Critical Yoga Studies: Using Yoga as a Jump Off Point to Talk Black & Brown Relations

Stevie Wonder sang, love's in need, of a love today. That's true. So that's what we are doing in this episode.

Love song in Hindi, dedicated to the lonely. It's a thread, an idea I am excited to share with you.
Love scene from my forthcoming novel: "He knows a lot about songs."
Journal excerpt: Intelligence is fraught for women, for many - from my workshop series on A.I. at Octavia's Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in Los Angeles, CA.
Guided meditation: Maitri practice, a loving kindness, guided meditation.

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email: r@roopabalasingh.com

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Depression is a thief of the highest order. I know. It can help to be in your body. Not obsessively, mind you. But in a gentle, listening, curious way. To hear the beat of your body.

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ig: @dr.roopabalasingh
email: r@roopabalasingh.com

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i am working on a few petals, and poems are at the center of this flower.

i have been considering how to do this substack thing as a single parent, with many non-substack writing projects on deck. i believe poems are a good speed. i write poems like how some people doodle. once a day or so, i just give way to my mind, and a poem comes out as a simple act. like how my mom used to do, intricate doodles while she was on the brown plastic phone, conversation curled against her gold adorned ear. her strong brown hands always worked out something beautiful with a pen and any kind of paper - napkin, a bill, junk mail, an old greeting card, the corner of a page from her song journal. inevitably, her maiden name would make its way into the doodle. there is a loved practice of hiding a groom’s name in the ornate henna on a bride’s hands. moms doodles were like this, they were a henna pattern, the same loops, paisley swirls, and echoes, and there inside, her given, maiden name, her girlhood, her womanhood, her sovereign, her own self, a beloved, too. that is what she left signs of, in the quiet riot of her phone doodles

