Yoga is for Everyone

“One hundred years from now, Yoga will be India’s greatest gift to the world.”

Sri T. Krishnamacharya

“The intersection of Yoga and activism has always been near and dear to my heart, and I believe are one and the same. The Sanskrit root of the word Yoga is Yuj which can be translated as yoke, unify, or bring together. The word Yoga has a very deep and profound meaning. For me, Yoga, in all of its branches of practice, is a path home to the unitive field of love. I began practicing Yoga as a grief stricken teenager, with little to no hope in sight. I was searching for a way to both light my way forward and help understand human nature. My first Yoga teacher, Lee Ann Louis Prescott, was a longtime student of Swami Vishnu Devananda, who was a tireless peace activist. The teachings of him, and his guru, Swami Sivananda were my foundation for practicing the totality of Yoga. As a distraught young teenager, I became an activist before I ever stepped onto the Yogic path, advocating for the environment, animal rights, social and racial justice, human rights, and much more. Since then, I have done activist training, joined and created organizations, fundraised for various causes, marched and participated in demonstrations, interned at a crisis center, and have volunteered to help diversify Yoga around the world. Activism is part of my spiritual practice. As the beloved poet, writer and activist Alice Walker states, “Activism is the rent I pay for living on this planet.” My first spiritual teacher was the Earth itself. I grew up in the country, and spent years as a young girl exploring the wild earth as my first schooling and education in diversity and unity. That is the foundation of my Soul and inherent in my love for Yoga.

While I have been in the field of practice for nearly 30 years, I have seen that the profession and practices have been and can be exclusive due to race, gender, sexual orientation, class, mobility, shape, personal politics, and more. I have personally experienced body shaming, backhanded compliments, negative projections, and observed or learned of unethical and illegal behaviors in the name of Yoga. I have watched and continue to learn how Yoga is appropriated. Spiritual bypassing and toxic positivity are all too common in the field of Yoga and spiritual circles. These times are calling us to speak up, speak out, re-evaluate and reclaim our values, morals and beliefs about non-violence, truth, and goodness. This is necessary for the survival of the human race and all the other species on this planet. When we honor Yoga, its cultural heritage, its lineages and evolution, and the rich totality of its practices, we carve a path for radical self-transformation that benefits the whole. My hope is that Yoga will be a catalyst for healing all the places that have been broken, hurt, traumatized, disconnected, or felt in any way, shape, or form unlovable. The practice of Yoga nurtures us in realizing the unitive state of love.” - Melissa