yoga is part of wellness culture and wellness culture is that friendly guise of diet culture which is rooted in capitalism. Yoga in the West is rooted in capitalism. I can tell you that working as a yoga teacher, to earn a living as a yoga teacher is not sustainable in our capitalistic society. There’s just no way to go about doing that for most people, other than those elevated—and I’m going to use air quotes—“gurus” of yoga, the ones that we see in the ads for Lululemon and all of the other brands.So yoga studios—we have yoga studios in the West, not so much in South Asia. But yoga studios in the West are for profit, and you can just look at what they sell beyond classes: The food, the drinks, the clothing, the apothecary items. This is all so steeped in diet culture. So before setting foot in a yoga studio, there’s this assumption that certain clothing is required to practice yoga, and that clothing is most often indicated for particular bodies. That keeps diversity out of yoga spaces. We don’t have to look too far to see that the ad campaigns for leggings, for activewear that is indicated for yoga practices, is usually on very small bodies. VirginiaAs you’re saying that, I’m just thinking I would feel weird going to a yoga class not wearing yoga pants. Like, we have this sense that you have to. But you also don’t have to. When I practice yoga at home, I often do it in just my pajama pants or any loose clothing. Why we have this idea that you have to wear this one type of pants to go to a yoga studio is fascinating.JessicaIt’s all about that culture of fitting in and needing to feel like you’re worthy of being in that space. VirginiaYep, that makes sense. And yet the pants so rarely have pockets and are not efficient for many of my needs.JessicaWell, that’s why you need more of the swag to go along with them.VirginiaOh, of course. JessicaYou need the correct bag to hold your yoga mat. And it has to be the correct yoga mat. And then the correct yoga bag, which has the pockets for this, that, and the other. VirginiaThere’s many more products we can buy.JessicaSo yoga studios, right? They’re selling more than classes. They’re selling a lifestyle. And I can tell you that walking into many studios—and I have not been in many studios since the pandemic, that’s been the beauty of the pandemic for me is the ability to both practice and teach yoga from the comfort of my home which I think is very, very important. But yoga studios have to make a profit and they do this by selling more than classes, by selling more than experience. So there is the clothing, there is oftentimes food—and I can tell you that it’s not chips and candy that are sold in yoga studios. It’s whatever bar or superfood of the moment is capturing the attention of wellness culture. It’s specific filtered water and kombucha and all sorts of other foods and foodstuffs that really have nothing to do with yoga or wellbeing, but just offer that glimmer of hope that by being in the space, by drinking this liquid, eating this snack, you’ll become more than who you were when you walked in the door. VirginiaAnd they’re also selling restriction too, right? There’s often an emphasis on cutting out food groups. I’m hoping you can tease this out a little bit. I know being vegetarian is linked to some of the history of yoga, but cutting out sugar seems more of just a straight up diet culture intervention. JessicaSo there are many different lineages of yoga. As I mentioned, yoga is not just based in the land that is currently referred to as India, but all over South Asia. And different lineages do have different traditions when it comes to food. There’s this assumption, though, that to practice yoga, to be a quote unquote “good yogi,” means that you are vegetarian, if not vegan, and that cannot be further from the truth. Really what we are looking for in a yoga experience is to feel well in your body. One of the ethical precepts of yoga is a Ahimsa and I’m sure a lot of people have heard this term Ahimsa, which means “no harm” and oftentimes gets co opted into meaning veganism as no harm, you’re not harming another living organism. But I like to turn back Ahimsa to no harm upon yourself. And really, when you’re not harming yourself, you’re loving yourself and taking care of yourself. The notion that to practice yoga means that you have to eat a certain way or not eat a certain way is completely false for the general population. As I said, there are pockets of yoga lineages and people practicing yoga that do take a different stance, but for the general public that wants to bring yoga into their life, keep on eating whatever you want and feel well in your body.VirginiaThat’s a really powerful reframing because yes, I’ve gotten stuck on that ahimsa, do no harm piece. And I think that’s really useful to consider that we have to include ourselves in that doing of no harm. I also want to circle back quickly to the guru concept that you touched on. I’m curious to hear more about to what extent the idea of a guru is important to what yoga was originally and how you see the guru concept working out today, because it seems like that’s often where a lot of the diet culture comes in, right? Because people in a studio or in a yoga community are so revering this one teacher to the point that there’s a lot of opportunities for harm. JessicaCorrect. Yoga in its origin was taught from teacher to student, and there wasn’t a set number of hours that you study with your teacher and then are declared a yoga teacher. It was a lifelong relationship of learning and reciprocity between student and teacher, and continuous learning. We don’t see that sort of student teacher relationship in modern yoga in the West. There is more of that Guru culture where teachers are revered. They’re oftentimes put on a pedestal and whatever a teacher says is often taken as the right thing to do, the right way to be. That’s really dangerous because the scope of practice which is a set of rules and policies set forth by Yoga Alliance, the governing body of yoga teachers, does not include any talk of food, diet or nutrition. Yet we know that to be far from the truth, that is definitely an area that is abused by many teachers who share their thoughts, their opinions, their personal experiences as the way things should be done, on and off of the mat. And that’s where the danger comes in. VirginiaI’m looking back on my own relationship with yoga over the years and so many workshops I went to with male gurus who were very hands on in their adjustments of the women who came in with the right Lululemon leggings. There’s just a whole whole lot going on there.JessicaAbsolutely. I mean, I didn’t even touch on the hands-on adjustments. Partly from teaching outside of studios, in the online space, I think we’ve gotten away from adjustments a lot, because my students are on the other side of the screen. But that sort of abuse in teacher/student relationships definitely has been well documented. I think the more subtle abuse or harm is the teacher or the guru that inflicts on their students their own beliefs, opinions, and knowledge that isn’t their place to share.VirginiaIt can be hard when you’re seeking something from yoga, which a lot of people are. You’re in a vulnerable position, right? This person seems to have a lot of answers. They’re personifying this lifestyle that’s extremely seductive. And often you’re getting some real tangible benefits from the yoga practice. So it can get very murky and hard to sort out. Like, which aspect of what I’m doing in yoga, what’s coming from the breathing or the meditation or the physical work and what’s coming from now I’m doing this cleanse with 30 people in my studio?JessicaExactly, exactly. It gets blurry, as you said, and I think it’s important for anyone that is currently practicing yoga or looking to begin a yoga practice to really examine their intention for being in a space or for being in the presence of a particular teacher. VirginiaYeah, let’s talk more about that. There’s obviously so much that’s great about yoga and making yoga more accessible for all bodies is so important. So how can we think about separating yoga from diet culture? How do you start to suss out where a studio falls in all of this? And how do you figure out what to wear if you don’t want to wear skinny yoga pants?JessicaYou never need to wear skinny yoga pants. The most important thing from the start is to be comfortable. So skinny yoga pants aren’t comfortable for you, then that’s not what you should be wearing. But I think the most important thing from the start is to read class descriptions. If you’re looking for a yoga class, read class descriptions. There should not be any promise of changing a body or any regimented requirements for diet involved, right? Along the lines of diet, culture and wellness culture and its roots in white supremacy and patriarchy, we have to look at classes and specifically about levels of classes and saying that a class is advanced and has advanced poses is not a place that welcomes everyone, right? If you go to a class and feel like you’re being told to just rest while everyone else is doing some fancy shape pose, then that class is not for you, and that class shouldn’t be taught that way, either. We have autonomy as yoga students to practice the way we want to in our body, our bodies are unique and individual and have unique capabilities that change from day to day. So there is no one pose or practice is more advanced than another. It’s learning how to honor your body and its unique abilities from day to day, from moment to moment.VirginiaI certainly have had and I’m sure many people listening have had that feeling of failure, when you’re told, “okay, you can just go into child’s pose now,” and that feels very stigmatizing. I think a lot of teachers mean it kindly. I think they mean, like, listen to your body and take your time and whatever. But if you’re the one person in the room, and especially if you’re in a bigger body than everybody else, it doesn’t feel kind. JessicaI also pay attention to the languaging used by the teacher and the languaging used within a yoga studio. You want language to be qualitative, and not descriptive. Descriptive language can be inappropriate and stigmatizing. So for example, if a teacher says, “place your hands on your fleshy thighs” versus “place your hands on your upper legs,” there’s a big difference right there. “Rest your hands on your abdomen” versus “rest your hands on your soft belly.” Well, it just isn’t comfortable, right? This is something that’s very nuanced. My experience in teaching yoga for eating disorders and those suffering from eating disorders—that’s very trauma informed work—really informs the language that I use. But I think it’s something that all yoga teachers need to have exposure to and be taught the nuance of qualitative and descriptive languaging. Because there is something very uncomfortable about being told to put your hands on your fleshy thighs, on your soft belly.(Note from Virginia: Obviously fleshy thighs and soft bellies are not inherently bad! Jessica is referencing how these descriptions can feel not great when used by thin teachers, in a diet culture context.)VirginiaI had a yoga teacher once who taught triangle pose by telling us to imagine our body between two panes of glass. It took me years to even recognize how stigmatizing that was because I don’t want my round body flattened between two panes of glass. That’s not a helpful note. I don’t really want anyone’s body being flattened between two panes of glass. That sounds painful. It’s an incredibly anti-fat image.Jessica I couldn’t agree more. I want to point out that yoga is an embodied practice. So that means listening to your body’s cues and messages and trusting yourself and your instincts. So, if you don’t feel comfortable in a space, if you don’t feel comfortable in the presence of a teacher, if it’s online or in person, trust your body. Trust your nervous system, if you have that awareness because it’s very hard to have an embodied practice and embodied experience in a body that is heightened and on alert and not relaxed and not comfortable.JessicaSo in terms of where diet culture comes in to yoga, and especially in social media, at this point, Yoga Journal, which is the long standing print magazine for yoga professionals, and the yoga community, has a large online presence. And it is owned by the same parent company that publishes Clean Eating magazine. There’s a lot of intersection in the writing and the journalists between Yoga Journal and Clean Eating. I find it very problematic. Extremely problematic. But that’s capitalism, right? VirginiaIt sure is.JessicaThe other very alarming situation that I’ve seen time and time again is this notion that some students, especially in a more active yoga class, will leave before savasana, before the end of class. Savasana is this time to reconnect with the body, to integrate all of the practice into the body. Its definition is “corpse pose.” Not to be gruesome, but just laying on the back in stillness that is savasana. There are a number of people, as I said, especially in more active classes that will leave class before savasana because it’s not a calorie burning pose. They feel like they need to keep the body moving and active and that rest is for the weary. It’s very sad to me.VirginiaI admit, savasana is the pose I often struggle with most, not because I want to burn calories but just because I’m, feeling like I need to get on with my day. But that’s also why it’s important, right? That’s what I need to be challenging. But yes, thinking of yoga as a workout, period, is so problematic. But certainly then thinking every minute of it has to be this really intense workout is that’s just straight up diet culture, for sure.JessicaYoga as a workout is straight up diet culture, because as I said, at the beginning, yoga is for the purpose of being able to sit and meditate. One thing I didn’t say at the start is the way that I define yoga is the integration of body, mind, and breath in the present moment. So, Virginia, we’re practicing yoga right now. We are having this conversation. We’re here, we’re breathing. We’re present. We’re in the present moment. We are practicing yoga. We are not doing handstands and contorting our bodies. VirginiaWe are not, for people who can’t see us. Nobody’s in a  headstand right now. JessicaMaybe when we’re done recording, I will go and get in that headstand. But for now…VirginiaThat’s such a more inclusive way to think about it because so many of the Yoga Journal cover poses are so inaccessible for bigger bodies. We should talk about that, too. I have a longtime hatred of shoulder stand because if you are a person with a stomach and large breasts, being in shoulder stand can feel like your body is suffocating you. It puts me immediately at war with my body when that’s not at all how I want to feel during a yoga practice. It always strikes me as a very male body designed pose. I don’t know if there are other examples like that you want to mention, in terms of getting away from this specific idea of doing yoga for certain bodies.JessicaI want to acknowledge that any body—any shape and size body—can be challenged by different yoga shapes, yoga poses. Someone in a thin privileged body may not have the ability to get into every shape and that is due to bone structure. Bone structure and the uniqueness of anybody’s bones and joints and tissues, regardless of their body size. So this assumption that you need to be in a smaller frame body, in a thin, privileged body to practice yoga is completely false. Just because you have a smaller body doesn’t mean that you’re able to do every shape either. So there are ways for every body, every single body shape and size, to get into nearly all of the shapes and postures and poses that are out there. I’ve done training on how to teach yoga for those that are bedbound, yoga for people in wheelchairs. There actually is bed yoga, which is so lovely and really beneficial for people that don’t have the ability to get out of bed, don’t have the ability to get out of a wheelchair or some other mobility device. VirginiaAs you’re saying this too, I’m realizing another way that the diet culture shows up is we so often think of modifications for poses as either failure or as a starting point and you have to progress beyond. Like, you have to eventually be able to do inversions in the middle of the room is always a big one that comes up in class. I have no interest in doing a headstand in the middle of the room. I want the wall there. I want to know that I’ve got that support. The idea that I’ve somehow never achieved a true headstand because I don’t feel safe doing it in the middle of a room is so frustrating. And there are so many examples of that.JessicaUsing props, including the wall, the wall is the greatest of all props is not a sign of inadequacy, or of being a beginner being a failure. Oftentimes, and more often than not, the use of a prop can help you get further into a shape into an area of the body that you didn’t know you had access to. VirginiaWho else do you love who’s fighting this diet culture definition of yoga? Who are you learning from? I would love to shout out some names.Jessica There are a lot of people bringing awareness to the origins and to the roots of yoga, the South Asian roots. Names like Susanna Barkataki. There’s two podcasters from the Yoga is Dead podcast, Jesal Parikh and Tejal Patel. Those three women in particular are bringing a lot of awareness of the roots of yoga and what has happened through colonization and cultural appropriation of yoga practices. I don’t see as much of the resistance to diet culture, because I see this is a little different from the fat positive or body positive movement within yoga. There is a small but mighty group of us registered dietitian and yoga teachers and a very small group that I know of that are in the anti-diet, weight inclusive space and practicing as Registered Dietitians as well as yoga teachers that are really trying to make sure that diet culture does not continue to bring harm or the harm of diet culture into the yoga space. One of my colleagues and I have started Anti-Diet Culture Yoga as a training platform for yoga teachers to help them decipher what is the true teachings of yoga versus what is the influence of diet culture. VirginiaThere are so many ways we need to rethink what modern yoga has become. It makes sense that not everybody is doing all of the work, because there’s so much work. I’ll shout out a couple of people I love on Instagram who are doing yoga and fat bodies. Jessamyn Stanley has been a longtime go-to for me. I love her underbelly app videos. They were really a turning point for my yoga relationship, both in terms of being able to do yoga outside of a studio and do yoga with someone who wasn’t in a thin body. All of that was really liberating for me. I also love @fringeish on Instagram. Shannon does a lot challenging people’s perceptions of what fat bodies can do with yoga, and creating safe spaces. Dianne Bondy is another one I’ve learned a lot from. So they’re there. You’re right, there’s not nearly enough. Different people are working on different aspects of this, but it is encouraging to see this kind of small community of voices emerging.JessicaI also I want to give a shout out to accessible yoga, specifically to Jivana Heyman, who has done a tremendous amount for bringing yoga to all people and that recognition that any body and everybody, regardless of shape, size, color, ability, disability, so on and so forth, can practice yoga in a meaningful way. I also want to mention Yoga for Eating Disorders which is an online school that I’m on the faculty of. One thing that we didn’t touch upon, which is a whole other conversation is that not all yoga is good yoga. Yoga and its intertwining with diet culture has been harmful and in the perpetuation of disordered eating and development of eating disorders. Not all yoga is good yoga for all bodies and for all people, especially those suffering with issues of disordered eating and eating disorders. At yoga for eating disorders we teach in a way that is safe is trauma-informed and is available to help heal the relationship with the body in a way that is neutral and supportive. VirginiaIt’s so important to have that safe space. Butter For Your Burnt ToastVirginiaWell, Jessica, we always wrap up, as you know, with our butter for burnt toast segment, so I would love to know what is your butter for us today?JessicaI’m so glad you asked! Because it’s summertime, and there’s nothing better in the summer than ice cream. And I’m talking about real ice cream. I’m not talking about Tasti D-lite. I’m a former New Yorker that thought that Tasti D-lite was a good thing. Now is the time on a beautiful sunny afternoon or a rainy afternoon like I have today here to go and enjoy a bowl of ice cream, cone of ice cream, whatever it may be. I just can’t think of anything better. VirginiaIt really is one of the most perfect things about summer. I’m gonna do a plant recommendation for my plant obsessed listeners. My butter is the Great Umbrella Plant, Darmera Peltata. Okay, so Darmera looks like a giant rhubarb. It has a very round umbrella shaped leaf. It’s a garden plant, not a house plant. I should have started with that. It’s native to the Pacific Northwest but it grows really well in shade gardens if you have enough moisture. I’ve just put some in and they get huge and they put up these really pretty pink flowers in the spring. And then you get these giant leaves for the rest of the season. So if you’re looking for a good plant for a shade garden, check out Darmera. It’s like an alternative to a hosta but even more giant big leaves. Very cool.All right. Well, thank you so much, Jessica, for being here! Where can we follow you and learn more about your work?JessicaYou can find me on Instagram at @withhealthandgratitude and that’s also the name of my website, with health and gratitude which has all the information for how to work with me for nutrition therapy. I teach weekly online yin yoga classes which are accessible for everyone—there is no previous experience required. Links to my classes are at yoga for eating disorders. I have hundreds of recipes on my website, original recipes—I used to do work and recipe development and culinary education. So my website has lots of information regardless of what you’re looking for. There’s something for everyone. VirginiaWe will link to that. Thank you so much for being here!Thanks so much for listening to Burnt Toast! If you’d like to support the show, please subscribe for free in your podcast player and tell a friend about this episode.Consider a paid subscription to the Burnt Toast newsletter! It’s just $5 a month or $50 for the year you get a ton of cool perks and you keep that’s an ad- and sponsor-free space.The Burnt Toast Podcast is produced and hosted by me, Virginia Sole-Smith. You can follow me on Instagram or Twitter.Burnt Toast transcripts and essays are edited and formatted by Corinne Fay, who runs @SellTradePlus, an Instagram account where you can buy and sell plus size clothing.The Burnt Toast logo is by Deanna Lowe.Our theme music is by Jeff Bailey and Chris Maxwell.Tommy Harron is our audio engineer.Thanks for listening and for supporting independent anti-diet journalism. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiasolesmith.substack.com/subscribe

