Frequently Asked
Questions

 
 
 

Why is your podcast called ‘yoga is dead’?

Yoga is more popular than it has ever been. So why would we name our podcast ‘Yoga is Dead’?

Well, our name isn’t literal. It is a tongue-in-cheek way of expressing that the rapid industrialization and commercialization of yoga has come with many under-examined problems that need to be addressed. We believe it is time to turn our attention to these issues.

Another reason we use the phrase “___ is dead” is because in millennial speak, to say a place or non-living thing is dead is to say that the popularity of it has spoiled the experience of it. That the experience is not the same as it used to be and no longer brings the same joy it once did. In this way, when we say “Yoga is dead,” we are not referring to the eternal practices and principles, but rather to the yoga community and yoga industry.

are you coming to my city?

Maybe! We are planning to take our podcast and workshops on the road in 2020 and can see our confirmed location on our EVENTS page. If you’d like to collaborate with us in your city or have opportunities you’d like to send our way, please email us: yogaisdeadpodcast@gmail.com

are you going to do a live podcast?

Maybe! As of right now, all options and ideas are on the table for 2020. We will be working out a more definitive plan and announce our plans once we’ve confirmed them!

I have a topic idea i think you should cover…

We’ve gotten a lot of ideas for Season 2 from our fans. Some suggestions have included “Yoga Pants Killed Yoga,” “Instagram Killed Yoga,” the movement to unionize yoga, “Yoga Celebrities Killed Yoga,” gender-related topics, and more. If you have a unique idea you’d like to send us, please email us at yogaisdeadpodcast@gmail.com

how do i get more poc to come to my studio?

Please read this article we wrote on the topic for Yoga International.

How Do I Find Yoga Teachers of Color in My Area?

There are lots of great, amazing teachers out there to learn from. It's just that most of them are not getting the attention on them because it doesn't fit the image that most media want to portray. Here are a few to start following:

What Teacher Trainings do you recommend?

With regards to trainings in India, Tejal recommends Aarsha Yoga Vidya training in Kerala. The training is based in the Sivananda lineage. Jesal did her training at Swami Vivekanada Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA) near Bangalore. With regards to S-VYASA, the Raja-yoga based program was wonderful and comprehensive and the ashram experience was mostly great. But Jesal would warn that she experienced some sexual harassment from staff and other students and would encourage anyone seeking to study there to take pre-emptive measures.

In terms of trainings led by South Asian teachers in the U.S., we recommend the following:

What sanskrit teachers/trainings do you recommend?

For Sanskrit learning, we recommend checking out

Living Sanskrit
Yoga with Anjani Youtube Channel
The Sanskrit Channel on Youtube

We also recommend reaching out to your local Hindu temples for additional guidance and resources.

If I want to learn about the history or philosophy of yoga, where can I start?

We think a good starting place would be the written works of Swami Vivekananda, which can be found for very low cost or free (Amazon, iBooks, etc).

We are also anything by Devdutta Pattnaik, including his Netflix show Devlok and his many written works. You can find his website here: https://devdutt.com/

We think the Vedanta & Yoga podcast is another great resource: https://vedanta.libsyn.com/

We have also found value in the following Youtube channels:


I find your use of the name ‘becky’ to refer to white women to be racist.

‘Becky’ is a slang term that was coined by Beyoncé and has come to refer to a "white girl who loves Starbucks and Uggs and is clueless about racial and social issues" or alternatively, “a white woman who is ignorant of both her privilege and her prejudice.” Our guess is that your aversion to the term stems from your personal connection (you or someone you love is named ‘Becky’) or that you are not used to white women being grouped together (that is a white supremacy trait where white folks get to keep their individuality and folks of color just have to get used to being lumped together).

Alternatively you might find this term to be ‘racist.’ And that is because you may not have a deep understanding of racism. Racism describes a power dynamic where someone or something from the dominant culture (white people or white controlled institutions) discriminate against people of color based on race, ethnicity or skin color. Yes, ‘Becky’ is a derogatory term. Perhaps, it’s even prejudiced. It is not, however, racist. In fact, the term is a RESPONSE to racism.

Why might we have used a derogatory term you ask? Because it is one that perfectly captures our experience. That of an ignorant white woman exerting power and control over us while claiming to be “woke.” Heck, when Beyoncé coined the term, people of color across the country, if not the world, let out a collective cheer in finally being able to name the thing they were having trouble naming. Similar to when Rebecca Solnit coined the term “mansplaining.”

It’s not a nice image, but unfortunately the yoga industry is full of ‘Beckys.’ And the term not only accurately reflects our experiences as marginalized people, but our use of it in our work is an act of self-expression and agency of our message, whereby we, as women of color, are finally speaking out in a way that is uncensored by the very Beckys we are talking about. Welcome to how people of color talk when you’re not around. Don’t like it? We suggest you begin by inspecting your own racism and how it shows up EVERY SINGLE DAY. And if you sent us an email about this, but haven’t sent emails to every single white person (yoga teachers and business owners, politicians, artists, musicians, podcasters, media moguls, sports celebrities) on how they perpetuate racism, we suggest you start there.