The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast

What lies at the root of all human suffering? How can we relieve our suffering and that of others? According to the yoga sutras, our suffering comes from five root causes, the five kelshas, and there are practices we can do to alleviate suffering. Michelle Cassandra Johnson has studied this topic in-depth and shares her insights.

Michelle Cassandra Johnson is an author and activist. She has been a racial equity educator for 25 years and is also a yoga teacher, spiritual teacher, and practitioner. Michelle works with people 1:1 and in group settings to help them connect to their intuitive abilities and supports them within intuitive healing practices. Her latest book, Illuminating Our True Nature: Yogic Practices for Personal and Collective Healing, was released in July 2024 and focuses on the kleshas.

Michelle explains what the five kleshas are, and how we see them showing up in our lives with examples. She shares her reflections on our interconnectedness with each other, nature, and the earth as well as why we have become so disconnected. Michelle offers some practices to help us lessen suffering individually and collectively, and how we can avoid contributing to suffering through our actions.

Key Takeaways:

[4:01] Shannon gives a shout-out to the sponsors, OfferingTree, and her own 20-hour Yoga for Pelvic Health Teacher Training.

[4:01] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Michelle Cassandra Johnson.

[7:12] What does Michelle do and who does she do it for?

[10:54] How does Michelle define the kleshas?

[13:41] Michelle introduces the five different kleshas.

[18:11] Can all human suffering be distilled into the five kleshas?

[23:50] Shannon and Michelle discuss how interconnected we are, not just to each other but to nature and the earth as well.

[28:34] Shannon pops in to share about a workshop that Billie Smith is running, hosted by sponsor, OfferingTree.

[30:38] Is avoiding suffering contributing to suffering?

[37:52] Shannon and Michelle reflect on their connection to the earth and being in relationship with nature.

[44:26] Some people are unable to see the disconnect in between different areas of their lives. How can we navigate that?

[50:16] What are the ways that we can reduce or relieve suffering?

[56:19] Which of the kleshas is the most challenging to address and what is a practice that can help?

[62:02] Learn more from Michelle via her website, where you can get access to her books, workshops, and other resources.

[64:52] Shannon shares her biggest takeaways from this conversation with Michelle.

Links:

Gratitude to our Sponsors, OfferingTree, and Yoga for Pelvic Health 20-hr Online Training with Shannon Crow.

Quotes from this episode:

"This is illuminating our true nature which speaks to the fact that we are nature and that so many of us have been conditioned to be divorced from nature as if it doesn't exist within us." - Michelle

" This path calls us to study the root causes of suffering so that we suffer less. And ultimately,... become liberated, but it's not just about my liberation, it's about everyone's liberation." - Michelle

"Am I also contributing to suffering by thinking, I'll just avoid this." - Shannon

"If we're going to take action, we need to do it from a steady and a grounded place." - Michelle

"The path of yoga in so many ways is about us shedding our conditioning and at a minimum, interrogating our conditioning and then shedding what is not aligned with nature." - Michelle

"We have to understand why we suffer and how we suffer. ... It's an ongoing practice and study and it's a muscle to build."

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386: Weaponization of Yoga with Sheena Sood 0

Dec 16, 2024

The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast

386: Weaponization of Yoga with Sheena Sood

Description:

How can something like yoga, that is meant to be peaceful and focused on meditation and breath, be weaponized? How has it been co-opted by the far-right, colonizer projects, and Zionists? How does this show up in our yoga spaces and what can we do to address it? Dr. Sheena Sood shares her insights.

Dr. Sheena Sood (PhD) is a Philadelphia-based activist, educator, sociologist, and healing justice visionary of South Asian descent. She is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Delaware Valley University in Pennsylvania and has studied yoga at Kailash Tribal School of Yoga in India. Her current research project is about Omwashing Yoga: Weaponized Spirituality in India, Israel, and the US, where she investigates the growing incorporation of yoga and mindfulness by far-right law enforcement, military, and vigilante groups. Sheena is also curates “Decolonizing Yoga” workshops through frameworks that recognize yoga’s oppressive layers and liberatory potential and is the founder and creative director of Yoga Warrior Tales, an interactive adventure-based educational program that teaches children yoga and mindfulness through a social justice lens.

Sheena shares her perspective on the situation in Palestine and the reactions in the yoga world after October 7. She explains why this response of “om-washing” is not unexpected, and how we as yoga practitioners, teachers, and studios can counter harmful narratives to support Palestine. Sheena also has some words of encouragement and motivation for those of us doing the work and feeling exhausted, so be sure to tune in for some powerful insights.

Key Takeaways:

[3:14] Shannon gives a shout out of thanks to sponsors, OfferingTree and her own 20-hour Yoga for Pelvic Health Training.

[4:26] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Sheena Sood.

[11:29] What does Sheena do and who does she do it for?

[14:13] How can something like yoga, that is meant to be relaxing and focuses on breath and meditation, be weaponized? What is om-washing?

[22:50] Sheena shares her experience of learning about the history of Palestine and how that influenced her interactions with IDF/IOF soldiers in her yoga teacher training.

[29:14] Sheena shares her reflections on the video that was circulating of people practicing yoga in support of Israel.

[34:42] How is om-washing showing up at a micro level? How does the weaponization of yoga show up in our yoga spaces and studios?

[45:22] Shannon pops in with a message about the sponsor, OfferingTree.

[49:11] Shannon and Sheena discuss how change can actually be created - it's not by trying to be nice.

[54:13] What is Sheena's advice for people who have been taking action but are feeling discouraged or unmotivated that their efforts are making a difference?

