Search results for "radical darshan"

Published by Yogamatters On April 15, 2021 Leave a response

An inspirational and supportive asana practice, followed by a question and answer session with the four founders of Radical Darshan.

About Radical Darshan

Though yoga, in its many forms, is always concerned with freedom and unity, it’s easy to practice in a way that creates disunity and more bondage – not just for you, but for others, too. How do we gain sight of where our vision has been distorted, and our practice is doing more harm than good? How can we properly recognise how unearned privilege causes harm, and how to lessen that harm, so true freedom can be brought forward?

Join these four experienced teachers to re-frame your orientation to practice and SEE how you can make choices to uplift and support ALL people, especially those who have been marginalised. Practice in a way to see yourself as a part of a collective, and to honour the indigenous roots of the tradition that has given you so much. It is indeed a gift to see more of what you really are. Without understanding the systems that we are a part of, that give us or deny us access to the resources that support life – the true Self cannot be seen.

Who, What and When

– Sunday 25th April 2021 – 2pm-3.30pm (BST)

– The taster session is free

– Hosted by Yogamattters and lead by Kallie, Jonelle, Stacie and Leila

– Anybody is welcome to attend this session

Please note this is a taster session for those interested in joining Radical Darhan 300-hour advanced yoga teacher training, anybody is welcome and you are not obliged to sign up for the training.

About the Radical Darshan 300-hour advanced yoga teacher training

Have you always wanted to create spaces that are equitable, inclusive and respectful but felt overwhelmed with where to start?

OWN THE SKILLS | Learn how to surf discomfort as a facilitator and speak about racism in ways that promote insight and foster true liberation individually and collectively

CREATE JEDI | Join a 300-hour training where social justice and collective care isn’t just tacked on, it’s centered as the fabric of the curriculum

REST IN CONFIDENCE | Uplevel the ethics of your trainings and offerings with a clear understanding of power dynamics, cultural appropriation, exploitation & extraction

Founders and Lead Trainers

Kallie Shut (E-RYT-500) is a yoga and dharmic traditions culture advocate and educator and a lifelong social justice and antiracist activist. As a former criminal/family lawyer currently working to protect vulnerable children, she has always advocated for those without a voice or presence in places of power and privilege. Kallie is a yoga teacher descended from Sansi peoples of India and practices intentional hatha, yin, yoga nidra, and meditation. She is the founder of Rebel Yoga Tribe YouTube channel and the Radical Yogi Book Club.

Jonelle Lewis (E-RYT 500) is a yoga teacher, practitioner, mentor, and trainer with a degree in Political Science from Howard University. She practices yoga as part of her path to awakening and liberation. She teaches yoga as an anti-oppression and social justice practice. Jonelle is also part of the movement to make yoga and wellness equitable, accessible, and antiracist. She believes, “Yoga is for EVERYBODY.

Leila Sadeghee (E-RYT 500) is a priestess, yoga and meditation teacher, and ritualist. Her teaching reflects over two decades of learning and teaching. Leila is dedicated to dismantling systemic oppression as a spiritual practice. She is the creator of The Practices of Leadership & Empowerment 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training, now in its 9th year, and co-creator of Vessel of Worth ritual community for non-patriarchal collective awakening practices.

Dr. Stacie CC Graham (E-RYT 500) is a certified Hatha Yoga teacher, mindfulness teacher, and qualified life coach. Stacie has an MS in Economics and a PhD in Psychology with a focus in human motivation and leadership. She is also the founder of OYA: Body-Mind-Spirit Retreats—the first holistic wellness retreats brand in the UK that specifically serves Black women and women of color.

Published by Yogamatters On October 3, 2023 Leave a response

Whether you have just finished your first yoga teacher training and are thinking about what comes next or if you are a seasoned teacher with many years offering a specific style of yoga and now desire to deepen your knowledge and add new classes to your schedule, there are a wide range of yoga, movement, mindfulness and meditation courses and workshops available to choose from.

There is no shortage of teachers offering quality yoga. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for more. If you have been practicing yoga for years and are now considering teaching, that’s exciting, all you need is the right direction and support. All teachers start their journey at the same place – the beginning. The key to deepening your practice or further your offering is deciding which course or new classes are right for you. Maybe you have developed an interest in a different style of yoga such as Yin, Restorative, Yoga Nidra or pregnancy yoga. Perhaps you are looking to begin teaching a different group of students such as yoga for teens, yoga for a specific need or chair yoga. As you reflect on what feels right for you, a weekend of immersive learning can give a spark of inspiration.

