Unpacking Cultural Appropriation In Yoga with Susanna Barkataki Ep. 21

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 HIGHLIGHTS

In this episode we discuss:

A definition of:

• Colonialism
• Imperialism
• Cultural Appropriation
• Spiritual Bypass
• White Supremacy
• Tokenism
• The history of colonisation of yoga
• The first and second wave of colonialism and yoga
• Why yogis were discriminate against and outcasted in British India
• Why the physical aspects of the yoga practice were emphasised 
• How yoga is being sold to us as a tool of capitalism in the west
• Why diversity, inclusion & representation are not boxes to be checked - and how to recognise in ourselves and others - if we are approaching it this way
• What makes someone motivated to honor, rather than appropriate yoga

FIND SUSANNA

• Susanna’s Website
• Susanna’s Instagram

FIND CORA

• Cora’s Instagram
• Cora’s Newsletter
• The Teachers Club

For links & resources mentioned in this episode go to www.corageroux.com/podcastepisodes/episode21

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