Ybic Podcast With Roopa Singh: Yoga and Cultural Appropriation

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Roopa Singh talks about authenticity, cultural appropriation, and commercialization in yoga. Whereas many people in the West invoke the definition of yoga as union, Roopa reminds us that it also means liberation, both individually and collectively. In this insightful conversation, she raises questions about yoga, safety, visibility, and who is present and absent in most Western yoga spaces. She notes the relative absence of South Asian Americans in many Western yoga spaces, as well as in the wider U.S. pop culture. She calls for South Asian Americans to be leaders and stewards in yoga spaces, and for all of us to more deeply examine our relationship to yogic traditions.