Episode 8: Decolonizing Yoga: Classical Roots & Spirituality with Dr. Neil Dalal
There is no checklist for avoiding cultural appropriation and honoring yoga’s roots. In a society seeking quick fixes to avoid being “wrong,” this episode is an invitation to think more deeply about how we might connect back to the path’s original intentions with reverence. Host Harpinder Kaur Mann is in conversation with Dr. Neil Dalal, Researcher and Director of Religious Studies at the University of Alberta, on this episode of the Liberating Yoga Podcast to parse out what it might look like to practice deeply and decolonize the spiritual path of yoga.
WHAT WE COVER IN THIS EPISODE:
How yogic practices serve to help us progress toward larger goals of Moksha (liberation and truth), interconnectedness, and non-dual awareness
The ways in which colonization has created a New Age “hybridized” version of yoga that deeply diverts from its classical roots
Why our asana-focused yoga culture makes it difficult to explore yogic philosophy and find teachers who engage with yoga as a living tradition
The potential damage that can be caused by approaching tantra and kundalini practices without the guidance of a teacher
“Hard” vs. “soft” concepts of decolonization
The nuances of cultural appropriation, tokenization, transactional wokeness, and utilizing Sanskrit in class
Potential avenues for deepening one’s yoga study in today’s landscape
How emphasizing the ethical and moral pursuits of yoga supports human thriving and collective liberation
ABOUT Dr. Neil dalal:
Dr. Neil Dalal is Associate Professor of South Asian Philosophy and Religious Thought, and the Director of Religious Studies at the University of Alberta; where he teaches in both the Philosophy Department and Religious Studies Program. He received his PhD in Asian Cultures and Languages from the University of Texas at Austin where he specialized in Sanskrit and Indian philosophy, and an MA in East-West Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies. He is also a traditional teacher of Advaita Vedānta, having spent several years in India studying with traditional scholars and monastic renouncers within the lineage of Śaṅkarācārya. Dalal’s research interests explore philosophy of mind, metaphysics, contemplative psychologies, and meditation practices found in classical South Asian Yoga systems. He is the co-director of Gurukulam (The Orchard/Sony Pictures), co-editor of Asian Perspectives on Animal Ethics (Routledge Press), and has published articles in venues such as the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Journal of Indian Philosophy, and Journal of Hindu Studies.
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Yoga teacher Harpinder Kaur Mann shows American yoga practitioners a path to reclaim yoga from appropriation and recenter the practice where it belongs.
In Liberating Yoga, yoga teacher Harpinder Kaur Mann draws from her own perspective as a Sikh-Punjabi woman who was alienated by the way yoga is practiced in the United States, but found her way toward reclaiming the spiritual practice for herself. Mann demonstrates that moving away from appropriated forms of yoga and back to yoga's roots is the only true path to healing--both for yoga practitioners who desire to engage responsibly in the practice with cultural appreciation and, especially, for marginalized yogis who wish to reconnect with ancestral spiritual practices and reclaim their full identity.