What Kind of Yoga Is Offered Here? A Decolonial, Embodied Approach
If you are new to yoga, or have been practicing for years, you might still wonder: What kind of yoga is offered here?
The honest answer is more complex than choosing one style from a drop‑down list. It asks us to look at where yoga comes from, how it has been shaped by colonization and capitalism, and how you might practice in ways that honor both its roots and your lived experience today.
Yoga’s Roots and Distortions
Yoga is an ancient spiritual and philosophical path that emerged in South Asia, with references going back thousands of years in texts like the Vedas and later the Yoga Sutras. Over time, it became associated with particular lineages, gurus, and social hierarchies. Historically, access to certain teachings was often restricted by caste, class, and gender.
When yoga traveled to the West through colonial contact and later global wellness culture, much of its complexity was flattened into one small piece of the practice: physical postures. In many places today, yoga is marketed as a fitness routine for thin, flexible, often white bodies, detached from its cultural and spiritual context. This harms South Asian communities whose traditions are commodified, and it also excludes many people whose bodies, identities, or histories do not match the “yoga body” stereotype.
Naming this is part of decolonial practice. It allows us to be honest about the gaps between yoga’s roots and how it is often taught now, and to choose a different way forward together.
All Asana Is Hatha, But Yoga Is More Than Asana
Most of what is commonly called “yoga” is really one small slice of a much larger whole: asana, or physical postures. These postures are rooted in Hatha yoga, a branch of yoga that focuses on preparing the body and mind for meditation through movement, breath, and energetic practices.
Classical yoga describes an eight‑fold path that includes ethical living, breath, focused attention, meditation, and a sense of union or interconnectedness. From a decolonial perspective, remembering this bigger picture matters. It shifts yoga from “a workout that makes me look a certain way” toward “a way of being that can support my body, relationships, and commitments in an unjust world.”
The asanas practiced here are influenced by Hatha, Ashtanga Vinyasa, Yin, and other lineages. At the same time, what happens in class is more than exercise. Together, you practice listening to your body, consent, and nervous system regulation, in service of your whole self.
How Yoga Is Offered in This Space
In this space, yoga is an invitation to reconnect with your body, not to perform for anyone.
Classes draw from:
Hatha and Vinyasa influences for gentle flow, stability, and breath‑led movement.
Ashtanga‑inspired sequences when appropriate, adapted to your pace rather than imposed as a rigid goal.
Yin‑influenced practices that emphasize stillness, longer holds, and nervous system down‑shifting.
Underneath those labels, what matters most is how your body feels. You are offered options, not corrections toward an ideal shape. You are free to rest at any time. You do not need to be flexible, thin, or experienced to belong in class.
The approach is also informed by somatic practices and dance movement therapy, which means there is attention to how your body is communicating and what it might be asking for, moment to moment.
Who This Practice Is For
This way of practicing yoga is especially intended for people who have felt out of place, unseen, or judged in mainstream yoga or fitness spaces.
You might resonate if:
You are LGBTQIA+, trans or gender‑expansive, BIPOC, neurodivergent, disabled, or otherwise marginalized, and you want a space where your full reality is welcome.
You carry trauma, stress, or burnout, and need a practice that respects your nervous system rather than pushing you past your limits.
You value decolonial and anti‑oppressive approaches and do not want to leave your politics, culture, or spirituality at the door.
All bodies, levels of experience, and ways of moving are welcome here.
What You Can Expect in Class
In a typical class, you can expect:
A gentle arrival, with time to notice how you are arriving at the space.
Clear invitations instead of commands, with choices and alternatives for each posture.
Breath‑focused movement that meets you where you are, rather than chasing an aesthetic.
Occasional somatic prompts drawn from therapeutic movement work, to deepen awareness without forcing disclosure.
A closing that supports integration and a softer re‑entry into the rest of your day.
Some classes include music. Others, especially outdoors, invite you to tune into the sounds of nature and your own internal rhythm.
A Decolonial, Embodied Answer to Your Question
So when the question arises, “What kind of yoga is this?”
A short answer might be:
This is trauma‑sensitive, decolonial, somatic yoga that draws from Hatha, Ashtanga Vinyasa, Yin, and embodied therapy approaches, in service of your body’s wisdom and our collective well-being.
The longer answer is that together, you are practicing a way of being with your body that honors history, names harm, and makes room for liberation in small, embodied ways.
If this resonates, you are welcome to explore a class or begin with a conversation about what your body is seeking right now.