Deepening your practice and furthering your yoga education is an investment – so choose wisely. First consider reviewing your current practice and if you are a teacher, reflect on your teaching schedule to determine where you want to gain more knowledge. Ask yourself what level of further training are you able to commit your time to. How will you apply what you learn, and do you need to get some level of a return on your financial investment? Is simply learning and being part of a supportive and safe teaching environment enough?

We have put together some ideas and some providers of advanced yoga teacher training courses and workshops for you to explore. This is by no means an exhaustive list. There are so many courses, training, and workshops to choose from. The beauty of the practice is that there is always something new to discover and the learning doesn’t have to end after your first training.

In-person and online course providers:

Yoga in Health

The Yoga in Healthcare Alliance was commissioned to create a 10 week yoga programme for the NHS West London Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). The Yoga4Health programme is now offered to NHS patients nationally. They offer training to both healthcare professionals and yoga teachers who are looking to deliver the YIHA Yoga4Health Social Prescribing Prototocol. The Yoga4Health programme is a fantastic way to expand your teaching whilst making a huge difference.

Iyengar Yoga

If you have been practising Iyengar Yoga for some time and would seriously like to consider teaching Iyengar Yoga, discover IYUK, – Iyengar Yoga UK. Applicants must have been practising Iyengar Yoga for a minimum of 3 years. The route to teaching is then through a mentorship which you will need to have in place for 3 years. After a minimum of 6 years regular practice with mentorship, applications are then considered. A process that will test your commitment to the practice whilst also being incredibly rewarding whilst providing you with a life changing experience.

Yoga Campus

If you are looking for some ideas on which type of course to try, Yoga Campus are a great place to start. They are pioneers in Yoga Teacher Training Courses and a name that you can completely trust to provide you with fantastic quality teaching. Yoga Campus offers a range of specialist courses including Yoga for Digestive Health with Charlotte Watts and Menopause Yoga Teacher Training with Petra Coveney.

Mission, London

Mission is a new studio in London which offers a huge range of teacher training courses with International Teachers. From courses which specialise in a variety of styles such as Restorative Yoga Teacher Training with Anna Ashby to, 300hr advanced training with Jason Crandell and two days of Anatomy Teacher Training with Celest Pereira you will be spoilt for choice in ways to develop your teaching at Mission.

The Minded Institute

The Minded Institute is an international leader in the field of yoga therapy training. Their Professional Diploma in Yoga Therapy course will allow you to immerse yourself in one of the most well respected yoga therapy training, both in the UK and across the world. Discover a blend of the wisdom of the Yogic and Buddhist traditions with detailed medical knowledge, neuroscience and psychology.

Triyoga

If you are in need of some inspiration for your own practice as a teacher or an opportunity to immerse yourself within the practice but aren’t looking to gain a qualification, Triyoga have a constant stream of interesting short courses and workshops available. Offering a range of practices such as breathwork, asana deconstruction, restorative workshops and more you are bound to find something that will inspire you along your teaching journey.

Special Yoga

Special Yoga offer training courses which run online with live teaching webinars, study groups, and practical and theoretical self-study. You can also take a blended course where the webinar are replaced with in-person training. They offer training for both adults and children with additional needs including Autism, ADHD and Cerebral Palsy.

Yoga for Teens

If you are looking to support teens through yoga, Yoga for Teens offer a range of courses to get you started. Supporting teens through the challenges of modern day living is a vital role in today’s society and can be a rewarding and fun element to add to your teaching.

Other notable yoga training and workshop providers:

Anna Ashby – https://www.annaashby.com/

Down to Earth – https://downtoearthlondon.co.uk/courses/

Evolve Yoga Training – https://www.evolveyogatraining.com/

Frog Lotus Yoga – https://froglotusyogainternational.com/

Good Life Yoga School: https://www.goodlifeyogaschool.com/

Radical Darshan – https://www.radicaldarshan.com/

The British Wheel of Yoga – https://www.bwy.org.uk/

The Yoga Academy – https://www.simonlow.com/

The Shala London – https://www.theshalalondon.com/

Yoga with Norman – https://www.yogawithnorman.co.uk/yoga-training

Urban Yogis – https://urbanyogisuk.com/teachertrainingprogramme/

There are many more providers. Seek advice and explore to discover a type of practice and learning environment that best suits your needs.

