Yoga is a weekend exercise class for some, but for Harpinder Kaur Mann, it became a path to personal transformation. How did the ancient practice—with its deeply spiritual and religious heritage—become simply about fitness? In her new book Liberating Yoga: From Appropriation to Healing (Broadleaf, June 3), Mann examines what caused yoga in the West to stray far from its spiritual roots. Mann spoke with PW about the book and how a fuller, more traditional yoga practice can provide a path to self-realization and healing.
When did you first decide to write a book about the state of yoga in the West?
The idea started coming together in 2019, when I ran an organization called the Woman of Color Summit. We held conferences, retreats, and group programs looking at cultural and ancestral practices that have either been colonized, commodified, or appropriated and feel very far from the source culture from which they originated. We weren’t only looking at yoga but traditional Chinese medicine, ayurveda, and practices that come from indigenous sources. We invited different women of color and women-identifying folks that came from the source culture to speak to those things. It was important to us to let them be the voice to talk about it.
What were some of the differences you noticed between yoga studios in Los Angeles and the yoga classes you took in New Delhi?
When I started teaching yoga, I noticed students would come up and say things like, ‘The previous teacher would kick our butt; can you make sure to kick our butt too?” It was very much “yoga as an exercise” in L.A.’s Westwood area. As in, let me wear this cute matching outfit and go into this steamy room with dozens of people, music blaring—a lot of stimuli.
My teacher at the Ananda Sangha [a New Delhi center dedicated to the teachings of Hindu monk and yogi Paramahansa Yogananda] was always at least 40 years older than me. When we did practice asana [physical postures], it was quite slow; it was very mindful and paired with affirmations. So we would turn in sukhasana [a seated twist], and then the affirmation would be, “I wish goodwill to all beings.” I thought, Even as I'm focused on myself, I can still wish goodwill to all. It doesn't have to be solely a personal practice, only for my benefit.
You write that yoga can offer something to everyone who chooses it. Why so?
Yoga is the science of mind transformation. It provides this framework for us to understand ourselves in a deeper way, and then the world around us. It provided me with a way to make sense of myself. How do I take care of myself? How do I treat myself? How do I treat those around me? If I'm disappointed about something, what do I do? And there are teachings for all of it. There are teachings from the Yoga Sutras, from the Bhagavad Gita. There are ways for us to make sense of the suffering that is all around us.
What is the #1 thing you want readers to know about yoga?
There is a whole world within each of us, waiting to be explored and connected to. We can do that with some of these subtler practices—meditation, pranayama [breathing techniques], kirtan [call-and-response singing and chanting]. And a big part of yoga is the student-teacher relationship. A teacher that has taken the time to understand themselves can provide a mirror, so we don't feel alone.
