Lineage acknowledgment
Where this practice comes from. Who taught us. What we owe.
Yoga has deep South Asian roots, a global modern history, and a contemporary form shaped by colonialism, commodification, and the privilege of mostly-white Western teachers. We name that — and we do our work.
Where the practice comes from
Yoga has its roots in the philosophical, religious, and somatic traditions of the Indian subcontinent, with influences from Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Tantric streams of thought stretching back thousands of years. The contemporary postural yoga most students encounter in a North American studio is a relatively recent invention — shaped in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by teachers like T. Krishnamacharya, B.K.S. Iyengar, K. Pattabhi Jois, Indra Devi, and others, working in dialogue with European physical-culture and gymnastic traditions.
By the time yoga reached Western studios in the second half of the twentieth century, it had already been translated and re-translated through colonial encounters, immigration, and the rise of global wellness culture. None of this is straightforward. All of it is worth knowing.
Who taught us
Our teaching draws from many lineages. Among them: contemporary movement-research teachers, Iyengar-influenced precision and prop work, Vinyasa-style flow, contemplative and trauma-informed traditions, restorative and yoga nidra teachers, and South Asian scholars and practitioners who have generously taught and corrected us. We name specific teachers in our 250-hour training — alongside their lineages, their critics, and the communities they came from.
What we owe
- To name the South Asian origins of the practice clearly, not only when challenged.
- To pay South Asian teachers, scholars, and guest presenters at full rate when they teach in our space — and to actively bring them in.
- To engage seriously with the conversations about appropriation, commodification, and harm in modern yoga — including in our teacher training.
- To not pretend the studio is a culturally neutral space. It is not.
- To use Sanskrit terms accurately when we use them, and to avoid the cosmetic use of Indian aesthetics, religious iconography, or symbology to dress up a class.
What we are still working on
More representation in our teaching team and our trainings. Deeper relationships with South Asian-led yoga organizations. Material support — money, studio time, platform — for South Asian practitioners and teachers. We'd rather name the gap than perform a wholeness we haven't earned.
Reading we've learned from
- Yoga Body — Mark Singleton
- Embrace Yoga's Roots — Susanna Barkataki
- Skill in Action — Michelle Cassandra Johnson
- The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism — Robert E. Buswell & Donald S. Lopez Jr.
- Conversations and corrections from students, teachers, and friends who have taken the time to push back on us. Thank you.
Join us
Did we get something here wrong?
If you're a South Asian practitioner, teacher, or scholar and you want to push back on what we've written here, we want to hear it. We will respond personally.