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poem: gardening thighs

do you know

that if you garden

your thighs the next day

will tell you

about making love

for hours, for the gods

love to garden

and gave unto us

seed, soil

to kneel down on

to squat over

to sink your hands

dig your fingers into

the back of the earth

a shovel presses under

the roots of a lavendar bush

lifts her up by the haunches

and you rise up off her

wipe the sweat off your brow

and the next day

your thighs

will bear fruit

tell the truth

about why women garden

about how women who

garden are the only ones left

who know purely

the pleasure of folding over loam

open to the dirt

finally, only

these women

know what the trees smile about

under the quiet grand canopy

that lovemaking is made of

soil, seed, sun, and thighs

strong as trunks

poem: i have no hacks

i have no hacks

for how to know

myself

i have no hacks

for how to discover

what makes me happy

i have no hacks

for what makes me feel

alive

i don’t know at all

the color of my parachute

i have no hacks

into the ikigai, the purpose

meets needs meets

i have no hacks

for how to succeed

or even how to fail

for success

i have no hacks

for what tattoo will cross me

over a threshold of sadness

into purpose, into happiness

i have no hacks

i have no hacks

for devotion

for true love

i have no hacks

for how to heal

for how to grieve

i have no hacks

for how to honor god

i have no hacks

for how to make it

all make sense

i have no hacks

for how to make

sense of time

i have no hacks

for why i am

still alive

i have no hacks

for when it hurts

or when its worse

i have no hacks

i have no hacks

for what or when to choose

i have no hacks

for how to win or how to lose

i have no hacks

for surviving the enemy

or even the friends

i have no hacks

for teaching a child

for the beginnings or ends

i have no hacks

for how to take care

or how to make love

i have no hacks

for when to let go &

when to hold on like a glove

i have no hacks

for when the pages dont turn

i have no hacks for when

the pages get wet or burn

i have no hacks

for when to write & when to read

i have no hacks for how to give

and how to need

i have no hacks for the

single mom & parent

i have no hacks for losing

a mom or all the caring

i have no hacks for how to

sit & how to make sense

i have no hacks for how

to stretch & how to be light or dense

i have no hacks for what to

remember & what to forget

i have no hacks for how to

relax and how, exactly, to fret

i have no hacks for the

wild emptiness within

i have no hacks for how to

make laughter & how to grin

i have no hacks for all i must do

i have no hacks on how i can be me

and you can be you

i have no hacks on what makes luck & chance

i have no hacks on

how to resurrect the dance

i have no hacks on

how or who to date

i have no hacks on

what love to make or not take

i have no hacks on

when to write & when to read

i have no hacks on why

i have time or time bleeds

i have no hacks on how to get by

or chat, network, or cry

i have no hacks on

schools, jobs, truths & lies

i have no hacks on

how to have a family

or why these things get taken away

i have no hacks on

how to love through thick, thin & fray

i have no hacks

on how to catch a moving train

i have no hacks

on how to unflood the relentless, new rain

i have no hacks on

how to start or stop the sky

i have no hacks on

when the earth quakes, flames, or lies

i have no hacks

on just write the book

or girl, work that look

i have no hacks

on self esteem or the

perfect breakfast nook

i have no hacks on

noise canceling or best headphones

i have no hacks on how to be with people

and how, in what quantity to be alone

i have no hacks, no shortcuts, no cracks

i have no glass ceilings, no stacks or callbacks

i have no hacks, no one left but me

i have no hacks on seeing whats left to see

i have no hacks

i have no hacks

i have no life

i have such lax

i have fatigue

i have the sleepies

i have nothing left

i have the creepies

i have no money

i have no plan

i have no friends

i have no man

i have only me

but i can barely open my eyes

i have no one left

just me to tell truths & lies

i have no hacks

for how to know just who i am

i have no plan, i have no plan

i have some sense ill be okay

i have no hacks, so ill just play

a recommendation for writers:

i recently took a memorable memoir workshop with beloved writers who are very much on substack (natasha badhwar & raju tai). memoir was a surprise refuge for me. turns out all my journaling, all the doodle-ish poems, even the academic research and publications with room carved out for reflexivity, all of it has been rooted in memoir. i highly recommend the ochre sky writing workshop (it happens via zoom), and you can reach them at ochre.sky.workshops@gmail.com.

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Tune in to the most recent episode of the Critical Yoga Studies podcast with globally recognized artist Rajni Perera (who has a series on yoginis) right here, or via your go-to platform (ie. Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify).

Episode description:

In this episode of the Critical Yoga Studies podcast, two desi sisters, one Indian American and one Sri Lankan Canadian talk sci-fi, race, motherhood, and multi-scalar power. Rajni Perera is definitely a favorite of a few of your favorite hip hop artists. Her work is world-renowned, her style is ever-evolving - but one thing does not change, she is dedicated to racial solidarity between Black and Brown peoples of this world. Her very name is an interruption, an unlikely bridge between Sinhalese and Tamil people, against all the odds stacked against unity amongst us. Rajni's visual and multi-media series document Black and Brown yoginis, traveling beings navigating the reality of displacement, mothers, dancers, planes, dimensions, the porous skin between human and spirit. Between all of life, and all the death.

Here is a look at some of the podcast chapters, for ease of tuning in:

In today’s IGTV clip, we talk about “woke-manship.” On Instagram, you can find me @roopabalasingh. Thank you for being a part of this growing Critical Yoga Studies community.

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(A few deep breaths to start and then...)

In this episode of the Critical Yoga Studies podcast, Roopa Bala Singh speaks with viral writer, Jill Louise Busby, who is the author of a forthcoming book, a collection of essays that spends time noticing what goes unsaid. Jill is one of those unique influencers who grapples with the power and powerlessness of having gone viral, with having access to a #hashtagbag. Jill and Roopa build on their ongoing conversation on yoga, race, being Indian, being Black, being writers, being daughters, being "Indian hair," being "Black Don't Crack," bearing witness, and the trickiness of dehumanization.

Jill can be found @jilllouisebusby on it, and at https://jilllouisebusby.com/ on the interwebs.

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In this episode, Roopa Bala Singh (founder, CYS) speaks with New York Times featured master herbalist, Karen Rose (Brooklyn based founder, sacredvibeshealing.com). Karen and Roopa have been knowing each other from off the Flatbush block for about a decade. In their heart to heart conversation, Karen demystifies plant-based medicine. She talks about the importance of getting your medicine from right where you are, from local grocery stores, from your kitchen. Karen shares about her struggles against the gentrification of herbalism. She explains more about the difference between what she practices and offers to her thousands of apprentices versus processes of western medicine and knowledge. Karen and Roopa do a lightning round (a la Gayle King) and they discuss what keeps Karen juicy (rest), where all she is from, and how to support Sacred Vibes Apothecary and Sacred Vibes Botanica in these "stay ready" times. Karen and Roopa also talk about single parenthood, and as ever, Roopa's child Ravi makes an enlightening cameo. :)

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"This was so enlightening, I loved every minute of it." - Bree

This redemptive episode on yoga and Black and Indian relations features host, Roopa Bala Singh, and guest Bree Simran Darby (@blindiangirl on ig/@BreeDarby2 on twitter). Roopa writes, "In this episode we talk truth, SPREAD LOVE THE BK WAY. We get political, intimate, we talk about mothering and daughtering, and our mentors, and lack thereof - we talk love and hate. As all the warring escalates, this conversation reminds me that we are powerful."