We were so honored to be joined by Susanna Barkataki (she/her) for this beautiful conversation, winding through a variety of topics relating to Susanna's work, her personal path and practice, and so much more. If you're in the yoga world in any way, you're likely already familiar with Susanna and her important role and leadership in the larger community as she seeks to challenge dominant paradigms, uplift South Asian teachers and practitioners, and work across difference to truly embody and model what it means to be a co-conspirator.Tune in to hear us talk about...- Susanna's early learning in the realm of activism and social justice- Her work in continually reconnecting to her own lineage, a connection that has been deeply impacted by colonialism- The challenges of being a South Asian yoga teacher in a white-dominated industry- Uplifting colleagues of different identities and partnering across lines of difference to advocate for the changes our larger yoga community needs- The choice to self-publish her first book, and what that process was like, along with her decision to move towards a more traditional publishing route for her upcoming second book- How she navigates social media marketing, posting so much content and still finding balance, boundaries, connection, and meaningful relationships on the digital plane…and more!Connect with Susanna:Get Susanna's book, Embrace Yoga's RootsIgnite Yoga & Wellness InstituteSusanna's websiteSusanna on InstagramYou can support this podcast by joining us on Patreon for as little as $2/month! Your support helps us continue to host impactful conversations, and patrons receive perks such as bonus content, video podcasts, special discounts on workshops, and so much more! Be sure to subscribe on Apple or Spotify, and leave a 5-star rating and review on Apple. We'd also love for you to take a screenshot of where the episode resonates with you and tag us in your Instagram stories at @alltfinpodcast, @tristankatzcreative, and @laurenkayroberts.Here's where you can view a transcript of this episode of ALL THE F*CK IN.Thanks to Son of Nun and DJ Mentos for the music. You can find their work at sonofnun.bandcamp.com and djmentos.com.

The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast 276: Caring for Yoga's South Asian Roots with Susanna Barkataki   Description: A topic the yoga community has been quite hesitant to approach is that of caring for yoga's south Asian roots and re-centering South Asian yoga teachers and practitioners. In this episode, Susanna Barkataki shares her insights on why this is important and how to do it well.   Susanna Barkataki is an Indian yoga practitioner in the Shankaracharya tradition. Her work is dedicated to supporting practitioners to lead with equity, diversity and yogic values while growing thriving practices and businesses with confidence. As the founder of Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute, Susanna runs Yoga Teacher Training programs and offers other trainings and courses designed to create a fully inclusive and diverse yoga community. Susanna is also the author of Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice, and a renowned speaker and trainer on topics like diversity, accessibility, inclusivity, and equity (DAIE).   Susanna shares more about yoga's roots and how it has changed and evolved over time, the two criteria for cultural appropriation, and the current practice of yoga in white communities around the world. She explains why it is important to re-center South Asian yoga teachers (and teachings), and guides us to finding our own answers about whether white yoga teachers should be teaching yoga and how to do so in a way that uplifts the yoga community.   Key Takeaways: [2:21] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Susanna Barkataki. [6:16] Susanna shares a little about her background and how she came to do the work that she does. [9:37] Shannon and Susanna discuss what her parents went through as a mixed race couple in the 70s and how those experiences shaped Susanna. [14:27] What does Susanna have to say to yoga teachers who are just starting to learn about cultural appropriation? [19:01] Susanna outlines the two criteria for cultural appropriation to be present. [23:00] Susanna explains a little about using the term South Asian yoga teachers or practitioners to refer to the people from the lands where yoga originated. [27:54] Why is it important to center South Asian yoga teachers if yoga doesn't belong to anyone and has moved around and spread to different parts of the world? [34:22] Shannon gives a shout out to the sponsor, OfferingTree. [36:21] Susanna shares a story from Indian mythology about why only understanding or focusing on one part of yoga is insufficient. [39:47] Shannon speaks to the fear that white yoga teachers may have around re-centering South Asian yoga teachers. What actually happens when we re-center South Asian yoga teachers? Why and how should we do that? [50:09] What are the benefits of collaborating with others and lifting others up, even if they do similar work to you? [53:43] Shannon and Susanna discuss how being in a position of privilege is not actually beneficial to the people at the top of the hierarchy either. [58:09] Should white yoga teachers even be teaching yoga? [62:31] Susanna shares her final thoughts around caring for yoga's roots. [65:08] Find out more about Susanna and her work via her website and on Instagram. [67:06] Shannon reflects on her conversation with Susanna and shares her key takeaways. Links: Susanna Barkataki Ignite Yoga & Wellness Institute Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice, by Susanna Barkataki Embrace Yoga's Roots Workbook Susanna Barkataki on Instagram The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast BONUS: Anti-Racism & Yoga with Michelle Johnson Carly Baumann, Radical Rest Yoga Pelvic Health Professionals Native Land Digital Shannon Crow on Instagram The Connected Yoga Teacher Facebook Group Post by OfferingTree   Gratitude to our Sponsor, OfferingTree.   Quotes from this episode: "There's so much to this practice and being a humble student is a great place to start, even if you're already a teacher."   "There is a diversity in this tradition [yoga] and an openness and kind of an agreement to disagree civilly and to have a different perspective from one another but to be on this path together."   "Should you be profiting from this practice that comes from a people who have been held down oppressed, marginalized and not centered?"   "When we look at power and balance, we can utilize our power when and where we have it to continue to empower ourselves, but also to lift up others."

In this episode we talk to Susanna Barkataki about Cultural Appropriation in Modern Yoga. This is a subject that has arisen regularly in conversation with our guests and Susanna is well placed to talk about this subject. She believes we can all work together to embrace yoga to create a fully inclusive and diverse yoga community. Not just a teacher, Susanna is an inclusivity promoter and a yoga culture advocate. She offers us a beautiful mantra 10 minutes into the episode too.   Susanna Barkataki is an Indian yoga practitioner in the Shankaracharya tradition and author of #1 New Release and International Bestseller in Yoga in November 2020 with her book, 'Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice'.   Susanna supports practitioners to lead with equity, diversity, and yogic values while growing thriving practices and businesses with confidence. She is the founder of Ignite Institute for Yogic Leadership and Social Change and runs 200/500 Yoga Teacher Training programs.    Susanna is on a mission to offer equity based educational training to help yoga practitioners cultivate a yogic mindset to become yoga leaders and preserve the deep authentic yoga tradition for future generations while activating positive social change now. She is an E-RYT 500, Certified Yoga Therapist with International Association of Yoga Therapists (C-IAYT). With an Honors degree in Philosophy from UC Berkeley and a Master's in Education from Cambridge College, Barkataki is a diversity, accessibility, inclusivity, and equity (DAIE) yoga unity educator who created the ground-breaking Honor {Don't Appropriate} Yoga Summit with over 10,000 participants. Learn more and take her complimentary masterclass to embrace yoga's roots without appropriation: www.namastemasterclass.com   Connect with Susanna Barkataki Instagram @susannabarkataki embraceyogasrootsbook.com susannabarkataki.com/eyr-workbook susannabarkataki.com ignitebewell.com   *** From The Heart is a podcast about Yoga, Mindfulness, healing and wellbeing from Dawn Lister and Daniel Groom, founders of Anahata Yoga Centre, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, UK. Conversations in this light hearted, kind and honest podcast series brings together people who have found ways to practise self-care in their lives, by sharing their knowledge, experiences and insights. Anahata is a heart centred and nurturing Wellbeing Studio in Leigh on Sea, Essex. Specialising in Yoga, Pilates, Yoga Therapy and mindful meditation. They offer expert tuition in small groups run by qualified and specialist professionals, who are experts in their field. Many of their teachers offer skills which support members of the public affected by long term health conditions, which may affect them physically, mentally and or emotionally. Catch up on previous episodes via the Anahata website at www.anahatayogacentre.com/podcast

Susanna Barkataki is a fantastic storyteller, and she uses her gift to share the origin culture of yoga with our community. She and I have discussed intersectionality and cultural appropriation in the yoga classroom before, and we share more ways yogis can connect with the culture of our practice with one of the most vibrant spring holidays — Holi. The ancient celebration of Holi honors the blossoming of a new spring and renewed love. It gives people a chance to reconnect with the ones they love and repair bridges with those they've lost. It's a holiday of rebirth and renewal, where we burn away old habits and impurities to make way for the better version of ourselves we've been working toward. You may recognize Holi by the vibrant colors. If you've played Holi before, you've come out covered in the bright pinks, yellows, and blues that feel like spring. But the story of Holi is much more than a playful game. Of course, play is integral to the story, but Susanna shares what the colors truly represent and how the ashes of the purging fire are what inspire the new growth from the old.  We both share our experiences living in India during Holi and what it means to show up today and stay true to the origin culture. Each of us has our own rituals of renewal, and we share the unique Holi celebrations we have with friends and family. For more discussions with Susanna Barkataki, listen to The Yoga Inspiration Podcast Episode 94. If you would like to sign up for yoga courses with me, get your free 30-day membership on Omstars.com & use code: PODCAST. Keep up with us online @omstarsofficial. Follow me on Instagram @kinoyoga  and visit my blog at Kinoyoga.com. Don't hesitate to get in touch with me at info@kinoyoga.com. If you want to share what you've learned on your yoga journey, you could be invited to guest spot on The Yoga Inspiration Podcast.

