Yoga for Social Justice: Developing Anti-Oppressive Tools for Change through Yoga

Authors

  • Valin S. Jordan San José State University

Keywords:

yoga, praxis, liberation, suffering, embodiment

Abstract

This paper presents the practice of yoga as both a method of pedagogy and inquiry to create transformative social justice praxis. The Sanskrit word yoga translates to yoke. The practice of yoga, rather the practice of creating a yoking or connection of body, mind, and spirit, provides an avenue for how transformation begins with the self, and then spreads into our collective engagements and anti-oppressive work. Through self-examination of body, mind, and spirit we are able to unearth the roots of oppression that exist within our being, in other words the embodiment of marginalization, oppression, and silence. I use autobiographical methodology to examine how my practice of yoga has informed not only a critical examination of the self, but a critical examination of how to disrupt the interlocking systems that continue to marginalize, oppress, and silence. I draw from different spiritual philosophies to create a more well-rounded view on how suffering can be used to traverse human connection, recognize the alternatives, and bring about balance within individuals.

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The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry, Volume 7, No. 1

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Published

2020-12-31

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2020)

Section

Reflections

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