Color in Yoga

And that is us, my daughter and me…..deciding the color of the skin of my Yogi girl.

Did you know that Yoga is still predominantly a white-only practice in most countries?

Growing up in India, we openly discussed skin color. The fairer you were, the more appealing your matrimonial ads were likely to be. So they said. Not to forget the skin whitening creams that were feverishly peddled. But it somehow never came in the way of my friendships, love life or any other social decision.

Perspectives however took a very strong and interesting turn when we moved to South Africa. Two weeks into school, and my toddler son came home and asked “Mama, what color are we?”. Must admit, that was completely left field for me, but weighty enough to make me stop and observe….a whole new world of biases, stereotypes and judgement.

And then we moved to the US, and my journey on color continues – tan studios, photos showing school children, the hoods-burbs. All in Prisma Colors of a particular kind.

As a teacher, I always say, its important that my classes are accessible to ALL people – color, race, gender, moods, emotions, age, ability etc.

I try very hard to make my classes as inclusive as possible. Sometimes I win, most times I lose.

(P.S. Well, currently, so tempted to paint the skin of my yogi girl in multiple colors. Meanwhile, as undecided as we were, my daughter placed a banana in the hand to lighten things up 🙂

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