And finally, consider simply attending a workshop, training and different types of classes to give yourself the gift of expanding and deepening your own practice and enjoy the journey of your learning.

Published by Kallie Schut On April 15, 2021 Leave a response

When I search for information about yoga – whether it’s in print, on social media or on the web – I am bombarded by images that fetishise Indian culture as a mystical, magical practice.

Where I do find representations and writings by South Asians, they tend to be elevating patriarchal structures of self- appointed gurus who have financial interests with yoga “paraphernalia,” teacher trainings, and branding allied to the their key audiences in the West, who tend to be mainly white embodied middle class women.

I’m a woman of colour, who has South Asian heritage, and the cultural appropriation of a wisdom tradition for its iconography or one which is constrained by Euro-centric body ideals, feels alienating to me – it exacerbates the sense of disconnection and loss from my own sacred ancestral traditions and beliefs. The definition by Professor Scafidi, below, illustrates how the stripping or cherry picking of South Asian culture causes harm – especially when those from within the culture are excluded, ostracised, or marginalised from the teaching of yoga and the leadership and decision making roles in shaping how yoga evolves from a place of equity.

According to Susan Scafidi, law professor at Fordham University and author of Who Owns Culture? Appropriation and Authenticity in American Law, “taking intellectual property, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, or artefacts from someone else’s culture without permission. This can include unauthorised use of another culture’s dance, dress, music, language, folklore, cuisine, traditional medicine, religious symbols, etc. It’s most likely to be harmful when the source community is a minority group that has been oppressed or exploited in other ways or when the object of appropriation is particularly sensitive, e.g. sacred objects.”

Even the language around cultural appropriation fails to convey the extent of the harm which is repeatedly visited upon minoritised and racialised cultures and peoples. The cultural extraction and exploitation often takes place within a framework in which the culture is consistently decontextualised, i.e. separated from the rich pluralism of the informing faith and wisdom traditions from which it originates. It reinforces power dynamics, including the brutal legacy of colonialism, and the patterns of oppression built upon the perpetuation of racial and cultural stereotypes and mythologies.

Why is cultural appropriation so harmful?

The reason why cultural appropriation is so harmful is that it is a tug-of-war between power, identity, and historical recognition of harm and violence. It goes to the very heart of who I am and what I am, my cultural identity and connections to my ancestors, land and people. It appears harmless as it is often explained away as the embrace of inclusion, diversity, and appreciation of the rainbow of ethnic cultures. Yet, when we explore more deeply and ask questions through a post-colonial lens, we can begin to identify the harm.

Here are 4 questions for your self enquiry which support decolonising yoga and antiracist approaches
Is the source culture and/or the heritage peoples of that culture othered, stereotyped, or stigmatised in any way? Are they perceived as ‘less than’ by the societal norms in the West? Do they, as a group, have less political, cultural, and economic influence and power?

Has the practice or tradition been commodified and exploited for financial or status gain – with the most aesthetically pleasing and accessible parts compartmentalised, packaged, and sold as ‘gift for humanity’?
How much cross-cultural stress, conflict, and communication is there between the generation of South Asian descendants and those with European heritage practicing and teaching yoga today? Are the interactions rooted in equity, empathy, and respect and is the relationship itself an echo or subversion of power dynamics?
What depth is there to the understanding of cultural meaning and context – i.e. historical oppression and subjugation, codes of conduct, cultural and ethical values, and spiritual philosophy? Is there evidence of widespread blending, mixing, and diluting of cultures by the West? It is likely that your reflections will lead to recognition that there is a reality of inequity in modern yoga.

How to create and sustain positive social change

Here are my 4 pillars:

1) Heal and bond with your own ancestral and cultural roots where known and unknown, and heal your relationship with the earth’s wisdom

2) Build inner knowledge through a strong personal yoga practice by studying from a range of wisdom sources, especially those from South Asian writers and teachers

3) Connect with the heart and roots of yoga by developing relationships across lines of difference and especially with descendants from the source culture through compassionate listening and openness

4) Move from ethical values grounded in equity and justice and through which you address impact of both your words and silence, your actions and inactions

Actions towards building your yoga practice: Radical Darshan’s YTT training

1) Join the Radical Yogi Book Club for challenging reads and to lean into hard conversations

2) Sign up to my introductory 10-hour courses on Decolonising Yoga and Philosophy which will help provide a taster or foundation for the 300-hour training

3) Follow me and co-founders on our social media platforms
Website Instagram Facebook YouTube

Join a diverse and inclusive yoga teacher training: Radical Darshan

Want to make your yoga practice or yoga teacher offering more diverse and inclusive? Sign up for the Radical Darshan 300-hour YTT. Apply now to book your spot.