In this episode, Roopa Bala Singh speaks with Bree Simran Darby - an influencer & agitator with many tools in her millennial tool kit. We recorded this episode on the day Trump left his warlording state visit to Modi in India. This sisterly conversation, recorded on audio and video, was incredibly redemptive that day.

Bree is a born and raised Brooklynite, who grew up attending Park Slope schools and is in university at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, NYC. She is a skilled registered nurse in training, senior in university. "Blindian" is a popular term for people who are mixed, Black and Indian/desi ("dhay-see"). There are other terms "dougla," and "colored" that do not roll off the tounge without thick political history. Bree and Roopa Bala speak about race war, and Indian anti-Blackness as also a form of self-hate. They talk coloniality, histories of pitting Black and Brown against one another, and futures of mending this terrible cut amongst our African and Indian lineages and diasporas. Bree is a classically trained Bharatnatyam dancer, YUNG millennial scholar, and social media influencer/agitator. Her recent thread on anti-Blackness addressed to desi peoples including her family has several thousand engagements. Roopa Bala spoke with her about this thread, and more.

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Critical Yoga Studies Podcast

Prototype Season: Pilot Episode 2 (Full, Uncut, Hour-Long)

Guest: Felicia Lane Savage Friedman of Yoga Roots On Location

(@yogarootspgh, @yogadiva3)

**In this hour-long conversation with Felicia Lane Savage Friedman, we get down to the highs and lows of being on the yoga path as Black and Brown women.

Highlights and gems include:**

How she defines yoga.
Her own path in becoming the first Black woman yogi she knew in her own community of Lincoln-Lemington, Larimar, Pittsburgh (15206 represent).
How she experiences the loss associated with commercialized, gentrified yoga.
How she encountered loss when the Black woman she learned yoga under, excommunicated her.
How anti-Black prejudice and racism exists in Indian and South Asian communities, and how there is anti-Indian and anti-Brown prejudice and racism in Black communities as well.
How when we hate each other, we erase each other.
How I (Roopa) feel when I hear yoga folks talking about who they study under and their "guru" in a very "new yoga social norm" kind of way.
How I (Roopa) feel about having learned yoga from my colonized parents.
How we are both survivors of childhood sexual violence, how this guides our path.
About being single parents, single moms
About getting caught up, but just for a bit, with men who were not a good fit (to be diplomatic)
And featuring Ravi Ali (4 years of age), my son and co-conspirator in nearly all things.
Finally, all music is written, composed, and sung by host Roopa Bala Singh

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Critical Yoga Studies Podcast Prototype Season: Pilot Episode 1
Guest: Felicia Lane Savage Friedman of Yoga Roots On Location
(@yogarootspgh, @yogadiva3)

In this HIGHLIGHT REEL conversation with Felicia Lane Savage Friedman, we get down to the brass tacks of the hour-long discussion edited down to 15 minutes. Highlights and gems include:

How she defines yoga.
Her own path in becoming the first Black woman yogi she knew in her own community of Lincoln-Lemington, Larimar, Pittsburgh (15206 represent).
How she experiences the loss associated with commercialized, gentrified yoga.
How she encountered loss when the Black woman she learned yoga under, excommunicated her.
How anti-Black prejudice and racism exists in Indian and South Asian communities, and how there is anti-Indian and anti-Brown prejudice and racism in Black communities as well.
How when we hate each other, we erase each other.
How I (Roopa) feel when I hear yoga folks talking about who they study under and their "guru" in a very "new yoga social norm" kind of way.
How I (Roopa) feel about having learned yoga from my colonized parents.
How we are both survivors of childhood sexual violence, how this guides our path.
About being single parents, single moms
About getting caught up, but just for a bit, with men who were not a good fit (to be diplomatic)
And featuring Ravi Ali (4 years of age), my son and co-conspirator in nearly all things.
Finally, all music is written, composed, and sung by host Roopa Bala Singh

Get full access to Roopa Bala Singh at roopabalasingh.substack.com/subscribe

Critical Yoga Studies: Using Yoga as a Jump Off Point to Talk Black & Brown Relations: Recent Episodes

Roopa Bala Singh