I’ve Taught Yoga for 30 Years: Here’s How I’m Celebrating
Welcome to season four of the Accessible Yoga Podcast!
Host Jivana Heyman celebrates 30 years of teaching yoga by reflecting on his journey and setting the stage for a season filled with meaningful conversations with dedicated yoga practitioners and teachers. This episode is a heartfelt introduction to Jivana’s personal story, the history of Accessible Yoga, and what to expect from this season.
Join Jivana as he shares his gratitude for the yoga teachings, the lineage of practitioners who’ve preserved these teachings, and the powerful impact yoga has had on his life. He also introduces an interactive component for listeners, inviting you to share your stories, questions, and reflections.
Topics Include:
The season’s theme: 30 episodes, 30 minutes each featuring conversations with 30 different yoga teachers
Reflections on Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga and his upcoming book on making meditation accessible
An invitation for listener participation
We Want to Hear from You!
What story, teaching, or practice inspires your yoga journey today? Submit your answer or any other questions you have for Jivana via Google Form: https://forms.gle/NtijeM82dSgU5jVD7 or leave a voice message here: https://www.speakpipe.com/AccessibleYoga
Selected responses may be featured in future episodes!
Check out Jivana’s books, Accessible Yoga, Yoga Revolution, and The Teacher’s Guide to Accessible Yoga, and get more information about Accessible Yoga at accessibleyoga.org
Connect with Jivana:
www.jivanaheyman.com | @jivanaheyman | facebook.com/jivanaheyman
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069. The Nuances of Accessibility in Yoga
In this final episode of the Accessible Yoga Podcast, Anjali and Jivana discuss:
What does it mean to make yoga accessible?
The danger of oversimplifying a yoga practice
The importance of reflecting on who we see as “experts” in yoga
How caste still influences yoga today
The nuances of saying “I’m not the teacher for everyone”
Accessible Yoga Association’s newest podcast - For the Love of Yoga with Anjali Rao
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068. Radical Honesty with Saira Rao
Saira (NOT Sara) Rao grew up in Richmond, Virginia, the daughter of Indian immigrants. For forty years, she wasted her precious time aspiring to be white and accepted by dominant white society, a futile task for anyone not born with white skin. Several years ago, Saira began the painful process of dismantling her own internalized oppression. Saira is a lawyer-by-training, a former congressional candidate, a published novelist and an entrepreneur. Saira is the co-founder of Race2Dinner, the New York Bestselling Co-Author of White Women: Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism and How To Do Better and the subject and Executive Producer of the documentary Deconstructing Karen.
In this episode, Anjali and Saira discuss:
The role of radical honesty in challenging white supremacy
How performative activism upholds the status quo
How yoga practitioners can actively disrupt racism in yoga spaces
The impact of speaking truth to power
Connect with Saira on Twitter or on Instagram @race2dinner @sairasameerarao
Purchase Saira's book: White Women Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism and How to Do Better
Watch Saira's documentary: Deconstructing Karen
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067. Practice Isn’t Meant to “Fix”, It’s Meant to Heal
Teo Drake is an organizer, a teacher, and an artisan who works in wood and steel.
As a queer and trans long-term HIV/AIDS survivor, the practices and philosophies of yoga and Buddhism have been both life-saving and provided the foundation for his organizing and teaching.
He is a co-founder of the Transforming Hearts Collective, a collective dedicated to the spiritual care and liberation of queer and trans people, and has served in leadership in several different organizations in the worlds of HIV/AIDS, LGBTQ advocacy, faith and spirituality, well-being, and anti-oppression, including being a founding member of the Transgender Law Center’s project Positively Trans and serving on the faculty and board of Off the Mat, Into the World.
His writing can be found in the anthology Yoga and Body Image and at the blog Roots Grow the Tree, and his artisan crafts can be found at The Tinkering Gnome
Connect with Teo: www.transformingheartscollective.org | @TeoDrake
This week's episode is a recording of Teo Drake's keynote at the Accessible Yoga Conference Online: Practice Isn’t Meant to “Fix”, It’s Meant to Heal.
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066. The Audacity of Hope for Yoga
Tejal Patel is a first-generation Indian American yoga teacher, writer, podcaster, and community organizer.
She advocates for yoga through a social justice lens and educates and empowers individuals and groups around the world to do the same.
She accomplishes this with the Tejal Yoga online studio, the abcdyogi global community, and the Yoga is Dead Podcast.
In this live episode, Jivana and Tejal discuss:
The Yoga is Dead podcast
How to go from having a concern or awareness and turning it into action
The importance of service in yoga
Taking yoga off your mat
Yoga and politics
Tejal's opening Accessible Yoga Conference keynote - "The Audacity of Hope for Yoga"
Connect with Tejal: @tejalyoga
Enjoy one free class at Tejal Yoga, now through Dec 31, 2022 Use code: 100PP-AYCTY at tejalyoga.com
Tejal Yoga offers accessible movement and continuing education in a warm online environment. Our knowledgeable South Asian instructors are committed to the authentic and spiritual practice of yoga. Join us for any of these community-focused practices: Meditation: All Beings, Meditation: BIPOC Centered Pranayama & Breath Control Pranayama & Breath Slow Poses & Philosophy, Meditation: On Philosophy, Meditation & Sun Salutations, Restorative Poses & Poetry Readings, Science & Spirituality Satsang, Go Beyond The Asanas
Learn more at tejalyoga.com
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