On embracing yoga's roots, honouring rather than appropriation, and the slow, smallest steps to becoming a true accomplice. 

Learn positive and proactive ways to honor yoga as a cultural practice with Susanna Barkataki, author of Embrace Yoga's Roots.    Episode Highlights:  How to become a leader in personal and social transformation Understanding the causes and conditions of oppression and practices to counter them Self inquiry, commitment to values and the lifestyle of engaged yoga Tools for yogic critical thinking Subtle practices of listening, awareness and inner consciousness The significance of studentship for better teaching   Links & Resources Follow YTR on Instagram @yoga.teacher.resource  Join the Yoga Teacher Resource email list Join the Yoga Teacher Resource Facebook Group Learn more about the Impact Club ‘What is Cultural Appropriation' Episode   Susanna's Website Susanna's Instagram - @susannabarkataki  Embrace Yoga's Roots - Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice Win a Copy of Susanna's Book  

Yoga practitioner, teacher, teacher trainer, and therapist Susanna Barkataki joins host Maya Breuer for a thoughtful and thought-provoking conversation. Susanna details how her path of personal exploration through yoga led her to incorporate activism and social change into her daily practice as well as the yoga teacher trainings she leads.

Vivien Sansour is the founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library. Trained in the field of Anthropology, Vivien has worked with farmers worldwide on issues relating to agriculture and independence. She is a 2020-2021 Religion, Conflict, and Peace Initiative Fellow at Harvard University where she is working on an autobiographical book documenting her work saving seeds in Palestine and around the world. Together we discussed how food sovereignty aligns with the struggle of Palestinian resistance , how biodiversity reflects and intersects with cultural diversity, how the military occupation of Palestine affects the farming practices that go on there, and how love is the greatest form of resistance to colonial oppression. She's brilliant. Coming up at Esalen: Esalen Hosts Embrace Yoga's Roots: Virtual Book Tour with Susanna Barkataki October 21 at 5:00 PST, Esalen is honored to host a virtual book tour with Susanna Barkataki, author of Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice.  An Indian yoga practitioner in the Shankaracharya tradition, Susanna supports practitioners to lead with equity, diversity, and yogic values while growing thriving practices and businesses with confidence.  Join Susanna for a conversation with Danny Fluker Jr., queer Atlanta native and the creator and executive director of Black Boys OM. Danny is a Esalen Teacher in Residence alum and a yoga/meditation teacher, writer, and activist whose vision is to uplift the Black community, Black boys in particular, with programs centering on their physical, mental, and emotional well-being.    Tickets to the event are $35, but as part of our End of Year Campaign, Esalen is offering free tickets to the first 50 people who sign up to become a Friend of Esalen between October 1-October 21.   You'll receive the comp code when and the RSVP link to the event when you become a friend..  Become a friend today: https://www.esalen.org/give/friends-of-esalen Grief Into Beauty: Creating Nature Altars to Transform and Heal from This Year October 29-31, internationally renowned author and artist Day Schildkret of Morning Altars will teach students how to use nature, art, and ritual to transform, heal, and make meaning from this chaotic time.  Book your Spot https://www.esalen.org/post/whats-happening-at-esalen-nature-altars-to-heal-grief-spirit-dive-and-a-gratitude-retreat Embodying Grace in times of Change: Rising into Spiritual Maturity   Join Miranda Macpherson October 25–29, in a course that shares a holistic and feminine approach to surrender and nondual realization based on a practice she calls Ego Relaxation — embracing the totality of our experience as a gateway into our deepest nature.

Take a moment to appreciate your yoga practice. No matter where you are on your journey, take a moment now to appreciate how far you've come. The practice of yoga itself has come even farther, originating back thousands of years in a soulful intention of re-connecting with the universe and ourselves.  Take this moment now to remember a yoga class you took or a teacher you studied with which inspired a sense of belonging and community. Yoga is a community, one we share with practitioners from centuries ago who have protected and cataloged this yoga, so that we may continue on its journey today. I invited Susanna Barkataki here with me to discuss the beginnings of yoga and how modern yogis can cultivate a sense of cultural appreciation for the practice, rather than appropriation. Susanna was born into a family where yoga was practiced at home, but it was never something she could share with the outside world. Yoga is supposed to create a sense of community, but for her, it was becoming a space of loneliness. It wasn't until later that she learned she had to carry her yoga practice with her off the mat and into the real world to successfully make her identity whole again. Mainstream yoga is a new trend in the West, breeding clothing lines and classes with cute farm animals. The yoga practice of the West sort of brushes over the faith and the history that is at play on the mat, and it becomes the responsibility of us, as practitioners, to learn more and create more space for other members of the yoga community.  We discuss Susanna's book and how we can learn to recognize the roles we play in different situations. Where you have power and privilege will paint your experiences, and it's important to ask yourself “Where do I experience privilege?” both on and off the yoga mat. This exercise is not meant to generate shame but to develop a sense of awareness so you can use your perspective to create change. Susanna gives us the tools to generate this awareness by teaching us to recognize the values that come from yoga in everyday life. We're in the world, we're embodied, and your yoga practice should touch all parts of your life. To learn more about Susanna, visit Embrace Yoga's Roots. If you would like to sign up for yoga courses with me, get your free 30-day membership on Omstars.com & use code: PODCAST. Keep up with us online @omstarsofficial. Keep up with me on Instagram at @kinoyoga and visit my blog at Kinoyoga.com.  If you want to share what you've learned on your yoga journey, get in touch with me at info@kinoyoga.com. You could be invited to guest spot on The Yoga Inspiration Podcast. 

This episode captures Jack Kornfield's lecture/ Dharma talk at Esalen on September 15th, 1983. Kornfield, one of the most articulate and compassionate voices in modern Western Buddhism, is co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, and Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California. He trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma and India, first as a student of the Thai forest master Ajahn Chah, about whom he speaks at length in this lecture. Kornfield has taught meditation worldwide since 1974 and is considered one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practices to the West. He's the author of a host of books, including 1977's "Living Dharma," 1993's "A Path with Heart," and 2001's "After the Ecstasy, the Laundry." This talk is at turns funny, wise, and insightful. It awakens a certain kind of spirit in the listener. We're grateful to Kornfield for his continuing association with the Esalen Institute, and continuing devotion to the path of the heart. Upcoming at Esalen: Being With Your Heart: Enneagram and Inner Work Retreat Are you ready to be with your heart and do deep inner work to get there? Russ Hudson, one of the top teachers and developers of the Enneagram system, & Deborah Rose Longo, an instructor of the Gurdjieff Movements for over 40 years, lead this retreat focused on restoring the centrality of spiritual practice and psychological rigor to Enneagram work. Sign up: https://www.esalen.org/workshops/being-with-your-heart-enneagram-and-inner-work-retreat Esalen Hosts Embrace Yoga's Roots Virtual Book Tour with Susanna Barkataki October 21 at 5:00 PST, Esalen is honored to host a virtual book tour with Susanna Barkataki, author of Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice. An Indian yoga practitioner in the Shankaracharya tradition, Susanna supports practitioners to lead with equity, diversity, and yogic values while growing thriving practices and businesses with confidence. Join Susanna for a conversation with Danny Fluker Jr., queer Atlanta native and the creator and executive director of Black Boys OM. Danny is a Esalen Teacher in Residence alum and a yoga/meditation teacher, writer, and activist whose vision is to uplift the Black community, Black boys in particular, with programs centering on their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Tickets to the event are $35, but as part of our End of Year Campaign, Esalen is offering free tickets to the first 50 people who sign up to become a Friend of Esalen between October 1-October 21. You'll receive the comp code and the RSVP link to the event when you become a friend. Become a friend and get your Comp Code now: https://www.esalen.org/give/friends-of-esalen Grief Into Beauty: Creating Nature Altars to Transform and Heal from This Year October 29-31, Internationally renowned author and artist Day Schildkret of Morning Altars will teach students how to use nature, art, and ritual to transform, heal, and make meaning from this chaotic time.

This week on Yoga Revolution, Jivana speaks with Susanna Barkataki, an Indian yoga practitioner in the Shankaracharya tradition who supports practitioners in leading with equity, diversity, and yogic values. Susanna is founder of Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute and runs 200/500 Yoga Teacher Training programs. She is an E-RYT 500, Certified Yoga Therapist with International Association of Yoga Therapists (C-IAYT). She and Jivana discuss how to find unity in diversity, creativity as an alternative to cultural appropriation, and the harm caused by spiritual bypassing and separation. Learn more about Susanna.Learn more about the book.Learn more about Jivana.Pre-order your copy of Yoga Revolution at Shambala, Amazon, or wherever books are sold.

In this episode of Your Story Medicine, I welcome Susanna Barkataki, an Indian yoga practitioner in the Shankaracharya tradition who supports practitioners to lead with equity, diversity and yogic values while growing thriving practices and businesses with confidence. She is founder of Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute and runs Yoga Teacher Training programs around the world. Susanna is the author of the book Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice. Susanna is a diversity, accessibility, inclusivity, and equity (DAIE) yoga unity educator who created the groundbreaking Honor {Don't Appropriate} Yoga Summit with over 10,000 participants. Learn more about Susanna and her offerings: Visit her website: www.susannabarkataki.com and www.ignitebewell.com Follow her on Instagram: www.instagram.com/susannabarkataki

In this time of increased awareness of racial disharmony, how does the study of yoga's ancient roots invite us into greater empathy? Author and teacher Susanna Barkataki discusses how embracing yoga's roots supports greater inclusivity and connection with each other and the world.

ON AIR co-founder, Lori Ann Ferreri is a multifaceted artist, performer and mindfulness guide based in Paris and NYC. Lori Ann embraces movement as a second language, which she weaves into her work as a creator, whether it be an immersive performance art experience or sequencing a yoga practice. Working on Broadway as a dancer and actor for 20 years led Lori Ann to discover and appreciate yoga. She earned her 500-hour yoga teaching credential with Moda Yoga and continued her education under Dina Tsouluhas and Valerie Verdier. Most recently, she completed teacher trainings with Schuyler Grant, Susanna Barkataki and Matt Phippen and earned her meditation teaching certification under Jonni Pollard. Lori Ann is a senior teacher at Modo Yoga NYC and developer and producer of global wellness retreats and mindfulness-focused events with her project, 4th Wall. Driven by her deep curiosity and commitment to continued learning, Lori Ann harnesses her mediums of art and motion in designing and imparting ever-evolving practices for well-being and personal growth.

In this powerful episode with the honorable Susanna Barkataki, we unpack the roots of yoga, cultural appropriation, and how yoga connects to social justice. We learn how we can combat the erasure of people from whom sacred traditions come from. Susanna is the author of Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice.  She supports practitioners to lead with equity, diversity, and yogic values while growing thriving practices and businesses with confidence.