Published by Jonelle Lewis On April 15, 2021 Leave a response

Last summer, I witnessed a lot of people, spaces, and brands in the yoga and wellness community posting black squares in connection to the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter Movement. In contrast, too, a lot of folks made no mention of it and instead of reacting or showing allyship to people who were generating dialogue on anti-racism, they stayed silent and took no action – as if nothing had taken place.

It’s been a year and the question I have now is: where is everyone on their anti-racism journey? Are the people that posted the black squares still doing the anti-racism work? Have the folks that were silent engaged with it at all? Has the thought leadership on racism paused?

As a black woman a lot of my experiences while I was practicing, training, and teaching were affected by racism and anti-Blackness. My very existence in yoga and wellness spaces was always in question. What was happening in dominant culture was playing out in spaces where I was coming to connect, heal, and liberate myself and guide folks through their practice. In an industry where phrases like “we are one,” “good vibes only,” and “love and light” are constantly referenced. Simultaneously, so many other Black and Brown people were having an experience that is often not acknowledged, ignored, denied, or they are belittled for bringing it up.

It must be acknowledged that a lot of us have come to practice yoga through the gateway of asana, which is a very physical and personal experience. We begin on our mats navigating our way through the postures with our breath and all of our experiences and identities. It is very oriented to the individual, but in reality yoga is a practice of social justice. The practice creates expansion so we can begin to engage with bigger societal issues.

For those who want to do the work of antiracism but perhaps do not know how to start or how to continue, here are three points I’d like to offer to help do this work effectively:

How to work towards ending racism

Each and every one of us has a part to play in dismantling this oppressive system. It is the responsibility of all of us to end racism. It’s not solely on Black people to do the work to end racism; that is impossible. This process will also take time and we can only hope that we can end racism in our lifetime. It takes every one of us to say no more whether we are having a personal experience of racism or we are learning about it through others. We all have ways in which we participate in the system and it’s important to remember that everyone in the world has been shaped by systemic racism – it’s ingrained in our society. We must use the practice of self-study to identify the spaces in our lives where we participate so we can begin to dismantle. We will all have different work to do and will engage in that work from different social locations and points of privilege. Something to remember is this work will be hard, uncomfortable, and messy; we will make mistakes. This doesn’t mean we aren’t ready. It simply means we are human.

How to be accountable for racist behaviour in your everyday life

Once we take responsibility and commit to being antiracist, we have to be held accountable to our commitments. There has to be a feedback mechanism around our intentions and the impact they have. We have to set up systems that recognise when harm occurs and have ways to repair the harm. It’s not enough to post a black square on social media, make statements around your commitments, and then show no pathway to delivering them. If you made commitments, have you kept them? If not, why not? Accountability starts with you and is not a one-time thing. Through accountability, results and shifts in culture are possible.

How to connect with the BIPOC community and support anti-racism

The work of antiracism or the act of dismantling racism has to be done in community. Yes, a lot of us started on our mats doing asana and it was a deeply personal experience. Many of us will have started to do our antiracism work the same way; on our own. However, the practice of yoga doesn’t only offer personal liberation; it offers collective liberation. Through our personal responsibility we call on the community to help hold us accountable for our commitments. Through community we are affirmed, supported, and witnessed. We are held in the truth that this work should not be done alone and was never meant to be. We are supported as we get it wrong, when things get difficult, and messy.

Through our personal work in collaboration with our community, we can be the change we want to see. It’s not easy, and we do it anyway, because racism hurts and oppresses everyone; it keeps us all from living in our fullness.

Join a diverse and inclusive yoga teacher training: Radical Darshan

Want to make your yoga practice or yoga teacher offering more diverse and inclusive? Sign up for the Radical Darshan 300-hour YTT. Apply now to book your spot.

Published by Leila Sadeghee On April 15, 2021 Leave a response

Many of us are affected by stress and anxiety. In my trainings and offerings, I teach a lot about spiritual and emotional labour with regard to yoga practice. Most people who practice yogasana are familiar with the heat and intensity of certain aspects of the physical practice: tapasya, the spiritual friction of yoga sadhana. While folx who can withstand physical intensity with an air of calm and steadiness are valorised in the contemporary yoga world, less is said and appreciated about the other forms of tapasya that spiritual aspirants undergo as a part of a true dedication to awakening.

