108: Anti Capitalist, Anti Racist Yoga with Avita Bansee
The culture we live in is overrun by systems of oppression like racism and late stage capitalism and the way we teach and practice yoga must take that into account.
Avita Bansee (she/they) is here today to talk to us about what Anti Capitalist, Anti Racist Yoga looks like. Avita is a graduate of Yogaworks 200 hour RYTT and their life experiences and continuous study of yoga philosophy, anatomy, pranayama and biomechanics inform their teaching and self-practice.
In addition to teaching yoga, Avita has a Masters in Political Science from the New School of Social Research and is a passionate advocate of social justice, feminism and anti-racist activism within and beyond the wellness industry.
The systemic racism, sexism and economic exploitation of movement teachers within the wellness industry inspired the creation of The Connective, an online cooperatively owned platform where every teacher is an owner. Avita is a proud co-founder of The Connective along with a talented and diverse group of anti-racist movement teachers driven to disrupt the status quo.
In this episode you’ll hear:
the relationships between anti-racism, anti-capitalism and yoga and what that looks like in practice
some important nuances in the push for yoga teachers to honor yoga’s roots and better educate themselves about the history of Yoga from SouthEast Asia
how issues of racism, colonialism and imperialism are much more openly and commonly talked about in mainstream conversations and how that impacts Avita’s work
the complexity of being a self-employed yoga teacher
some final thoughts about the moment we find ourselves in as a yoga community and what Avita hopes to see moving forward
Learn More From Avita:
OfferingTree is a proud sponsor of this episode and I am honored to be an affiliate. Visit OfferingTree at www.offeringtree.com/mentorand you’ll get 50% off your first three months (or 15% off any annual plan). OfferingTree supports me with each sign-up and I’m proud to be supported by a public benefit company whose mission is to further wellness access and education for everyone.