[62:37] Shannon and Sheena reflect on some of the images they have seen of Israeli soldiers practicing yoga after bombing homes in Gaza.

[66:45] Learn more from Sheena on social media or via her website.

[69:42] Sheena shares some closing thoughts.

[71:26] Shannon shares her reflections from this conversation with Sheena, as well as a personal update.

Links:

Gratitude to our Sponsors, OfferingTree, and Yoga for Pelvic Health 20-hr Online Training with Shannon Crow.

Quotes from this episode:

"Om-washing is the term for how the global far right and these ethnostates and cultural institutions use yoga as propaganda to make themselves look peaceful or liberatory to the public. But in fact, it's disguising their violent agendas."

"If I'm doing yoga according to the ethics that I want to live up to, then yoga invites me to reckon with the violence my ancestors and my relatives might be participating in."

"One of the ways in which these yoga studios participate in om-washing is in these unfortunate ways in which they think they're trying to be well-intentioned and decolonial, but they actually are only just doing this diversity and inclusion approach that is not actually anti-colonial and that is not anti-imperial."

"No oppressed and formally colonized society has ever won a struggle against their oppressor simply through nonviolent, peaceful resistance."

"I just want to encourage folks to not numb yourself as we continue to see these images and think they can't get any worse. Continue to find ways to let your heart feel what it is that you're witnessing."

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385: When the Yoga Teacher Stumbles with Jivana Heyman 0

Dec 2, 2024

The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast

385: When the Yoga Teacher Stumbles with Jivana Heyman

Description:

Have you ever been deeply disappointed in a yoga teacher, mentor, or celebrity? You are not alone. It is a common experience that many yoga teachers and practitioners go through, but how should we react? In this episode, Jivana Heyman joins Shannon to discuss how they deal with their feelings of grief and disappointment caused by folks in the yoga world.

Jivana Heyman is a teacher, author, and advocate, well-known in the yoga community. He is the founder and director of Accessible Yoga, an international non-profit organization dedicated to increasing access to yoga teachings for people of all abilities and backgrounds. He has authored multiple books and brings decades of experience as an advocate and teacher to this conversation.

Shannon and Jivana discuss the complex topic of navigating a path forward when yoga teachers or mentors disappoint us. Whether through actions that fall short of our expectations, problematic behavior, or situations where trust is broken, these experiences can be deeply personal and disheartening. Jivana draws on his years of experience in teaching and his commitment to fostering compassionate and ethical yoga communities to share some deep insights and thoughtful reflections on tackling these moments with grace, understanding, and authenticity.

This episode promises to inspire and empower yoga teachers and practitioners alike to approach disappointment with wisdom and resilience.

Key Takeaways:

[0:12] Have you ever been deeply disappointed in a yoga teacher, mentor, or celebrity? Shannon and Jivana are discussing their feelings of grief and disappointment in connection with folks in the yoga world.

[2:33] Shannon introduces herself and gives a shout-out of thanks to sponsors - OfferingTree and her 20-hour Yoga for Pelvic Health Training.

[5:51] Shannon introduces her guest for this episode - Jivana Heyman.

[10:05] What's the newest thing in Jivana's world right now with his work and personal life?

[15:12] It is common to be disappointed by yoga teachers or celebrities that we are learning from. Jivana and Shannon reflect on their experiences.

[19:40] Can we separate the teacher from the teachings? Is it possible to find a distinction between yoga and the people we learned from?

[21:26] Shannon shares an experience she had with a yoga teacher with a sizeable following just before the US elections.

[27:35] A second part of that interaction Shannon had is that they seemed to stop speaking up because of capitalism. Jivana shares his perspective on Shannon's reaction and disappointment.

[30:18] At what point do we call people out or call them in for the harm they are causing and how do we do that?

[32:26] Shannon pops in with a message about the sponsor, OfferingTree.

[36:00] Someone reached out to Shannon about wanting to call out a teacher they've been studying with who has said nothing about Palestine but has spoken up about other world events. What is the best way to navigate these situations?

[42:43] What is Jivana's advice to a yoga teacher who is observing that their teachers or yoga celebrities they follow are not speaking up about the issues that are important to them?

[47:46] It can feel like it takes a lot of energy to work in community. How should we approach this task of overcoming our differences to work towards a common goal?

[55:14] Yoga doesn't always feel good. It's not the goal of a yoga practice to leave us in a "blissed out" state.

[57:57] What would Jivana say to the yoga celebrity who is listening and having people ask them about not speaking up about social justice causes?

[59:24] What would Jivana tell yoga teachers who feel like they are not doing enough right now?

[65:48] What is Jivana's next book (his fourth) about?

[66:34] What are some practices Jivana is using now for grieving the destruction that is happening to the earth and around the world?

[71:51] Shannon shares some of the actions that she is taking to fight back against oppressive systems in the world.

[73:17] Connect with and learn from Jivana via his website or Instagram.

[74:26] Shannon shares her biggest takeaways from this conversation with Jivana.

Links:

Gratitude to our Sponsors, OfferingTree, and Yoga for Pelvic Health 20-hr Online Training with Shannon Crow.

Quotes from this episode:

"You know, we're all human, we're all trying our best." - Jivana

"Where we always get stuck in life is the expectations. .... the expectation is what causes our suffering." - Jivana

"Non-attachment is just freedom, that's what this is. Freedom from desire, freedom from being focused on the outcome." - Jivana

"When you're giving someone feedback or criticism, try to be as nice as you can about it because we're mostly really insecure people." - Jivana

"Direct communication is more effective with people." - Jivana

"Don't let your emotions decide your life for you. Don't let emotions make the decision." - Jivana

"We all have a lot of power in small ways that we don't recognize." - Jivana

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