Do you know the difference between honoring a culture and appropriating it? Why is appropriation such a big deal? I’m diving into these questions with my friend, author and yoga unity activist Susanna Barkataki, whose work focuses on using spiritual & DEI tools to uplift the underrepresented.  Susanna is shining a light on how the Western world is marginalizing yoga (because “Namastay in bed” is NOT okay!), and she's on a mission to bring yoga back to its roots by confronting the appropriation of its sacred culture. Her book “Embrace Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice” is just one way she’s taking on toxic yoga culture through education. In this episode, Susanna is joining me to share the stories & context for why she is passionate about teaching yoga’s origins, how to be creative with your OWN culture for your biz brand, and what y'all can do to STOP appropriating and START appreciating other folks' traditions & cultures. Listen now to hear more about: How Susanna is taking on the sea of whiteness in the yoga world Cultural appropriation as a door to systemic inequities The problems with glamorizing yoga How puns can escalate into exploitation of BIPOC What cultural appreciation ACTUALLY looks like (and what tools you need to be empowered to make the RIGHT choices) Why she’s bringing social justice & DEI into her yoga work Unpacking decolonization (and why it's NOT a metaphor) How words of social justice are co-opted and misused Susanna’s advice for being authentic, avoiding performative action, and aligning your values Why it’s EVERYBODY’S responsibility to live the practices of anti-racism and DEI  And so much more! Short on time? Check out the show highlights: [3:40] White supremacy in Western yoga spaces [10:00] How words or jokes exploit cultures [12:20] The glamorization of yoga [18:10] Building a better business with your OWN culture [20:30] What you can do to STOP appropriating and START appreciating cultures [28:20] Unpacking decolonization [35:00] Susanna’s advice for being authentic & real [40:00] The collective responsibility to practice DEI & anti-racism   Connect with Susanna Barkataki! Get her book or a FREE chapter of “Embrace Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice” here: http://embraceyogasrootsbook.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susannabarkataki/ India Aid Organizations: https://linktr.ee/susannabarkataki/ Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trudilebron/

Susanna Barkataki is a Yoga Unity Activist. She see a world where yoga is used as it was intended- as a tool for personal liberation and social justice.Here in EmpressPodcast's very first episode, we explore the appropriation of yoga and South Asian culture as well as how South Asians specifically are grouped into the "model minority" myth.  I also ask why some people who experience racism deny that that white supremacy is the problem.CONNECT WITH US FURTHERSusanna Barkataki's Instagram (@susannabarkataki): https://www.instagram.com/susannabarkataki/Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice (book + free chapter): https://www.susannabarkataki.com/bookWays You Can Help India Right Now: https://docs.google.com/document/d/122iIr1ORK6IQWNTIWS-AH2DLwg6rr76sdWVXKlMNTlc/editShanell Peterson's Instagram (@shanellpetersonofficial): https://www.instagram.com/shanellpetersonofficial/EmpressPodcast's Instagram (@empresspodcastofficial): https://www.instagram.com/empresspodcastofficial/

This episode has the groundedly, fierce Avery Kalapa (yoga practitioner, community weaver, and wellness organizer). This conversation was recorded days after Adam Toledo and Daunte Wright's murders and among harmful transphobic information & legislation continue to endanger those we love. Self-discernment (or viveka which is the Sanskrit for discernment) is a running theme as we talked about the dynamics of white supremacy, disrupting habits & systems of harm, sustaining action within activism, permission for our mystic selves to express our art.    Hear Avery explore how developing spiritual and/or movement practice(s) can support our discernment especially while navigating social locations. We talk about Resma Menakem's book, My Grandmother's Hands and Resma's discernment invitation relating the fight, flight, freeze and annihilate responses within our nervous systems, which could also be acting from our samskaras. Bonus, Dorothy (Nameh's neighbor donkey) makes her presence known during the conversation too.  ___ Avery is a community weaver, wellness organizer, and a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher, eRYT500, YACEP, BFA, with 20 years experience in yoga. Avery's approach is rooted in anti oppression: yoga for inner healing towards collective liberation. They love creating healing spaces that that don't require assimilation for queer & trans folks, outsiders and changmekers to often left out of mainstream yoga. Celebrated for their enthusiasm, accessibility, and depth of technique, their teaching reflects a deep gratitude for the Iyengar Lineage.     Avery is involved in various yoga equity projects, such as ABQ Queer Trans Community Yoga. They're also a gardener, and parent. Avery is a white, queer, nonbinary settler grateful to live on unceded Tiwa land, in Albuquerque NM.   Show Resources:  Avery's contacts - website newsletter instagram facebook  recent IGTV live hosted @susannabarkataki with Susanna Barkataki + many trans yoga enthusiasts Honor Native Land Tax  Albuquerque SURJ  White Supremacy Culture by Tema Okun My Grandmother's Hands by Resma Menakem  White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo  Ursula Le Guin, author quoted Lilla Watson, visual artist quoted  Details of the 80+ Anti-Trans bills  Audio by AGSoundtrax, Don't Look Back

Im heutigen Podcast spreche ich mit Meike Elisa Müller darüber, ob Yoga politisch ist. Spoiler: wir finden, ja. Wir sprechen heute über unsere eigenen Perspektiven und Erfahrungen über Yoga und politischen Aktivismus. Es gibt kein Handbuch für politisches Yoga, da es hauptsächlich eine innere Arbeit ist. Man kann natürlich Menschen inspirieren, doch jeder muss daran selbst arbeiten und sich zuhören und entscheiden, ob er aus der Komfortzone heraustreten möchte. Es gibt aber 3-4 Sachen, bzw. Fragen, die Meike uns mitgeben möchte, die sich jeder für die tägliche Reflektion selbst stellen kann: Wie kann ich die Welt mit meinen Talenten und Privilegien mitfühlender und fairer machen? Wie kann ich mehr Satwa in mein Leben bringen? Unterschiedliche Qualitäten - reifer Apfel, den ich selbst vom Bio Baum gepflückt habe. Reinheit/Wahrhaftigkeit/Aufrichtigkeit . (was man kauft, was man sagt, was ich plane, wie kann das aufrichtig sein?). Wofür brenne ich? Wofür schlägt mein Herz? Auf diese Fragen gibt es immer unterschiedliche Antworten, und alle können zu den verschiedensten Dingen beitragen, die (positive) Fußstapfen in der Welt hinterlassen. Dafür ist es jedoch wichtig, dass Yoga nicht beim “ich” aufhört, sondern nur der Anfang von etwas Größerem ist. Schau auch super gern mal bei Meikes Instagram Kanal vorbei: https://www.instagram.com/a.meek.yogi Eine Aktivistin die wir öfters nennen im Podcast ist Susanna Barkataki. Du findest auf ihrer Website wirklich tolle Ressourcen: https://www.susannabarkataki.com/ Wenn du jetzt neugierig geworden bist, dann findest du den Podcast zum Beispiel bei Spotify, bei YouTube, Google Podcasts etc., alle Links sind auch über meine Website (in der Bio) zu finden. Noch mehr wertvolle Infos & alle Links zum Podcast und darüber hinaus, findest Du auf meiner Website www.antoniareinhard.de Ich würde mich auch sehr freuen, wenn du mir eine Bewertung bei I-Tunes hinterlassen würdest! Ich freue mich über deine Gedanken zur Podcastfolge auf Instagram @yogaalsberuf Hast du Fragen, Wünsche oder Kritik? - Schreib sie mir gern an mentoring@antoniareinhard.de Happy Yogabusiness-Aufbau! Deine Antonia

Speaker, teacher trainer, Yoga culture advocate, and best-selling author Susanna Barkataki shares the roots of yoga and its tradition of social justice and liberation.  In the West, Yoga has been commodified, exploited and stripped from its earth based framework and practice. Susanna grounds us in the Yoga earth based philosophical essence and reminds us yoga is for all bodies to restore balance and connection to the elements.  Deepen your understanding and buy Susana Barkataki's book, Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Practice. Learn more about Susanna Barkataki at SusannaBarkataki.com  Learn more about Susanna's Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute.    La Cura Podcast is a project of Mijente. Please SUBSCRIBE and RATE us and write us a review! Share this episode with others! Follow us on IG at @lacurapodcast and @conmijente. You can email us at lacurapodcast@gmail.com, we want to hear from you!

In today's episode we speak with Susanna Barkataki.  Susanna is an Indian yoga practitioner and the founder of Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute. She is a Certified Yoga Therapist and Author of #1best selling book, Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice.  We will kick things off with a grounding meditation which lays the foundation for our discussion on engaging in a yoga practice that is accessible, inclusive and equitable and honoring it's rich tradition and heritage. ♡ TOPICS DISCUSSED :⟡Guided Bell Meditation: 02:21⟡Coming to yoga through suffering: 10:00⟡Expending yoga beyond just the post:17:00⟡Social Justice and Yoga: 22:55⟡Betrayal of one's body and how to reconnect 34:30⟡Trama informed, culturally informed yoga: 43:25♡ RESOURCES MENTIONED⟡ Book: Embrace Yoga's Roots: https://amzn.to/3w4NSSB⟡ Susanna Barkataki: https://www.susannabarkataki.com/»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»♡ SAY HELLO ON SOCIAL⟡ Website: https://www.survivingbreastcancer.org/⟡ Twitter: https://twitter.com/SBC_org ⟡ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/survivingbreastcancerorg/»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»♡ JOIN OUR GROUPS⟡ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13552879/⟡ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Survivingbreastcancer»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»♡ WATCH OUR WEBINARS⟡ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC355eKMBvbMQZgir1Y4sFdA»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»♡ SHOP OUR BRAND!⟡ Our Online Store:  https://www.survivingbreastcancer.org/our-brand⟡ Amazon Smile Supports Survivingbreastcancer.org. Every time you shop Amazon Smile and select “Survivingbreastcancer.org”, you shop and Amazon donates! ⟡Shop our Amazon Charity List and donate to a breast cancer survivor's care page!: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/clpf?ref_=nav_ListFlyout_smi_se_ya_lll_ll»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»♡ LET'S CONNECT⟡Subscribe to our newsletter https://www.survivingbreastcancer.org/subscribe-1⟡Attend an event https://www.survivingbreastcancer.org/events»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»♡ DONATE⟡ Donate to our charity and give the gift of hope, education and resources today: https://tinyurl.com/yc9cgt4e»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that we provide, our organization may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting our channel so we can continue to provide you with free content each week!»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»

Indian Yoga Practitioner and Author of "Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice"

Yoga is now so popular that people tend to overlook and honor the cultural roots of the practice. For some, yoga is only a trend, a part of an aesthetic experience, or simply a pastime.In this episode, Susanna joins me to talk about honoring the roots of yoga and improving your practice. Don't miss this important discussion on honoring spiritual practices!Visit https://www.radicallyloved.com/episode-show-notes/ for the full show notes and workbook download.

Honoring the Roots of Yoga with Susanna Barkataki Yoga is now so popular that people tend to overlook and honor the cultural roots of the practice. For some, yoga is only a trend, a part of an aesthetic experience, or simply a pastime. These may seem offensive to those who honor the roots of yoga . However, Susanna Barkataki shares that it only takes some guidance and understanding. In this episode, Susanna joins me to talk about cultural appropriation and how we can avoid appropriating yoga. For teachers, she shares how you can deepen your understanding of the spiritual practice. If you are curious about honoring the roots of yoga or want to improve your practice, this episode is for you! Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode: Understand the importance of honoring the cultural roots of spiritual practices like yoga. Learn how to deepen your understanding of yoga. Find out how Susanna feels radically loved by listening to the full episode! Resources Embrace Yoga’s Roots by Susanna Barkataki Ignite, a YTT Training Course Connect with Susanna on Instagram! Create a daily meditation ritual in just seven days! Download BUILD YOUR DAILY MEDITATION RITUAL and other freebies at com! FREE WORKBOOK! Apply the lessons you learn from this episode as you listen! Enter your email below, and I’ll send it right away! Episode Highlights Susanna’s Personal Experience on Appropriation Susanna grew up in Los Angeles and has a mixed culture — she is half-white and half-Indian. She was made fun of as a child for things part of her family’s culture and heritage. Later on, she witnessed white women sporting the same parts of her culture, yet they were deemed hip, “in,” or cool. This experience is what led her to study cultural appropriation and educate others. You cannot understand cultural appropriation without understanding power systems like oppression, colonization, or white supremacy. Yoga is a way of life. It is not something you do. It is something you are. How Current Events Helped Susanna’s Message In their youth, Susanna and her peers have been advocating issues regarding how the system has been failing many. The Black Lives Matter movement amplified their advocacies. However, it is unfortunate that lives had to be lost for people to see the urgency. On Non-Natives Practicing and Teaching Yoga It is entirely up to how willing they are to dive deeper into the roots of yoga and learn the practice. It’s important to get in touch with teachers who are from the lineage. Susanna poses questions for those who aspire to be teachers of yoga. She suggests that there’s more to explore, significantly beyond concepts of yoga that are “popularized.” On Cultural Appropriation and Power Imbalance The two criteria for cultural appropriation are power imbalance and harm. Power imbalance is the dominant culture you see when you think of a yoga space. Nowadays, it’s those who are privileged. Susanna talks about harm. Her teachers and their teachers don’t mix alcohol with their practice. Yogic texts prohibit drinking and consider it disrespectful. Be careful with tattoos and t-shirt prints, as well as using sacred symbols. Think about whether there is a power imbalance and whether there would be harm. For more information on the harmful effects of cultural appropriation, listen to the podcast. How Sanskrit Can Deepen Our Understanding You should remain a student to deepen your knowledge. Teachers should also learn the Sanskrit of poses. As a teacher, you don’t necessarily have to speak them out loud but, at the very least, understand the concept from the language. Susanna can teach even preschoolers using the language. Listen to the podcast to learn more about how to be a proper yoga teacher! Learning from Mistakes Sometimes, mistakes do happen, and you can’t be entirely perfect. Susanna encourages those wanting to get into spiritual practice to put in the effort and educate themselves. Susanna talks about her book, which discusses the roots of yoga. Make sure to listen to the full episode to hear more! Correcting Mistakes Someone might get discouraged if they are told they are wrong. If you’re a teacher, it’s better to be open and collaborative rather than critical. You can ask questions out of curiosity and the need to understand. From there, you can make gentle suggestions and guide others. Uplifting Others Susanna appreciates people who actively want to learn because it means they are tuning in. When people want to learn, minorities feel heard. People who aren’t of color can use their privilege for cultural healing. Yoga in the Time of a Crisis Because of the current global situation, people are finding themselves more anxious and stressed. It is essential to serve the soul. You can find authentic yoga teachers. In times of grief, yoga can show up in different forms to support us. Your yoga practice can create something for the community beyond the mat. 5 Powerful Quotes from the Episode [04:26] “Well, yoga isn’t really something that you do, it’s something that you are.” [07:57] “For a lot of us, we’ve been here, we’ve been having these conversations, we’ve been doing the work, but no one was really listening until the pressure got too high.” [09:02] “I think there’s a feeling of empowerment, to both speak up and say what’s wrong and what’s not working, and also empowerment to collaborate and to uplift intersectionality.” [25:14] “When you think about the preservation of a culture, it’s story, it’s language, it’s practice, it’s a ritual. And so I really do think yoga teachers everywhere should learn Sanskrit.” [37:33] “I think true yoga can show up for us, and be a support, and be a life raft.” About Susanna Susanna Barkataki is a self-published author, teacher, and advocate for many causes, including yoga culture. As a child and immigrant to the US, she had experienced a lot of violence because of her ethnicity and culture. Despite this, she learned to love herself and even liberate herself with a core part of her culture—yoga. Susanna’s mission is to raise awareness on how yoga is a lifestyle, rather than just an exercise. She seeks to spread the message of inclusivity and hopes that people will unite through yoga one day. If you want to connect with Susanna, you can visit her website. You can also reach out to her on Instagram.   This episode is brought to you by Nucalm https://nucalm.com/   get 50% off your 30-day subscription of NuCalm and their money-back guarantee.   This episode is brought to you by Fit Track Dara Scale www.fittrack.com/loved To Save 50% PLUS get an additional 30% off your order with code Build30 at checkout!    Enjoy the Podcast? If you felt radically loved from listening to this podcast, subscribe and share it with the people you love! Love to give us 5 stars? If you do, we'd love a review from you. Help us reach more people and make them feel loved. Do you want to help more people honor and appreciate the roots of yoga? A simple way is to share what you've learned today on social media. Don't forget to send us messages on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Thanks for listening! To feeling radically loved, Rosie

