Jul 253 min read

The Truth Roars Like Lion: The Silencing and Erasure of Indian Yoga Teachers in Western Wellness Spaces

Decolonizing Yoga & Cultural Appropriation - An Introduction to my latest Podcast Episode.

GATEKEEPING YOGA | SACRED RAGE | DHARMIC WARRIORSHIP

If you follow Indian yoga teachers on social media, particularly from the diaspora, you’ve probably encountered a familiar story: the pain of witnessing and experiencing the appropriation of their culture, the struggle of erasure and silencing in yte wellness spaces, the lack of visibility and opportunity for native yoga teachers, and the backlash received when these voices speak up to protect their culture from distortion and harm… the list goes on.

Truly, it’s a bloody arse-ache dealing with a sea of wilful ignorance. Self-proclaimed ‘yogis’ and ‘yoginis’ respond from a place of ego entitlement, spiritual narcissism, and utter insensitivity towards yoga’s cultural roots, context, and violent dharmic histories.

Let’s reframe yoga as ‘trauma-informed’ and leave out the trauma of the people from the Indian subcontinent.

Clown chakras fully activated.

Yogaland is a circus.

In my new podcast episode on all things dharma and decoloniality, I talk about my recent battle with toxic narcissists, focusing on one particular attempt to silence me when I left a comment on an Instagram post to support and defend a fellow Indian teacher who was being attacked for explaining how to correctly pronounce ‘hatha yoga.’

Colonised folks are immediately activated by an Indian woman in a position of authority — how dare a brown woman tell me how to pronounce a word?!

All of these individuals may not fully grasp the depth and authenticity of yoga as it is understood in its traditional context. In genuine yoga practice — rooted in Sanatana Dharma — one must embody not only the skills but also the character and aptitude to practice yoga, let alone teach it effectively.

Unfortunately, due to shortcomings in Western yoga teacher trainings, many individuals lack this comprehensive grounding and, as a result, often misrepresent the culture and practices. This discrepancy leads to misunderstandings and conflicts with native teachers, who are more intimately connected to the traditions and their correct applications.

What we have instead, are self-appointed ‘yogis’ telling native teachers that they know their culture better than the native teachers do! Reading a few books by academic fanboys of Indian culture makes them an expert, you know!

Do you sense my sacred anger and righteous rage? Well, you should, because the pain of cultural harm and epistemic violence is something those without a rich cultural heritage cannot understand.

If you’re a sincere Yoga Seeker on the Decolonial and Dharmic Path, someone who is actively looking to centre the indigenous voice, I invite you to listen to my latest podcast episode.

I share my experience as a Sanatani being silenced on social media by colonial (predatory) forces, highlighting how this reflects broader systemic issues related to power and control over indigenous traditions and bodies of culture.

This short episode (shared below) demonstrates how yoga is continuously misrepresented and commercialised in Western wellness spaces and reveals who the true gatekeepers are.

You can try to silence a single person, but you can never silence the truth.

It roars like a lion.

धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः

Payal

PODCAST EPISODE 9, SEASON 4: Gatekeeping Yoga. Sacred Anger. Warriorship.