Ep 2 - Karma capitalism Killed Yoga
Yoga is Dead
Yoga is Dead
4.2 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 23 June 2019
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ep 2 - Karma capitalism Killed Yoga
In this episode, we discuss the role that karma capitalism plays in killing yoga. We cover concepts of karma, seva, dharma, fair pay, and the commodification of yoga. We share stories of hiring & firing, contracts and the lack thereof, what constitutes an employee vs. an independent contractor, and share a surprising legal situation. We wrap the episode leaving you with this question - what constitutes your karma yoga?
Click for Ep 2 - Gurus Killed Yoga Resources
Yoga is Dead is a revolutionary podcast that explores power, privilege, fair pay, harassment, race, cultural appropriation and capitalism in the yoga and wellness worlds. Join Indian-American hosts Tejal + Jesal as they exposes all the monsters lurking under the yoga mat.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | We live in a lawless land with no HR. |
| 0:05.0 | Hello everyone, I'm Thaigal, and I'm Jaysel. |
| 0:08.0 | And this is Yoga is Dead. |
| 0:10.0 | We're two Indian American Yoga teachers navigating the weird and tricky world of yoga. |
| 0:14.4 | Get ready to hear our personal stories, thoughts, and research on who killed yoga. |
| 0:19.0 | Grab some shy, a tall comfortable seat, and let's go. |
| 0:26.0 | What's up, Deja? What's on your mind? |
| 0:28.0 | Just a sunny day, feeling good. I have one thought. |
| 0:32.0 | What? What do you mean when you say |
| 0:34.6 | karma killed yoga? I mean this idea that businesses are touting as karma yoga or |
| 0:39.6 | save a yoga and asking people to do work for free. |
| 0:43.0 | Yeah, so we're talking about fair pay, labor practices, issues around money in yoga, right? |
| 0:49.0 | Yeah, exploiting people who come to yoga because they believe in it and then asking them to do stuff for you for free. |
| 0:56.0 | Right. So we're calling this Karma Capitalism. |
| 1:00.0 | For us we're talking about karma and business settings like Yoga Studios that are really exploiting |
| 1:05.3 | free work, free labor. |
| 1:08.6 | You know, traditionally, karma yoga is a path of purifying our heart and counteracting the influence of egoism. |
| 1:16.0 | So it's written in the Gita that Kama Yoga is performing one's own darma or ethical right action or righteous duty. I don't know how that relates to |
| 1:26.0 | mopping floors and giving classes for free and stuff. We're talking really about |
| 1:30.1 | the mutation and mix-up that comes from businesses who are profiting off of free labor or other unfair and unethical business practices using the guise of karma or Sava. |
| 1:38.0 | Karma is about choice and there can't be any expectation or attachment to any outcome. The way studios are pitching |
| 1:43.9 | karma yoga to us creates scenarios in which we begin to expect an outcome. |
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