This week we dive into the TV masterpiece, It's a Sin, that has swept the nation and has been recommended to us on multiple occasions (thank you listeners!). It's A Sin arrives in all its glory and we are in love. 
Synchronicity emerged in our reading this week, as Alex was consumed by Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters and Rhiannon sank into She Wants It by Joey Soloway. Both books offered incredible insight into the journeys and pluralities within transitioning. Alex shares another comedy song contribution, which is happening so frequently that it's almost ready to become a feature. Rhiannon drastically shifts the tone of the podcast by discussing cricket - we're as surprised as you are - and won Alex over with the drama of the Australian cricket team's journey to redemption, in the Amazon Prime series The Test. Finally, Alex shares her podcast hot tips, after listening to a fascinating discussion on Good Ancestor about white supremacy and erasure in yoga. We are an accessible podcast, you can find transcripts in our linktree in our instagram bio @thegrandthunk. Follow us on social media @thegrandthunk or email us - thegrandthunk@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you! Subscribe, rate, review and tell all your friends! See below for a full list of what we discuss: It's a Sin, Channel 4 Russel T Davies for The Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/jan/03/russell-t-davies-i-looked-away-for-years-finally-i-have-put-aids-at-the-centre-of-a-drama Years and Years, BBC and HBO A Very English Scandal, BBC One Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters She Wants It by Joey Soloway Government Consultation on toilet provision - https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/toilet-provision-for-men-and-women-call-for-evidence/toilet-provision-for-men-and-women-call-for-evidence We Exist London Email Template - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cZ4Vw4rfVV2GqF4y3cToIHApxGhpoop38x8FTwkGj0c/edit Taylor Swift, Willow (+John Mulaney) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWWE1Pt_iEk The Test, Amazon Prime Layla Saad & Susanna Barkataki on Good Ancestor podcast Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad

Episode 28: Power In Balance In Episode 28 Jivana Heyman sits down with Susanna Barkataki. Susanna supports yoga practitioners to lead with equity, diversity and yogic values while growing thriving practices and businesses with confidence. She is founder of Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute and runs 200/500 Yoga Teacher Training programs. Jivana and Susanna have an in-depth conversation about the philosophy and history of the yoga and social justice movements of India. This conversation explores lessons and takeaways from the traditions, practices, and movements of yoga to bring social justice and advocacy to the forefront of our wellness spaces. This week hear more about: How Susanna started piecing together her recently released book through, essays, articles, interviewing her family and community How social justice and yoga have always been connected practices for Susanna The importance of seeking social justice and activism as a part of yoga more and more How important service is in the tradition of yoga How non-violence and service led social justice movements in India's fight for liberation How Ghandi and others modeled service and social justice as major part of the traditions of this practice How Susanna learned about movements and service during her time living in India How ancient texts, like the Yoga Sutras, gives us inspiration for social justice

Episode 28: Power In Balance In Episode 28 Jivana Heyman sits down with Susanna Barkataki. Susanna supports yoga practitioners to lead with equity, diversity and yogic values while growing thriving practices and businesses with confidence. She is founder of Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute and runs 200/500 Yoga Teacher Training programs. Jivana and Susanna have an in-depth conversation about the philosophy and history of the yoga and social justice movements of India. This conversation explores lessons and takeaways from the traditions, practices, and movements of yoga to bring social justice and advocacy to the forefront of our wellness spaces. This week hear more about: How Susanna started piecing together her recently released book through, essays, articles, interviewing her family and community How social justice and yoga have always been connected practices for Susanna The importance of seeking social justice and activism as a part of yoga more and more How important service is in the tradition of yoga How non-violence and service led social justice movements in India's fight for liberation How Ghandi and others modeled service and social justice as major part of the traditions of this practice How Susanna learned about movements and service during her time living in India How ancient texts, like the Yoga Sutras, gives us inspiration for social justice

Episode 28: Power In Balance In Episode 28 Jivana Heyman sits down with Susanna Barkataki. Susanna supports yoga practitioners to lead with equity, diversity and yogic values while growing thriving practices and businesses with confidence. She is founder of Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute and runs 200/500 Yoga Teacher Training programs. Jivana and Susanna have an in-depth conversation about the philosophy and history of the yoga and social justice movements of India. This conversation explores lessons and takeaways from the traditions, practices, and movements of yoga to bring social justice and advocacy to the forefront of our wellness spaces.  This week hear more about:   How Susanna started piecing together her recently released book through, essays, articles, interviewing her family and community How social justice and yoga have always been connected practices for Susanna The importance of seeking social justice and activism as a part of yoga more and more  How important service is in the tradition of yoga  How non-violence and service led social justice movements in India’s fight for liberation How Ghandi and others modeled service and social justice as major part of the traditions of this practice  How Susanna learned about movements and service during her time living in India How ancient texts, like the Yoga Sutras, gives us inspiration for social justice

In this episode, I speak with yoga practitioner, author and founder, Susanna Barkataki.An Indian yoga practitioner in the Shankaracharya tradition, Susanna Barkataki supports practitioners to lead with equity, diversity and yogic values while growing thriving practices and businesses with confidence. She is the author of the 2020 book Embrace Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice, for people who want to teach or learn yoga and are unsure about integrating their values into their practice without disrespecting ancient yoga philosophy.Susanna is founder of Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute and runs 200/500 Yoga Teacher Training programs. She is an E-RYT 500, Certified Yoga Therapist with International Association of Yoga Therapists (C-IAYT).With an Honors degree in Philosophy from UC Berkeley and a Masters in Education from Cambridge College, Susanna is a diversity, accessibility, inclusivity, and equity (DAIE) yoga unity educator who created the ground-breaking Honor {Don’t Appropriate} Yoga Summit with over 10,000 participants.

Our guest this week on the pod is Susanna Barkataki.  Susanna is a Speaker, Author, Teacher, and Yoga Culture Advocate.  Her new book is called Embrace Yoga's Roots. Resources mentioned in this episode: Susanna's site Embrace Yoga's Roots book Embrace Yoga's Roots online course Decolonize Your Yoga Practice post Sonali Fiske's site Desiree Adaway Awarepreneurs interview The Podcast Success Team Paul's business coaching site

This is a moment to look inward, look at how you are practicing ahimsa in the midst of the anti-Black racism and harm you witness. How are you creating a sanctuary space of healing and peace, without the spiritual bypassing? Ahimsa, often translated as non-harm, does not mean nonaction. It does not mean check out and detach from the suffering you witness. "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." - Viktor E. Frankl This piece was crafted while feeling overtired watching the words and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrangled to suppress and silence the very people his words were meant to inspire to act. This piece was crafted for your yoga instructor, studio owner, and friend who's having trouble living their yoga. Hear yoga teachers Kelley Palmer, Stephanie Hicks, Marcus Stanback, Dan'yelle Williamson, Susanna Barkataki, and Anjali Sunita. Ahimsa is a limited series audiomemoir on yoga, wellness, and Black Lives in 2020 written and narrated by Dr. Yasmene Mumby. Sound and music by Justin Mayfield. Dave Nelson, Andrew Horan, and Alice Thompson edited the script. “Hold On” performed by the Kuumba Singers at Harvard College with Bobby McFerrin. Funding for this artistry was made possible by YogaGlo. Go to www.yasmenemumby.com for the latest updates and to support more of this work.

In this week's episode, Tina speaks with Susanna Barkataki about her new book. An Indian yoga practitioner in the Shankaracharya tradition, Susanna Barkataki supports practitioners to lead with equity, diversity, and yogic values while growing thriving practices and businesses with confidence. She is the founder of Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute and runs 200/500 Yoga Teacher Training programs. She is an E-RYT 500, Certified Yoga Therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapists (C-IAYT). Author of #1 New Release and International Bestseller in Yoga in Nov 2020 Embrace Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice. With an Honors degree in Philosophy from UC Berkeley and a Masters in Education from Cambridge College, Barkataki is a diversity, accessibility, inclusivity, and equity (DAIE) yoga unity educator who created the ground-breaking Honor {Don’t Appropriate} Yoga Summit with over 10,000 participants. Learn more and take her complimentary masterclass to embrace yoga’s roots without appropriation: www.namastemasterclass.com

My friend Susanna Barkataki has written a book called Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice and it is excellent. It is inspiring, galvanizing, a rallying cry. In this episode we talk all about what it really means to embrace yoga's roots and how to integrate our values into our teaching and respect the tradition and culture that yoga comes from.  If you don't already know Susanna and her work, you must! We did a deep dive into cultural appropriation in this earlier podcast episode: 54: Unpacking Cultural Appropriation with Susanna Barkataki. An Indian yoga practitioner in the Shankaracharya tradition, Susanna Barkataki is the founder of Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute and runs Ignite Be Well 200/500 Yoga Training programs. She is an E-RYT 500, Certified Yoga Therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapists. In this episode you'll hear: why understanding yoga philosophy as an agent for social change matters now more than ever a deep dive into appropriation including specific examples like:  the double-sided coin of glamorization and sterilization how to stay away from both white centering and tokenization how to process feelings of discomfort when doing anti-racism work the ways that yogic teachings can be used to suppress civic engagement and how to avoid that what happens when yoga philosophy is weaponized how the studentship of yoga is a wonderful support in the path of anti-racism and decolonization how we can create conditions for true liberation  Resources Mentioned in the episode:  Buy Susanna's book  Follow Susanna on Instagram  Susanna's Website Study with Susanna Namaste: How to End Your Yoga Class Confidently and Embrace Yoga's Roots

This conversation has been a long time coming for all of us who are navigating both wellness practice and social justice. Because it is not enough to just do the right thing in this moment, we have to go back to the roots to heal and repair what has been broken and violated. And we have with us today a true teacher in that work. Susanna Barkataki is an Indian yoga practitioner, teacher, and now author of the recent book Embrace Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice. In this episode, we talk about how to personally and collectively navigate the violent history of colonization and appropriation, how to show up for each other in solidarity and how to live into the wisdom of spiritual practice. This conversation gave me so much to reflect on and reckon with around what it means to truly embrace and embody this practice and live your life according to its values. And tune in to the end because Susanna gives us the gift of the Sacred Pause - a practice and gesture that can help us meet this moment and breathe into the next with grace and courage

