Decolonizing Yoga-History, Politics & Healing Justice
Yoga is often marketed in the West as a timeless, ancient practice — yet the reality is far more complex. Modern yoga has been shaped by centuries of cross-cultural exchange, political struggle, colonial influence, and caste oppression. Today, yoga is both a global industry and a site of possibility: it can reinforce systems of power, or it can serve as a tool for justice and collective healing. Through a blend of critical inquiry, somatic and restorative practices, dialogue, and group reflection, this 7-session series invites practitioners and teachers to unlearn, question, and reimagine yoga.
Across four sessions, Indu Vashist (yoga teacher, somatics practitioner, historian, and Executive Director of the South Asian Visual Arts Centre) will guide participants through the modern history of asana: demystifying myths of “ancient” postural yoga, exploring global influences on its development, and unpacking how caste, class, gender, and colonialism have shaped yoga’s trajectory. Indu’s sessions weave together lecture, movement, and reflective practice to provide a solid historical grounding for understanding yoga’s place within contemporary global contexts.
Building on this foundation, Sheena Sood, PhD (scholar, activist, yoga practitioner, and co-founder of Yogis for Palestine) will lead three sessions on decolonization and anti-oppression. Sheena will introduce frameworks for understanding caste oppression, unpack yoga’s weaponization by military and nationalist projects, and guide participants in envisioning liberatory practices rooted in social justice and collective healing.
DATES:
Session 1: Friday Nov 14, 7-9pm - Indu
Session 2: Friday Dec 12, 7-9pm - Indu
Session 3: Thursday Jan 29, 7-9pm - Sheena
Session 4: Thursday Feb 12, 7-9pm - Sheena
Session 5: Thursday Feb 26, 7-9pm - Sheena
Session 6: April 25, 1-3pm - Indu
Session 7: Saturday April 26, 3:30-5:30pm - Indu
Guest Faculty in Taryn Diamond’s RESTORATIVE YOGA TEACHER TRAINING
2026’s guest faculty:
Indu Vashist leads two modules to enhance our experience.
Module 1: Embodying Somatics
Each training day will begin with participants being led through a full-body somatic sequence with space and time afterwards for debriefing. As we gain experience with the sequence, we will enhance our appreciation of somatic movement and the potentials of pairing this modality with restorative yoga.
Module 2: The Somatic Self in the Somatic Collective
Indu offers a workshop that seeks to understand how our somas (mind-bodies) react to different systemic stimuli in society. Participants will expand their awareness of how they exist in the world and how their social location informs their individual experiences (and that of others.) Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how the somatic collective and habitual patterning in our personal somatic selves shows up in our experiencing and facilitating of restorative yoga.
DATES & TIMES
WEEKEND ONE
Friday, April 10, from 7:00-9:00pm online (orientation/practice)
Saturday, April 11, from 10:00am-7:00pm in person
Sunday, April 12, from 10:00am-7:00pm in person
WEEKEND TWO
Saturday, April 25 from 10:00am-7:00pm in person
Sunday, April 26, from 10:00am-7:00pm in person
*1 hour lunch break on each full day
INVESTMENT
$1099+hst
Early Bird Discount:
Get 10% off full tuition price when payment is received in full before January 10, 2026. *Please note: 25% of full tuition is non-refundable in the case of cancellations.
Elective Self-Study Component for Jules Mitchell’s 300 hour Teacher Training
History of Asana and the politics of Cultural Appropriation
Asana may not be as old as you think, but its short history is full of cosmopolitan intrigue. In this module, we will delve deep into the history of the physical practice of yoga. We will look at how yogis have always experimented with physical posture by incorporating various forms of movement in their practices. These practices that span centuries are constantly being adapted to new scientific findings, new environmental conditions, societal preferences, and social norms.
After providing a firm historical foundation about the history of asana, we will turn our gaze to the systemic power dynamics of race, class and gender within the yoga industry in North America.
This online module will operate as a flipped classroom. Participants will be sent about an hour of material to read prior to the workshop. Our time together will include lectures and discussion on yoga history, the politics of contemporary yoga, as well as ample time for your questions and curiosities. Dialogue will be interspersed with guided movement practices. Come ready to unlearn and bring along all the questions about cultural appropriation that you've been too nervous to voice.
Early bird pricing available until OCT 15 2025 $80 USD
After OCT 15 $100 USD
Yoga History & Cultural Appropriation: Building Conversational Stamina
$125+hst Standard Rate | $95+hst Subsidized/Staff Rate | $145+hst Community Supporter
This workshop will be led by yoga teacher, anti-racist activist, and trained historian, Indu Vashist. It’s a chance for sincere students of yoga and teachers to come together and dig deep into tricky questions, where answers are rarely black and white. The workshop will include lectures and discussion on yoga history, the politics of contemporary yoga, as well as ample time for your questions and curiosities. Dialogue will be interspersed with guided movement and somatics practices with Indu. Come ready to unlearn and bring along all the questions about cultural appropriation that you've been too nervous to voice.
This is an in-person workshop at Branches Yoga in Kitchener, On
Sign up here
Guest Faculty- Restorative Teacher Training
Learn about systemic oppression, stress and trauma and how to manage this in a quiet practice space
Guest Faculty: 40-hour Restorative Yoga & Somatics Training
I will be teaching a module on:
Introduction to facilitating restorative yoga with an understanding of race-based stress and trauma
Learning about racialized aggressions and how to manage this in a quiet practice
Complete information on this training, click here
Guest Faculty: Kathryn Bruni Young’s Teacher’s Immersion
In this workshop, I delve deep into the history of the physical practice yoga. We will look at how yogis have always experimented and how to keep innovating ethically. We will trace how modern postural practice made its way around the globe. Asana may not be as old as you think, but its short history is full of cosmopolitan intrigue. To register, click here
Upcoming Trainings
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Offering: History of Asana
Let's start with the history of pizza. Does pizza have an origin? Is Neapolitan pizza more authentic than New York pizza or deep dish pizza? Is gluten free pizza even pizza?
The history of yoga can be thought of in a similar way. In this module, I delve deep into the history of the physical practice yoga. We will look at how yogis have always experimented and how to keep innovating ethically. We will trace how modern postural practice made its way around the globe. Asana may not be as old as you think, but its short history is full of cosmopolitan intrigue. Practices that span centuries adapt to new findings, environmental conditions, preferences, etc. We will look at how these movements have changed over time, moved over continents and continue to live a life of their own. Let’s delve deeper into contemporary yoga debates about cultural appropriation in the west and the right wing appropriation in India.Contact me for 1-to-1 learning or incorporating this offering into your program