Hi everyone. Welcome to episode 111 of the Let's Talk Yoga podcast. I want to jump straight into today's

show because it is such an exciting, not exciting, but such a valuable topic. And I have one of our

favorite guests back on the podcast today, Vikramjit Singh is no stranger to the Let's Talk

Yoga podcast. He has been on numerous times. And if you are a

regular listener of the show, you already know who Vikram is. And if you are a brand new listener,

then I would suggest you finish this conversation and then listen to all the others that we have

done. Each one of them is so valuable. And Vikram is not only knowledgeable and wise, but he's incredibly generous in offering his insight to yoga teachers and yoga students.

And he suggested we do this topic on cultural appropriation.

I've stayed away from it from a couple of years because I've done this before.

But the reason I stayed away from it, and you hear us talk about this in the show itself, is because I feel like the yoga world is indulging too much in

just the superficial, easier aspects of appropriation.

Should we say namaste or not?

Should you have Ganesha in your studio?

Should you play devotional chants during yoga classes?

And I believe the real work in appropriation lies is deeper.

And it's harder work. And so we have a very open and honest conversation about right from what

is appropriation to examples of appropriation. And Wickram brings up types of appropriation,

which I think is very important for us to recognize,

what are the major issues we face when it comes to appropriation.

And very significantly, the qualities a yoga teacher needs to embody to actually start genuine appropriation work.

And the importance of context, I quiz him about need for indianness to do this type of work

and does that add value how much money should you spend in i mean or should you be paying a lot

...