Today's guest, Susanna Barkataki, is the author of a new book on yoga's history and culture called Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice. This book is a call for all who study yoga to take a deeper look at how we interact with Indian culture, how we use our privilege, and how we can advocate for more equity within the practice we love. Show notes: http://www.jasonyoga.com/podcast/episode216 Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yogaland. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join us today for a special bonus episode as we continue the conversation on cultural appropriation with Susanna Barkataki. This conversation began 2 years ago when Rachel and Susanna were first introduced - after Rachel was accused of cultural appropriation herself. Rachel has come a long way since then, and she shares the realizations and changes she has made in her business and in life. But - there is always more work to be done!  Continue this important conversation with us today. You will learn how to come into your power by embracing the history of yoga on a deeper level, why creativity is the solution for cultural appropriation, and how you can use your power to uplift others instead of causing them harm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is cultural appropriation, and how does it relate to yoga? Is yoga political? Should you say Namaste at the end of a yoga class?  In today’s episode, Rachel is joined by yoga diversity advocate Susanna Barkataki to deepen our knowledge and understanding of how to properly honor yoga’s roots. There is a misconception in the Western world as to what yoga is. Yoga is not only a physical practice that happens on our mats but an ancient system of ethics and philosophy - a system that has become altered and diluted as it spread to the west over time. Colonization and commercialization have had a big impact in shaping what we perceive yoga to be, which unfortunately now has strayed a long ways away from what the practice truly is about. While India may no longer be under British rule, historic oppression and the white washing of yoga has lasting effects and is still causing harm today. It is our responsibility to recognize the harm that takes place, to notice where we are complicit with it, and to do the work to ensure we are honoring the roots of this practice. Susanna helps us weave through this complex topic by defining cultural appropriation and offering real-world examples and stories. This may be a challenging conversation to begin having with ourselves and our teachers, but fortunately the practice of yoga is one that teaches us to sit with discomfort and offers the potential for a deep awakening. How can you be more inclusive to all? Where are you in a position of power? In what areas can you deepen your understanding of yoga? Tune in to dive deep and find the answers you have been waiting for. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Nekkid Podcast!Find the full show notes for this podcast here.  In This Episode: How Susanna and I met Susanna mixed Indian/English upbringing What is yoga? The diversity of the yogic path A conversation on separation Where are all the South Asian yoga teachers? Cultural appropriation in Yoga How to honor Yoga Resources: Embrace Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice by Susanna BarkatakiWhere to find Susanna Barkataki: Instagram: @susannabarkatakiWebsites: susannabarkataki.com + ignitebewell.comSupport the Podcast:Financial - PayPal + CashApp + Venmo Subscribe - Apple Podcasts + Stitcher + Google Podcasts + Spotify Review on Apple Podcasts!Share! ★ Support this podcast ★

If you do yoga or have it coming into your field as something to explore, then my guest on The Priestess Podcast today, Susanna Barkataki, is going to be Goddess sent to you. I have this small theory, (which is clearly untested in any scientific way but still pressing on my heart), that most of us do not really know what yoga actually is. What we think it is, is a version sold to us through a white and capitalist lens that has stripped yoga of it's full spiritual and social meaning to just be about what we do on a mat. Susanna is here to share with us today how yoga is so much more than likely what we think we know and how to decolonise our practice and view of it. She is enlightening, warm and also challenging in true yoga practitioner form.

Susanna Barkataki is a renowned yoga speaker, teacher, and therapist. Her mission is to explore and integrate yogic values into our every day and build awareness, equity, and diversity within the yoga community. Susanna Barkataki is the Director of Education for Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute and the creator of the Honor (don't appropriate) Yoga Summit. 

Susanna Barkataki is the founder of Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute and runs Ignite Be Well 200/500 Yoga Training programs. She is a Certified Yoga Therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapists (C-IAYT). And she is the author of the forthcoming book Honor Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice. With an Honors degree in Philosophy from UC Berkeley and a Masters in Education from Cambridge College, Susanna is a diversity, accessibility, inclusivity, and equity (DAIE) yoga unity educator who created the ground-breaking Honor {Don’t Appropriate} Yoga Summit with more than 10,000 participants. Susanna is someone I discovered this year and I am so happy I did. Because while you wouldn’t know it from her soothing voice, this woman is a total powerhouse and has built her platform with so much integrity and intention. In this episode, she shares her career path from publishing to teaching to creating her trailblazing yoga platform, and how tuning into what excited her most was always the key to finding her next right step, how her yoga practice was helped her overcome shyness and deep anxiety, and let go of her fear of being seen, what inspired her to deepen her knowledge of yoga and Ayurveda, and why she went to India to get her training vs. receiving it in the United States, the many moments she found herself being passed over for opportunities in the yoga industry and how she couldn't help noticing that the platforms of white practitioners were being elevated much more, her big break moment in creating the first-ever summit about cultural appropriation as it relates to yoga and how she was able to get so many people registered with her very small audience, why she never compromised her integrity or vision for her business even though her approach was not popular and took years to gain traction, and so much more!   To learn more about Susanna Barkataki and the resources mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes.   Follow Me On: Facebook Instagram

Welcome to season six! Fifty Feminist States is back for a mini-season with three very special conversations about healing, white supremacy, and voting this fall.In this episode, Amelia interviews Susanna Barkataki, a speaker, teacher, author, and yoga unity activist living and working on unceded Seminole land in Florida. They discuss what it's like to be an Indian woman practicing and teaching yoga in the U.S., the ways in which yoga succeeds and fails as a feminist practice, and the necessary steps for decolonizing yoga in the West. It's such a powerful conversation and a beautiful sneak peek into Susanna's upcoming book.Fifty Feminist States is no longer releasing new episodes. Click here to follow Amelia's next podcasting project Softer Sounds.

Welcome to season six! Fifty Feminist States is back for a mini-season with three very special conversations about healing, white supremacy, and voting this fall.In this episode, Amelia interviews Susanna Barkataki, a speaker, teacher, author, and yoga unity activist living and working on unceded Seminole land in Florida. They discuss what it’s like to be an Indian woman practicing and teaching yoga in the U.S., the ways in which yoga succeeds and fails as a feminist practice, and the necessary steps for decolonizing yoga in the West. It’s such a powerful conversation and a beautiful sneak peek into Susanna’s upcoming book. Be sure to download a preview of that here! Follow:Susanna Barkataki on Instagram @susannabarkatakiFifty Feminist States on Instagram @fiftyfeministstatesSupport the podcast and the stories of the feminist activists and artists we share by pledging a monthly or one-time donation on our glow.fm page at this link.

For this episode, I sat down with Susanna Barkataki. Susanna is a yoga teacher, Certified Yoga Therapist and the founder of Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute where she runs Ignite Be Well 200/500 Yoga teacher Training programs. She is the author of the forthcoming book Honor Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice. With a degree in Philosophy from UC Berkeley and a Masters in Education from Cambridge College, Barkataki is a diversity, accessibility, inclusivity, and equity yoga unity educator who created the ground-breaking Honor {Don’t Appropriate} Yoga Summit with more than 10,000 participants. MY 5 BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:1- Originally, the practice was meant to help transcend the attachment to the body. A full yoga practice is far beyond the physical. It includes all 8 limbs, yoga philosophy, ethics, mantra, mudra, spiritual and lineage acknowledgment and appreciation, and more.2- To be a responsible and holistic yoga teacher today, you need to have some understanding of social justice and social equity since yoga is about unity.3- Yoga was pre-religious, it was a earth based spiritual practice. Yoga came from the elements as a way to understand suffering, understand the world around us, and to learn to be more in harmony with that world and with ourselves. It later co-existed and was influenced by the major world religions. It's at least 2,500 BCE, possibly 5,000-10,000 BCE.4- The lack of accessibility, representation and equally in yoga classes is a public health issue. As a teacher, ask yourself who is not here and why are missing?5- As a student, diversify your feed, seek out a variety of teachers, support organizations that work towards equality and diversity. Commit to stick to a variety of practices. There are no rule book. It's about thinking critically and acting in a way that brings balance to the power difference and tries to heal the harm that was made in the past. QUESTIONS SHE ANSWERED DURING THIS EPISODE:Why are you passionate about this work? And who do you it for?You say “There has been some misunderstanding as to what yoga is in the west today” Could you explain what is the definition of yoga you work with, just so we’ll all be on the same page?How does the definition translate and look like in our experience of yoga in a studio in the western world?What as westerner yoga teachers should we study, look at, consider?Can we do a brief overview history of yoga?Was the watering down of the practice to make it more palatable was a good strategy?How does racism shows up in the yoga community and how can we create more equality and diversity?As a student, how do you make other students feel more welcomed and participate in the efforts of the studio to be more inclusive? What is cultural appropriation, what isn’t?What does cultural appropriation look like in the yoga context?SUBSCRIBE, RATE & REVIEW!DONATE OR BECOME AN EXCLUSIVE MEMBER TODAY. Thank you so much for listening and being part of our 69th episode! If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe, rate and review anywhere you listen. As always, I really appreciate your support with this podcast whether it’s through reviews or through Patreon. With even a small donation of $5/month you can get access to more content, exclusive episodes, tutorials, guided meditations. On October 1st, you got a Restorative Yoga Class on Video. You can also have access to some or all the classes we’ve recorded on zoom and continue to record during this shelter-in-place. If you’d like to have access to all this and/or support me in the creation of this podcast, please visit www.patreon.com/onandoffyourmat and become a PREMIUM member on the tier of your choice. ABOUT OUR GUESTAn Indian yoga practitioner in the Shankaracharya tradition, Susanna Barkataki is the founder of Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute and runs Ignite Be Well 200/500 Yoga Training programs. She is an E-RYT 500, Certified Yoga Therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapists (C-IAYT). She is the author of the forthcoming book Honor Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice. With an Honors degree in Philosophy from UC Berkeley and a Masters in Education from Cambridge College, Barkataki is a diversity, accessibility, inclusivity, and equity (DAIE) yoga unity educator who created the ground-breaking Honor {Don’t Appropriate} Yoga Summit with more than 10,000 participants.IG: @susannabarkatakisusannabarkataki.comignitebewell.comnamastemasterclass.comSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/on-and-off-your-mat-yoga-podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What does it mean to be a lifelong practitioner of yoga? If you’re a new student of yoga, meeting these seasoned and talented yoga practitioners is so intimidating. Especially if you have that feeling of unworthiness. Maybe you found yoga on Instagram or YouTube and you see other yogis and their gurus, and suddenly you think to yourself - “wow, maybe I’m not a real yoga student?” But there is nothing further from the truth. On this episode of The Yoga Inspiration Podcast, Susanna Barkataki is helping us explore the ins and outs of the new yoga student’s spiritual journey. Susanna grew up with the folk knowledge of yoga in the backdrop of her life, but growing up with mixed heritage in the United States meant that she never fully realized yoga’s teachings until she accepted them for herself later on in life. Susanna wanted to reclaim the wholeness of who she was, to absorb every element of each of her ancestral cultures, and to bring this myriad of experience to her yoga practice. There are alternative yoga lineages that are evolving with our modern way of life, and Susanna is here to tell yoga students of all levels that we can still honor the roots of yoga without having to re-invent the spiritual path.  So many new yoga students experience a backlash of what many call a “cultural appropriation of yoga”. We may feel as if we are stepping on the toes of an ancient and established spiritual journey, and this can make us feel unworthy or embarrassed of our own attempts at poses and spiritual reflection. On the other hand, it might inspire some yoga students to create their own version of yoga, one that’s better suited for them. Susanna says that isn’t necessary. We discuss the differences between cultural appropriation and a true cultural appreciation, one that accepts the traditional teachings of yoga but also embraces the evolution yoga students everywhere are currently experiencing, and how new students can find teachers that truly meet their needs.  The guru-shishya, or student-teacher relationship in yoga, is a key aspect of your yoga journey. But finding a mentor isn’t easy, especially for Westerners who have a hard time battling the ego, both in themselves and in the culture that defines most North Americans today. Susanna shares her experience with yoga teachers both in the West and in India, and her biggest advice for new students today is to find a teacher that supports your vulnerability as a new student and helps you cultivate that better version of yourself that you’re seeking.  In this modern age, especially with COVID-19 keeping all of us in our homes, yoga is more accessible than ever. No matter where you’re starting your yoga journey - be it online or with a guru - there’s no reason for new students to feel unworthy of the practice. As Susanna says, we are all within a web of knowledge, and we are each contributing to this knowledge as we explore our own yoga journeys together.  If you’re a practicing yoga student - no matter where you are on your journey - I want to hear about it. Please share a bit of your yoga journey with me and my listeners. Send an email at info@kinoyoga.com and tell me - what does yoga mean to you? You could be invited to guest spot on The Yoga Inspiration Podcast with Kino MacGregor! Stay connected: @kinoyoga and @omstarsofficial View my teaching schedule, blogs, etc on Kinoyoga.com Get your free 30 day membership on Omstars.com& use code: PODCAST

An Indian yoga practitioner in the Shankaracharya tradition, Susanna Barkataki is the founder of Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute and runs Ignite Be Well 200/500 Yoga Training programs. She is an E-RYT 500, Certified Yoga Therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapists (C-IAYT). She is the author of the forthcoming book Honor Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice. With an Honors degree in Philosophy from UC Berkeley and a Masters in Education from Cambridge College, Barkataki is a diversity, accessibility, inclusivity, and equity (DAIE) yoga unity educator who created the ground-breaking Honor {Don’t Appropriate} Yoga Summit with more than 10,000 participants. Learn lead to practice and teach to honor yoga’s roots: www.namastemasterclass.com Website: www.susannabarkataki.com  To sign up for the 30-day practice progression click here. To become a Mindful Strength Member click here.  

