with Tejal Patel

Welcome back to the Yoga Solutions podcast. I'm thrilled to share this episode where I connect with the insightful Tejal Patel. Tejal is a yoga teacher, community organizer, and the host of the "Yoga is Dead" podcast. She's dedicated to uplifting BIPOC wellness and expanding the vision of authentic yoga, working to decolonize and decentralize yoga with a focus on South Asian and BIPOC voices and experiences. 

In this episode, Tejal and I explore the concept of creating true refuge and peace from within, particularly when confronted with a world that isn't always safe or welcoming. We discuss how yoga practices can help us cultivate an internal locus of control and a sense of safety within ourselves, even amidst external chaos or systemic injustices. Tejal beautifully connects the enduring power of yoga to our own ancestral resilience, reminding us that these tools have always been available to us, helping us navigate challenges and work towards creating more safety for ourselves and others.

• [00:01:27] Building True Refuge From Within: Discussing how peace isn't about escaping, but about cultivating an internal sanctuary.

• [00:02:05] The Internal Locus of Control: Understanding how we can control our internal responses even when external circumstances are out of our control.

• [00:02:59] Finding Safety Within Through Yoga: How a consistent yoga practice can help us feel more at ease and safe within our own bodies and in our environment.

• [00:06:26] Reflection and Visualization Practice: Tejal guides a practice to check in, explore what we can control, and visualize using inner tools on our life's path.

• [00:10:10] Utilizing Innate Wisdom and Yoga Learnings: Reflecting on the tools from our inner knowing and yoga practices to journey towards a more peaceful existence.

"How do I feel safe within myself when I'm navigating spaces that might not be peaceful and might not be joyful and happy... still knowing that I have the tools to manage that, that produces a sense of peace and safety within myself." 

"People think that peace comes from escaping, but true refuge can sometimes be built from within"

Medical Disclaimer:

Please know any yoga wellness or health advice presented is not meant to replace the advice of your personal physician or other healthcare professional always seek competent medical care.

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Tejal Patel (she/they) is a first-generation Indian American yoga teacher, writer, podcaster, and community organizer.

Tejal’s aim is to educate and empower individuals and groups around the world to practice yoga holistically and through a social justice equity lens.

Tejal can be found decolonizing wellness with the revolutionary Tejal Yoga Online, a primarily South Asian teacher-led yoga space, with the abcdyogi interactive community, an online hub for healing and learning, and through the Yoga is Dead podcast, e-book, and signature cultural appropriation training.

Host, Yoga Solutions Podcast & Founder, Yoke Yoga

Susanna Barkataki (she/her) has been called “a trailblazing yoga leader and visionary for our times.” An Indian teacher building bridges in the West, she is known for her work in decolonizing and embracing the roots of yoga. She is the tech founder of Yoke Yoga, a free yoga app of micro practices for more peace in seconds. Bringing yoga socially to all people to help solve everyday problems at YokeYoga.com

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