Welcome to the Liberating Yoga Podcast. My guest today is Dr. Shyam Ranganathan.

While mainstream American culture limits yoga to a mere fitness class or a “woo-woo” spiritual endeavor that belongs at home, it began as a philosophical commitment toward ethical action and sovereignty.

In this episode of the Liberating Yoga Podcast, host Harpinder Kaur Mann is in conversation with Scholar and Historian of Philosophy, Dr. Shyam Ranganathan. Together, they dive deep into the ways yoga’s current definitions have been shaped by Western colonization and how we can reclaim the practice today to fight racism and colonialism.

00:00 - Intro

02:19 - What Is Yoga?

03:59 - Yoga as Unity of Self

06:21 - Yoga vs. Fitness

07:22 - Colonialism’s Impact

13:27 - Internalized Colonialism

16:57 - Race, Religion, and History

19:33 - Pre-Colonial Philosophy

23:15 - Ethics & Dharma

26:54 - What Is Pre-Colonial Yoga?

28:14 - Yoga’s Ethical Model

30:42 - Modern Yoga & Colonization

33:26 - Yoga as Decolonial Practice

35:49 - Yoga Studies & White Supremacy

41:01 - Yoga Heals Colonial Trauma

44:43 - Egotism & Power Structures

47:27 - Yoga as Political Action

50:11 - Tokenism in Yoga

55:12 - Diversity vs. Change

57:38 - Lifelong Learning

1:02:05 - Why Only Āsana?

1:05:42 - Big Y vs. Small y Yoga

1:08:09 - Philosophy vs. Industry

1:12:00 - Teaching vs. Selling

1:14:23 - Embracing Change

1:15:06 - Where to Learn More

Find Dr. Shyam Ranganathan Online

⁠https://yogaphilosophy.com/

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Resources

Thank you for watching this video and checking out the channel. My practice is rooted in my spiritual background of Sikhism and Buddhism and ancestral roots in Panjab, India - this informs my desire to teach yoga authentically as a spiritual practice. To learn more, please find all of our resources below.

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