The PRISON YOGA PROJECT shares yoga with incarcerated individuals. In this podcast, Dr. Ranganathan discusses the relevance of Yoga the philosophy to people in these difficult circumstances.

Dr. Ranganathan shares: “Colonial trauma is not simply a problem for those from colonized traditions. It is also a problem for those privileged by coming from colonizing traditions, and this trauma shows up in a host of pathologies, such as fragility and pretenses of ethnic or racial supremacy. Most notably, the problem shows up in widespread ignorance about the history of yoga, the philosophy, and the notion that understanding this can be replaced by experiences of a colonized world. Colonialism—and all trauma—attempts to repackage our problems as clinical and medical challenges, shielding the origins of trauma from criticism.

“Yoga teaches us that trauma is actually a moral and political problem that attempts to define us in terms of systemic challenges. We will explore these issues, and how yoga teaches us a way out of trauma.”