Creating and connecting with community has been one of my most important practices this year. I have a weekly Sunday night Zoom hang out with my best friends from college. I'm in a quarantine pod with my parents and have dinner with them most weeks. I have regular Slack and text chats with the Stillness + Movement teaching team. Checking in, venting, processing, uplifting, fantasizing and being together keeps me awake, grounded and grateful. The Where Do We Go From Here? series here on The Mentor Sessions has been such a great excuse to get some of my favorite yoga teacher colleagues on Zoom to process together, and out loud, where you can all listen in!!  This is the fifth and final episode in the series, for now, and I can't wait for you to hear it! Susanna Barkataki and Amber Karnes are some of my most treasured yoga friends, and just talking to them lifted my spirits. The work they are both doing in the world is vitally important and they do it with such clarity and compassion. They inspire me and I know you'll feel the same way!  In this episode you'll hear: What has been hard for Amber and Susanna this year, and what they have lost An important conversation about who is missing from our spaces and why  Why online teaching is working well for the three of us and some things listeners can do to make their online teaching feel more sustainable The ways in which teaching online has made things more accessible  When we each think we might teach in-person again Resources Mentioned In This Episode: State of Union (Yoga) My virtual yoga studio, Stillness + Movement I'm writing letters to help Get Out The Vote with Vote Forward Learn More From Susanna: In her new book! On Instagram  On her website At her training school, Ignite Be Well Namaste Master Class Learn More From Amber: On her website,  Body Positive Yoga At the Accessible Yoga Training School 

Two woo-sphere hallmarks and the antics that come with them Resources mentioned: The Yoga is Dead Podcast, Susanna Barkataki, @abcdyogi

All of us have the potential to live fully in our pleasure and to find the joy and peace of living in our integrity and deeply connecting with the world around us. Today I welcome speaker, author, and yoga culture advocate Susanna Barkataki to share her passion for unity and transcending our own limitations through the honored practice of yoga. Join us as we discuss the value of preserving tradition, the damage cultural appropriation can do, and how truly transformational it can be to practice yoga in an inclusive and honorable way.  We get into: Cultural appropriation, the damage it causes, and ways to stop the harm.  The importance of acknowledgment when using ceremonies and traditions from others’ cultures.  Western yoga’s focus on the physical and a look into the MANY other ways into a yoga practice.  The importance of a connection to the divine and how that impacts our relationships.  Masculine and feminine energy and the different ways we can talk about these kinds of topics in a more trans-inclusive and non-binary way.  And more!   Learn more about Susanna: https://www.susannabarkataki.com/ Susanna's IG: https://www.instagram.com/susannabarkataki/ Join Susanna's mastermind: http://namastemasterclass.com Come and join our fb community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DesireOnFire/ Subscribe to my email list and learn more about a desire-led life: https://www.aimeebatuski.com/ Check out my instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/aimeebatuski/ And my retreat company instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/desireonfire/

Our final episode of the Namaste Bitches Trilogy is our Extended Greenroom Conversation. We had so much in our first Greenroom, we didn't  have time to ask my last two questions! So I invited special guests Michelle Cassandra Johnson, LeoRising and Susanna Barkataki back to deconstruct the entertainment business and Yoga/wellness business connection. Michelle Cassandra Johnson - Author Skill in Action:Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World Susanna Barkataki - Author Honor Yoga's Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice LeoRising  - Yoga Guide leorisingyoga.com Music by DJ Nickodemus www.sonderwheelrecordings.com Coverart: Sabina Espinet Art @usgamesinc --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jeanine-t-abraham/message

Post podcast play reading Greenroom discussion of Play #4 of our Community Organized! series...Namaste B*tches. Recorded Friday July 10, 2020 at 7:30pm on VisAbleBlackwoman's Virtual Theater studio space on Core to coeur Namaste B*tches. Written & Directed by Jeanine T. Abraham Summer...2018- Two Black Female Yoga/Wellness influencers meet with the two white female owners of the hottest Yoga and wellness talent Agency in New York City. Post Play Reading Greenroom discussion topics: Is wellness capitalism? Is capitalism wellness? Should Americans even be teaching the Hindu Religion as an exercise fad? We discuss these questions and more in our special Greenroom post reading conversation with my favorite Yoga teachers: Crystal McCreary Susanna Barkataki -Honor Yoga's Roots:Courageous ways to deepen your yoga practice by Susanna Barkataki coming September 2020 Sara Clark Leo Rising Carrington Jackson Shannon Algeo VisAbleBlackwoman Productions & Core To Coeur Music by DJ Nickodemus www.wonderwheelrecordings.com Coverart: Sabina Espinet Art @usgamesinc --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jeanine-t-abraham/message

Why We Love Susanna: An Indian yoga practitioner in the Shankaracharya tradition, Susanna Barkataki is the founder of Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute and runs Ignite Be Well 200/500 Yoga Training programs. She is an E-RYT 500, Certified Yoga Therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapists (C-IAYT). She is the author of the forthcoming book Honor Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice. With an Honors degree in Philosophy from UC Berkeley and a Masters in Education from Cambridge College, Barkataki is a diversity, accessibility, inclusivity, and equity (DAIE) yoga unity educator who created the ground-breaking Honor {Don’t Appropriate} Yoga Summit with more than 10,000 participants. Learn lead to practice and teach to honor yoga’s roots: www.namastemasterclass.com On the Pod, We Discuss: Susanna’s entry into yoga, and later her struggle to find a studio where she felt welcome The consequences of learning about yoga and other wellness practices in spaces that don’t honor their roots How the cultural transmission from the east to the west during colonization contributed to the focus on the physical asana practice How yoga can provide a vehicle for overcoming internalized place of lack and fuel for social justice work Cultural appropriation: what it is, how to identify it and how to combat it Tangible ways we can all honor yoga’s roots as students and/or teachers What has been helpful in navigating stress and anxiety for Susanna throughout the pandemic  Her forthcoming book, Honor Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice  The process of writing and publishing the book and what it was like emotionally Spiritual lineage acknowledgement: why it’s important and how we can all do it And much more Helpful Links: Learn lead to practice and teach to honor yoga’s roots in Susanna’s complementary video masterclass: www.namastemasterclass.com Learn about Suanna’s book, Honor Yoga’s Roots (which will published soon!) Visit her website Follow her on Instagram The Bhavda Ghita  Our interview with Nicole Cardoza Yoga is Dead Podcast Join our free Facebook group Watch our free Masterclass: 5 Simple Shifts Our Clients Use to Break the Diet Binge Cycle, Snap Back into Control Around Food and Finally Feel Great About Their Bodies

Susanna Barkataki is a teacher, coach, inclusivity promoter and yoga culture advocate. She helps yoga teachers, studios, nonprofits and businesses become leaders in equity, diversity, and yogic values so they can embody thriving yoga leadership with integrity and confidence. More than probably any other yoga teacher and social media presence, Susanna broadened Liz's perspective about what it means to honor rather than appropriate and understand what it means to teach yoga with privilege and as a white woman in the modern world. We talk about all this and more, including Liz's plans for the future of Beyond Asana and how supporting others' healing process is essential for the wellbeing of all. Sign up for Susanna's transformative trainings and programs at SusannaBarkataki.com, and follow her for daily inspiration and truth-telling at @SusannaBarkataki. Support the show (http://www.patreon.com/beyondasana)

On today's show, I speak with Susanna Barkataki. Susanna is someone that I’ve been wanting to speak with for a long time - and I am so excited to share our conversation with you. Susanna is the founder of Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute in which she currently runs multiple yoga teacher training programs. With an Honors degree in Philosophy from UC Berkeley and a Masters in Education from Cambridge College, Susanna is a diversity, accessibility, inclusivity, and equity (DAIE) yoga unity educator who created the ground-breaking Honor {Don’t Appropriate} Yoga Summit. She is honored to teach in the Sri Adi Shankaracharya lineage and is ordained into the mindfulness tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. In this conversation, Susanna offers a really deep and nuanced, yet practical approach to addressing how we may be participating in the second wave of colonising of the yoga practice - and what we can do instead. PODCAST HIGHLIGHTSIn this episode we discuss:A definition of:ColonialismImperialismCultural AppropriationSpiritual BypassWhite SupremacyTokenismThe history of colonisation of yogaThe first and second wave of colonialism and yogaWhy yogis were discriminate against and outcasted in British IndiaWhy the physical aspects of the yoga practice were emphasised How yoga is being sold to us as a tool of capitalism in the westWhy diversity, inclusion & representation are not boxes to be checked - and how to recognise in ourselves and others - if we are approaching it this wayWhat makes someone motivated to honor, rather than appropriate yogaFIND SUSANNASusanna’s WebsiteSusanna’s InstagramFIND CORACora’s InstagramCora’s NewsletterThe Teachers ClubFor links & resources mentioned in this episode go to www.corageroux.com/podcastepisodes/episode21

It's the end of season 3 celebration! We gather with fellow NYC friends and listeners to discuss the roots of yoga, and how we honor the practice without dilution or appropriation.    Season 4 premieres January 13, 2020!    Referenced in the episode: Susanna Barkataki @susannabarkataki Nicole Cardoza @nicoleacardoza —   Support us on PATREON! Dhanyavadaha! — Let us know what you think! Email: thoughtvibrationspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @thoughtvibrationspodcast Facebook thoughtvibrationspodcast.com — Please rate & review us here!

I've been highlighting the numerous benefits of mindfulness for our emotional, mental, and physical health along with the many ways we can incorporate it into our way of living. Kevin Briggs joins me for a discussion about his research on Mindfulness, barriers of incorporating the full nature of the practice, and how to integrate culture, history, and experience. You can reach Kevin Briggs at kevintbriggs@gmail.com If you find these podcasts enjoyable, here are some ways you can help support my program. I truly appreciate you! Show your support and be a part of my Serenity Tribe. Thank you!! With love, Nicole Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/SerenityWellnes Paypal: paypal.me/serenitycentre Patreon: patreon.com/serenitywellness Follow us: Fb: facebook.com/SerenityWellnessCentreLLC/ Ig: instagram.com/serenitywellnesscentre/ Me: instagram.com/serenitywithnicole/ If you’re interested in learning more about the women who were a part of the journal article in Yoga Journal, here are their websites. (May/June 2019 edition) Rina Deshpande https://rinadeshpande.com/ Sangheeta Vallabhan http://sangeetavallabhan.com/ Hemalayaa Behl https://www.gaia.com/person/hemalayaa-behl Rumya S. Putcha http://rumyaputcha.com/about/ Susanna Barkataki https://www.susannabarkataki.com/

Susanna is a Yoga teacher, inclusivity promoter and Yoga culture advocate. She hosts an online summit called Honor Don’t Appropriate that offers Yoga teachers and practitioners a free place to learn from South Asian voices about how to practice Yoga with unity and respect. In this episode she explains cultural appropriation and gives very real examples how all of us can honor and respect the practices of Yoga and Ayurveda and the cultures that they come from.   Show notes: https://simpleayurveda.com/episode-57-interview-with-susanna-barkataki/

Here it is. The episode where some of the touchiest questions are answered. What is cultural appropriation? How about colonization? And what does yoga have to do with it? In this podcast featuring Susanna Barkataki, yoga cultural advocate, and educator, we discuss the difference between appreciation and appropriation, inclusivity in the yoga community, and how we can do better on all fronts. 

