Racism, Incarceration, and Yoga with Ayla Benjamin
Racism is deeply embedded in the histories of yoga even as it offers visions and practices of liberation. From delimiting caste systems in ancient-to-modern societies to contemporary racist ideologies and social and cultural forces, race matters, is a source of profound harm predicated upon fundamental lies about the nature of human beings. It is also highly correlated with incarceration, especially in the United States, which leads the world in imprisoning people, with one-fifth of the world's incarcerated population.
Ayla Benjamin, executive director of Boundless Freedom, is a dynamic activist and social movement leader working to end mass incarceration while brining yoga, meditation, and other practices of liberation and empowerment into prisons.
In this episode, Mark Stephens and Ayla Benjamin discuss racism in yoga and society, and what many people are doing about it.
Highlights of the conversation include:
- Ayla Benjamin's activist path from her roots in Minneapolis to her initial work in bringing yoga into California prisons.
- The experience of teaching yoga in prisons and insights into how one might best prepare for that service.
- How yoga yoga teachers can best develop the cultural competence for making yoga more accessible and meaningful in diverse communities.
- How Ayla's experience living near the location of George Floyd's murder and their involvement in related peaceful protests impacted her views about the work to be done.
- The work of Boundless Freedom.
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