If you consider yourself a disrupter or an aspiring disrupter, you need to check out the disruptors Leadership Academy which starts on August 13. That was created by yours truly and my bad ass colleague dei consultant Abriola Bala. This 12 session online program is for leaders, professionals, and those committed to interrupting oppressive systems in their work and care to learn, unlearn, and relearn what it means to disrupt and dismantle beyond performative actions. Explore sustainable methods that maximize impact and minimize burnout and uplift their self care in a manner that will support their labor and healing. We created the disruptors Leadership Academy because we know how lonely and how deep the burnout can be. And yet this work in a sustainable way is necessary in the workplace. Whether you are an employee in an organization or are self employed, the disruptors Leadership Academy is here to hold you and guide you through, get the program information and apply at HTTPS, colon, slash, slash bit.ly/dla. To zero to three. You're listening to the human in podcast with real conversations as we call bullshit. On everything capitalism, the patriarchy and white supremacy culture has duped us into believing about self care, mental health, fitness, wellness and all things life. I am Steff Gallante, and I created this show to support badass people doing solidarity work in pursuit of disrupting these systems in their lives and communities. Together, we'll discuss how systems of oppression are keeping us unwell, and disconnected from ourselves and each other, and how to best support you in creating more aligned self care practices that will help you human more easily. It's the shit we need to talk about. Hey, friend, I'm so glad you're here. How is life landing for you today I've been feeling some big energy lately, both in like a little bit of a higher energy a little bit more fiery. And this is no wonder with the start of Leo season upon us. And especially it's no surprise since in my astrology my rising sign is in Leo. And so I've also been feeling lots of crisper clarity, some new ideas and also some big feelings about a lot of things. So just in case you've been feeling off or big stuff, whether it's exciting or hard. Remember to offer your offer yourself some grace and some compassion and maybe lean into the sweetness of summer a little bit and allow yourself some leisure as you open space for all of this to unravel, not in a bad way but like kind of reveal itself to you. And you know, that practice of space and blank space is just so important. So I hope you'll lean into that if you're if you're resourced to do so. Even if it's just a little bit here and there. Now, this week, the shit that we need to talk about is the need for deconstructing and reimagining your relationship with yoga asana. And we'll also hit on guidance for keeping cool through Asana as well. So basically talking about shifts for your summer practice. Now, as you may know, yoga at its roots is a way of life that centers self awareness, and deep connection with community and nature. Even though in the West, it's been appropriated and watered down to a type of exercise to essentially get more flexible. The ancient culture of yoga, the philosophy and the practice of yoga, you know, lifestyle practices, all of the things are directly a disruption of white supremacy, culture and Western individualism. Now, if you've been around the show for a few months, you might recall episode 23 called Western whitewashed, appropriated yoga, isn't it? Let's get back to yoga has roots. And in that episode, I shared issues with yoga here in the West, discussed how it's been appropriated. And then I shared the basics on yoga as rich education and offered guidance through its eight limbs philosophy, one of which is the physical practice of yoga called Asana, which is so prevalent in terms of the definition we use here in the West. And it's this The eight limbs philosophy and the education that helps us to enhance our relationship with ourself, and everything around us, including human nature and all things. Today, we are going to take this conversation a step further. So, this month, in the month of what mother be in July, in my mentorship group, the holistic self care collective, I challenged my clients to do exactly what we're talking about today to deconstruct and reimagine their relationship with Asana and I offered them these three prompts that I'm going to offer to you now. So I asked them, What is your relationship with Asana? Is it very much in alignment with what we know of yoga here in the West, right? surface level commercialized? You know, rolling out the yoga mat, wearing your, you know, yoga leggings, a tank top, perhaps doing some sun salutations, warrior two, warrior one, you know, maybe moving quickly, maybe holding for a long period of time. You know, high vibe is a big Western yoga thing. You know, it may be a class in acrobatics, I mean, there's just so much so much. And here's the thing, there are many lineages of yoga and each of these lineages takes the asana practice into like a little bit of a different journey. Some of them aren't Asana based at all. Some of them are more devotional based, more of practices. You know, they sent her the internal practices, the still practices versus the asana. And there is also quite a big difference between the asana practice and many of these lineages. You know, you've got big Rome or hot yoga, you've got, you know, all all kinds, I don't need to sit here and name them all for you. But here's the thing. What I feel is though, the the piece, because Asana is a piece of yoga, right, it is whether you know, all eight limbs, even if Asana was the way you were introduced to yoga, if you grew up here in the West, especially here in the United States. There's nothing wrong with doing a physical practice, there's nothing wrong with coming to the physical practice and wanting to get more flexible or wanting to get stronger. None of these things are wrong. But the problem is, when that's all it is, because the reality is, there are many modalities, exercise modalities out there that can get you stronger, that can get you more flexible. But yoga at its roots, is a practice of self awareness. It is a practice, to be aware in the moment to align deeply with yourself to also call yourself out on your bullshit. It's so rich and so expansive, and so much more than simply stretching, strengthening, twisting, inverting. That's just a piece of it. Right. So what is your relationship with Asana is, is it your flexibility practice? Is it something that you go to to? I don't know, I don't know what what is your relationship with it? Only you can answer that. Right. And the thing is, even my clients, so my clients, they came to Asana for a way to get more flexible for mobility for strength, of course. And it's been, you know, through education of understanding what truly yoga is that now the understanding is different. And the relationship starts to change. And so I offered them a mindset shift. What if Asana is not just as a method of getting more flexible or stronger, but as a way for you to connect to yourself more deeply to come back to yourself? A way for you to live the yamas and niyamas in action, right, those ethical practices to ourselves into one another? What if it's a way for you to connect to your breath to your intention, your sankalpa your community, your nature, right the earth? What if it's a way to honor your needs and maintain or restore balance, mentally, emotionally, physically and energetically?