How our past experiences affect us in the present

Yoga, in its many iterations, is always a practice of freedom. The tapas – that spiritual heat of practice – is not merely a challenge of withstanding the fire; it’s more than mere physical conditioning. Something is being cooked in that heat, and that something is samskara.

Put simply and with brevity, samskaras are the impressions and imprints left by our experiences – positive and negative – that give rise to our patterns of behaviour, and through which we tend to see the world. Generally, a positive samskara is one that entitles us to see the world clearly, without the overlay of our particular life circumstance. A negative samskara will make life appear dark in any number of ways, and will orient us to modes of behaviour that create less freedom and more suffering.

Yoga, as I understand it, is a practice that entails becoming intimate with our samskaras – these patterns in consciousness that either distort or clarify the world as we see it. It is a practice of applying attention, concern, and clarity of sight to these patterns. We both learn to see the delusion of samskara for what it truly is, so we can make more dharmic choices, and we also learn practices that can melt, burn away, and otherwise apply leverage to these patterns.

So: there’s the theory. What’s it really like? Intimacy with samskara has been, for me and fellow sadhakas, a very uncomfortable process of recognising many of the darker aspects of self and behaviour. It means addressing discomfort and a whole range of uncomfortable sensations and experiences.

How to become comfortable with the uncomfortable

I have encouraged my students to address these impressions, and to use any means necessary. Advocating means both within and outside the yoga cannon. I see how folx working with these samskaras need as much help as they can get in getting free. It’s sticky work – it’s uncomfortable – and when you really get down to it, it’s not like you get finished, hop off your mat, and the burn is over. Working the deeper samskaras can open up discomfort that lasts longer than your average yogasana session. It’s LABOUR. There’s no two ways about it. It is spiritual and emotional labour.

Most yogis that I know who are working at this level are quite competent at naming and working with particular bandwidths of samskaric material – such as family of origin issues – but the collective (traumatic) samskaras of racism, white supremacy, patriarchy, and oppression go largely unmentioned or undiscovered. It is my understanding at this stage in my development that there is simply no freedom without a will and a practice dedicated to undermining these pernicious samskaras.

And let me be clear what the labour of facing oppression feels like in my own body: uncomfortable, sickening, dark, tight, sticky, painful, enfeebling, stuck, and profoundly sad.

It feels similar to the other samskaras I have tended in the course of my sadhana – and even heavier because of its collective nature, the way these oppressions (samskaras) are defended and reinforced by institutions and nation-states throughout the globe. It’s BIG samskara. It’s not just my body – it’s everyone’s.

It’s also a whole lot sadder – part of the awakening and the tapas of working with this material is the grief of it. It’s not just run of the mill emotional labour – it’s a specific kind of work: it’s grief labour.

How Grief Labour can help you release and relieve stress and anxiety

‘Grief labour’ is a term coined by the second wave of feminism of the 1970’s. When these women started getting together to share their personal stories of harm under white supremacist patriarchy – the grief and pain of all that they had individually and collectively lost became overwhelmingly apparent. It’s impossible to grieve what’s lost in oppression for yourself alone – it is inevitable that you grieve for everyone – for all the harm, everywhere.

Grief labour is what we go through when we tell ourselves the truth about what we’ve truly lost in a world where the majority of the living beings are oppressed. When we let ourselves feel the true cost of the system we are born into. And, the melting of these samskaras is so very liberating, because it allows us to reconnect to our shared humanity dramatically – and frees us to act in the world in a way that supports everyone’s freedom.

As part of our training, we at Radical Darshan are inviting students into a powerful working of some very thorny samskaras. We are very clear that everyone’s freedom is at stake and it’s bigger than any one person.

We are also clear, from our many years of practice and dedication, that the freedom that true yoga practice offers is also infinitely more expansive than many yogis have yet to experience. We know the value, and we are deeply invested in collective freedom – indeed we feel that’s the only freedom there truly is.

Join a diverse and inclusive yoga teacher training: Radical Darshan

Want to make your yoga practice or yoga teacher offering more diverse and inclusive? Sign up for the Radical Darshan 300-hour YTT. Apply now to book your spot.

