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

Authors

Valin S. Jordan, San Jose State UniversityFollow

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.

Recommended Citation

Jordan, Valin S. (2020) "Yoga for Social Justice: Developing Anti-Oppressive Tools for Change through Yoga," Journal of Contemplative Inquiry: Vol. 7: No. 1, Article 6.
Available at: https://digscholarship.unco.edu/joci/vol7/iss1/6