Susanna Barkataki is a diversity coach, inclusivity trainer and yoga culture advocate and the Founder of Ignite Institute. She is honored to have worked in education, training and social justice for over two decades. She studied with her family and Masters in India and the United States in the Hatha Yoga tradition. Today, she trains yoga teachers, studios, nonprofits and businesses in person and online to become leaders in equity, diversity and yogic values so they can embody thriving yoga leadership with integrity and confidence. She believes we can grow our businesses with integrity and confidence by leading with our hearts and our values. In this interview we discussed: - What is cultural appropriation - When cultural appreciation becomes appropriation - How we can use our energy for the greater good - What teachers can do to educate themselves - How to share that knowledge with students

This week, Sarah discusses sustainable employment models with two yoga teachers: Liz Buehler Walker of the U.S. and Norman Blair of the U.K. Join us as we explore what it really looks like to make a career as a yoga teacher and how the yoga industry needs to change so we can better value and support our teachers. Want to connect with Sarah? Reach out to her on Instagram, Facebook, or directly via email at sarahdittmore@gmail.com.The Beginner's Mind is created in partnership with Shut Up & Yoga. Check out their new books at www.shutupandyoga.com/books or join the conversation via the new facebook group, Shut Up & Yoga Forum for Modern Yogis.Liz Buehler WalkerConnecting to my breath and body through yoga has always offered me a way out of denial and into how I'm doing in relationship to reality. Everyone's vision, path and lived experience is different, and I believe that the vastness of the yogic practiceS teach us how to be in our truth and hold space for others to be in theirs.Learning is a lifelong process, but some of the people I have studied with are Peter Rizzo of Bhava Yoga (500-Hour Yoga Teacher Training, 2001), Alan Finger of ISHTA Yoga (Yoga Teacher Training Bridge Program for meditation and subtle body, 2008), Mia Borgatta of Lila Yoga and Wellness (Pre-Natal Yoga Teacher Training, 2012), Lara Kohn-Thompson and Beth Donnelly-Caban of Integral Yoga (Pre-Natal Yoga Teacher Training, 2016), Dr. Naina Marballi (Ayurveda Shirodhara Training, 2017), Sarah Tomlinson in the Harish Johari lineage of Yantra and Ayurveda.Currently I am involved in studies with social change and spiritual leaders such as Michelle Cassandra Johnson, author of Skill In Action, Kerri Kelly, founder of CTZNWELL, Susanna Barkataki, creator of the Honor {Don't Appropriate} Yoga Summit and Workbook, and Kelley Palmer, creator of Peacefilled Mama and co-founder of The Sanctuary in the City.I am also developing a Pre-Natal Yoga Teacher Training and Post-Natal programs and continue to mentor yoga teachers informally and as apprentices.You can connect with me at www.brooklynyogalife.com.Norman BlairNorman has been practising yoga since the early 1990s and teaching yoga since 2001. He has studied deeply with teachers such as Sarah Powers, Richard Freeman, and Alaric Newcombe. He loves the way yoga has helped him become more embodied, more conscious, and more focused. His approach is about enabling accessibility, encouraging acceptance and deepening awareness.He likes (in no particular order) chocolate, Star Trek, standing on his head, resting on bolsters, and going for walks across Hampstead Heath. A philosophy of practice for him is succinctly summarised by cellist Pablo Casals. When interviewed at the age of 93, Pablo Casals said that he practiced for three hours a day. When asked why, he replied: “I'm beginning to see some improvement”.Norman believes that yoga teachers need to speak out and stand up. That all of us can greatly benefit from co-operation and collaborating rather than wall-building and competition. Norman lives and teaches in London/UK. He has written a book – Brightening Our Inner Skies: yin and yoga – and his website is www.yogawithnorman.co.uk He has a monthly newsletter – to receive it please email yogawithnorman@gmail.com

In this episode we explore Satya or truthfulness. Inspired by a conversation by Susanna Barkataki we explore Satya as not only speaking truth, but truth through deep listening. —   Support us on PATREON! Dhanyavadaha! — Let us know what you think! Email: thoughtvibrationspodcast@gmail.comInstagram: @thoughtvibrationspodcast Facebook — Please rate & review us here!

In this episode, I share an unpopular opinion about how yoga is often practiced in the west that I think deserves more open and honest conversation.

For full show notes including links to stuff mentioned in the episode, visit http://valeriekmartin.com/wtfp-44.

This week I sit down with my favorite internet stalker, Zahra Mohamed Ali! I met Zahra at the International Enneagram Association's Global Conference this July and she is just a TOTAL BADASS. We have an awesome converastion about Yoga and the Enneagram and then near the end we take a fun little detour into what sobriety has offered our spiritual journeys. Here's more about Zahra: Zahra Mohamed Ali is a certified Enneagram coach, yoga teacher, and writer based in Orlando, FL. She helps her clients integrate their mind, heart, and body so they can be at home in their bodies, experience deeper self awareness, and live in alignment with their purpose. She’s completed trainings with Ginger Lapid-Bodga and The Enneagram Institute for her coaching certification and is undertaking her 300 hr yoga certification with Susanna Barkataki. Currently she works one-on-one with both coaching and yoga clients and runs workshops that help clients integrate the knowledge of the Enneagram with the body awareness of yoga.   Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss any of the action, and don't forget to give us a rating and a written review in your podcast app! If you're wanting to sign up for any of my workshops coming up click here: www.consciousenneagram.com/events If you're enjoying this podcast and the work I'm doing on my social media outlets, consider becoming a sustaining partner. It's fast, easy, and you can help out with as little as $1 a month! Sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/consciousenneagram You can also give a one-time gift at www.consciousenneagram.com/support  Be sure to connect with me on the social medias! Facebook Instagram  Twitter

My spiritual practice is one that asks me to wake up to the world as it is.  My spiritual practice asks me to be strong enough to see the truth about our society and understand my place in it. My spiritual practice values equity for all people and has a deep reverence for our inherent interdependence as a species.  My spiritual practice has always understood that I am not free until all people are free. The evolution of this path led me to anti-racism work. As I began to see how living in a White Supremacist culture has infected everything I understand about myself and our world I was led to the work of dismantling the White Supremacy that is inside me, as the very important first step in dismantling White Supremacy out in the world.  As I continued to walk down this path I ran face first into a wall. As a white woman teaching yoga is there any way to do that without appropriating and stealing from a culture that is not my own? I don't have an answer for that question.  From my perspective, as a person committed to creating and supporting a better world for all people, it seems important that I get used to the discomfort that comes from living in the questions.  Many of you are sitting with these questions as well, and I appreciate you reaching out to me to ask for support on this path. In my role as a mentor I am committed to holding space for difficult conversations and asking (hopefully) thoughtful questions.  We are so so lucky to have Susanna Barkataki joining us on The Mentor Sessions today to bring her lived experience, wisdom and expertise to these questions.  Susanna Barkataki helps yoga teachers, studios, nonprofits and businesses become leaders in equity, diversity and yogic values so they can embody thriving yoga leadership with integrity and she has worked in teaching and social justice for two decades.  In this episode you'll hear: Why the yoga world so badly need to hear Susanna's message of diversity and inclusion A breakdown of the language often used in conversations like this. We'll define: Decolonization Cultural appropriation  Diversity Inclusion Dominant Culture And accessibility specifically as it relates to yoga spaces The main difference between honoring yoga and appropriating yoga  A conversation about how to update the movement practice and include learnings from modern movement science while still honoring the original teachings What members of the dominant culture can do to transform our society

Ep 34 Integrity in Yoga with Susanna Barkataki by Asha D Ramakrishna

Cultural appropriation and yoga is not a new theme for RECLAIM. However, it is an important topic to continue to explore if we are to navigate the complexities of yoga in the modern world. In this episode I honored to feature Susanna Barkataki as we dive into what it means to decolonize yoga.   To grab the show notes including all the information on today’s guest, go to www.ThaisSky.com/podcast/80 and please consider supporting this podcast through Patreon at Patreon.com/ThaisSky.   If you like what you heard, it would mean the world to me if you took a moment to leave a review and share this podcast with your community.   Thank you for your generous attention. XO Thais   Socials // Website: www.ThaisSky.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/IamThaisSky Instagram: www.instagram.com/IamThaisSky Patreon: www.Patreon.com/ThaisSky

In this episode, Trudi & Weeze welcome Susanna Barkataki to provide some insight about the cultural appropriation of yoga. Trudi & Weeze also get schooled on what yoga actually is (you don't go to yoga, y'all), and what it's not. We also explore this White Women only Yoga situation on meetup.com and talk about why its soooooo out of line. Remember to join us in the Facebook groups here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nothowthatworks And you can find more about the "Honor {Don't Appropriate} Yoga summit here: https://honordontappropriateyoga.com/

Today's guest is Susanna Barkataki and her big truth was about how intimately interconnected wellness, healing, and social justice are.   We talked about dominant culture, how whiteness is upheld in yoga and wellness spaces, power dynamics and structures, people's capacity for discomfort and navigating the big emotions that come up doing this kind of work: sadness, grief, and anger.   Susanna provided a thorough examination of violence and nonviolence in three levels - self, interpersonal and institutional - which helped me deepen my learning a lot and I really hope it does for you also.   We also talked about how to dismantle and build at the same time, decolonizing our own minds, internalized oppression, trauma-informed yoga and the nature of privilege.   A few notes on the summit Susanna is hosting that we mentioned in the interview which I am a guest for:   I haven't said yes to an online summit in years, but when Susanna invited me to be part of her summit, I made an exception because the topic is super important to me. Even so, as I do not have the time to personally vet each speaker or listen to the other 20+ interviews, please be aware that my participation in this summit is not an endorsement for every speaker in the lineup and it's likely that not all views are in alignment with my own. I do recommend that you use your own discernment if you choose to sign up for the summit and be aware that you will receive several emails once you do and be invited to a Facebook group for discussion, which you do not have to join if you don't want to.   As well, as clear communication is a high value for me, I want to add that based on some of the messaging around it, it seems the summit, though titled Honor Don't Appropriate Yoga is largely focused on diversifying western yoga asana practice spaces, just as much, if not moreso than addressing cultural appropriation within the western yoga world. For more information and for full show notes, head to http://untameyourself.com/294 Truth Telling with Elizabeth DiAlto aims to cut through the noise and ignorance of our current culture by exploring the truths of a diverse range of incredible voices. From authors artists, creatives and educators, to activists, speakers and those in various scientific and esoteric fields - our guests hail from cultures and countries all over the world. Expect courageous conversations that range from insightful, uplifting, and illuminating, to uncomfortable and sometimes even confrontational. Each episode invites you, with a ton of love and respect, to listen with your heart and mind wide open. You never know when a perspective might click into place like the puzzle piece you've been searching for OR didn’t even know you were missing. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode! To keep up with the show notes & quotes from our guests, follow me on Instagram and get on the weekly notification list here!

In this episode, Rachel invites Susanna Barkataki to discuss the topic of cultural appropriation. Susanna is a teacher, inclusivity promoter, yoga culture advocate and the author of the original article, “How to Decolonize Your Yoga Practice” that was widely circulated across social media over the past few weeks. The conversation begins with Susanna speaking on her personal history of experiencing racism and marginalization growing up in an Indian-British family in the UK and US. Using this as a starting point to discuss what has happened to yoga culture in the Western world, Rachel and Susanna then dive into a deep conversation on this topic.  What is cultural appropriation? Where do we draw the line between cultural appreciation and appropriation? Rachel opens up to share her fears and past behaviours while Susanna offers true heartfelt advice on how westerners can continue practicing with deep respect for this ancient practice. Join Rachel and Susanna as they discuss these difficult but important questions and open the door for a shift in mindset to take place.

Today we are excited to share Susanna Barkataki (www.ignitebewell.com), the founder of Ignite Yoga & Wellness Institute. In this interview we dive into Yoga as so much more than a physical practice but Yoga as the Teacher. We talk on what a path of devotion looks like, Yoga and the Social Justice movement, and how to navigate the colonial aspects of Yoga in the West. She has an Honors degree from UC Berkeley, a Masters in Education, and is a E-RYT 500 hour Master Teacher with Yoga Alliance and a 500-Hour Certified Ayurvedic practitioner. She is also honored to call Thich Nhat Hanh one of her teachers along with other masters who she studied with in India and the United States in the Hatha Yoga tradition. Susanna loves to support students in deepening their practice and becoming leaders in yoga and wellness. - - Want to support Ladies Who Lead in our efforts to reclaim the power of women-centered storytelling? …Head on over to Patreon (www.patreon.com/ladieswholead) to give as little as $1/mo or as much as you want to express your reciprocity. To subscribe to future podcasts or learn more about how we can support you on your leadership journey, head over to www.ladieswholeadpodcast.com.  

If you've struggled with figuring out who your ideal target market is, what problems and needs they have, and what results you can get for them, this coaching episode is going to show you the process I use with my clients to help them identify this. We know that in our businesses and in our speeches, we can’t try to appeal to everyone, because then we appeal to no one. So, what do we do? We need to uncover our unique angle, our particular combination of experiences, expertise, approach, and worldview, and then identify the type of people who are attracted to who we are and what we stand for and who are ready and eager to hear our message and use our product or service. In this coaching call you’re about to hear, my guest Susanna Barkataki and I work on defining who exactly her target market is. Susanna is a gifted writer, speaker, educator, and yoga teacher trainer and recently founded the Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute in Orlando, Florida. Susanna and I talk about how her approach to yoga, meditation, and mindfulness is different from others and why that’s a big attraction for the clients who come to her. If you’d like to work together on identifying your core message, unique angle, and target market, book a 90-minute strategy session with me. It’s virtually impossible for you to do this work in your own head. You really need someone to walk you through the process and to see what you can’t see for yourself. It’s not because you’re not smart and brilliant and capable - you very much are! It’s just that we’re too close to ourselves, so our unique strengths become invisible to us. I’ll help you uncover them. You can learn more about the strategy session and sign up on my website at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategy-session/. I know you’re going to get a lot out of this episode, so be sure to share it with a friend and leave a review on iTunes. I really appreciate it! Highlights: The power of local events for creating community and building brand awareness Susanna’s elevator pitch for her new wellness institute We want to make sure we’re attracting the right clients to us, because we want them to be successful. I help Susanna define her target market for the institute, including selecting one of her two avatars to focus on. Why Susanna’s clients come to her and how aspiration fits in Susanna’s energy secrets (these are really good!) What does Susanna do differently from others in her field? What problems/needs are Susanna’s target clients experiencing and where are they in their journey of self development? Don’t spend your time and effort trying to convince people they need a solution to their problem. Focus on the ones who are already looking for solutions. We work on Susanna’s brand statement and her unique angle/approach/mindset   What do you think of the brand statement we came up with for Susanna? Join us in the free Speaking Your Brand community at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/join/ and let us know!   Links: Connect with Susanna on her website at http://susannabarkataki.com/ Facebook = https://www.facebook.com/susanna.barkataki Join the free Speaking Your Brand community at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/join/. Sign up for a strategy session at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategy-session/. Say hi to me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/carolmorgancox/. Subscribe to the podcast, so you don’t miss out on future episodes!