Published by Stacie CC Graham On April 15, 2021 Leave a response

Just a few weeks before George Floyd’s murder, The Economist basically declared that the Black Lives Matter movement had come and gone. According to them, interest had waned and, due to their non-hierarchical structure, disorganisation had led to dissipation. The weekly publication then spent the rest of 2020 in conflict with itself reporting on the civil rights and antiracism protests that ensued as well as the discussions they ignited across countries and continents. The Economist could not decide if protesters were mobs; how race differs from ethnicity; to applaud politicians speaking out against racist institutions or to applaud those who want to protect the precious statues of white men, who were avid racists. The illusion of a conundrum.

In 2020, more people awakened to the fact that they too have been racialised, even if they believe themselves to be white. More people refused to turn away from the lived experiences of people they have never met; people they will never know. More people embraced that words like privilege and power do not have to be read as insults. More people – across race and ethnicity – began to awaken from white supremacist delusion. What is that? It’s any attempt to inherently connect race and hierarchy. And yet, much of the world remains asleep.

How yoga can help you navigate anti-racism work

Equity means acknowledging that inequalities have existed since the beginning of time, however the systematisation of those inequalities originates with the creation of racism and race at the outset of the industrialisation of the trade of human bodies deriving from Africa. Most of the wealth of today’s world derives from that historic moment. In order to dismantle oppressive systems, we must continuously come back to their intersections with race.

For those who have and continue to awaken, they will find themselves in cycles of (out-)rage, sorrow, empathy, action, sympathy, and capitulation – in varied orders. It’s impossible to go back to sleep, no matter how hard one might try. So how do we break the cycle? How do we move past the initial and/or prolonged phases of Weltschmerz, what we also identify as grief labour?

There’s no cookie-cutter answer, but one that I can personally speak to is a committed practice of yoga, in all its limbs and facets. Yoga is complex, as the world is complex. Yoga is nuanced, as the world is nuanced. Yoga is not a monolith, just as the world and all its inhabitants are no monolith. Cultural appropriation may lead one to believe that one can copy, own, and sell it, but you can’t.

Yoga so beautifully enables us to see the dualities of our existence while revealing the non-duality of our essence. That’s complexity, nuance, and multiplicity in one sentence. My daily practice has moved me from a place of experiencing all the feels, sometimes overwhelmed by my own insignificance in a sea of really big and significant events, to a place of compassionate witnessing and intentional action. I still feel all the feels – don’t get it twisted. And also, I feel with a sense of direction and purpose.

Radical Darshan: a diverse and inclusive yoga teacher training

In our 300-hour yoga teacher training, Radical Darshan, we have designed a final project called Becoming a JEDI. J is for Justice. E is for Equity. D is for Diversity. And I is for Inclusion.

Let’s start with the one that everyone uses to avoid controversy: diversity. Today, we see phrases such as diversity of thought, diversity of experience, and diverse backgrounds used across corporate communications. These are people-pleasing phrases. Everyone and no one feels included. It’s important to understand that in order for there to be diversity, there must be a ‘norm’. Who gets to decide what is normal, what is the default, what becomes normalised? At Radical Darshan, we recognise diversity differently. Diversity means that our teachings are invitational. It means that we are learning from the students as much as the students are learning from us. It means that we know that an individual’s body, intuition, and inner wisdom is their actual teacher, and we are mere facilitators in helping them unlock that connection.

Inclusion is the belonging that becomes possible, when we create spaces in which people have the room to get things wrong, to be corrected compassionately, to be encouraged to try irrespective of expected outcomes, to be.

We are the future of anti-racism

Justice is so big, so grand that it takes generations to reach. Generations before us struggled for basic human rights. Generations after us will too. But that doesn’t mean we give up. There are days where we will feel tired, perhaps even full of despair. On those days especially, we practice longer – asana, pranayama, dhyana.

In the Radical Darshan YTT Training Course, we set out a final project in groups where trainees will have the opportunity to go into the community, to learn what is possible from community members, local partners, and grassroots organisations. This exercise helps remind us that our commitment – and feelings of goodness – cannot be dependent on outcomes. It allows us to remember that our work is always both individual and collective. And that there are futures that exist that we cannot yet even imagine.

Join a diverse and inclusive yoga teacher training: Radical Darshan

Want to make your yoga practice or yoga teacher offering more diverse and inclusive? Sign up for the Radical Darshan 300-hour YTT. Apply now to book your spot.