Join Roshni Lakhani in a comprehensive exploration into yoga's historical and social evolution. In this two-day training, students will be introduced to the histories and social dynamics that have shaped the development of yoga.
Through a mix of guided discussion and accessible historical context, we’ll explore how ideas around language, spirituality, and identity have been connected to systems of hierarchy across time. This training invites curiosity and reflection — offering students the tools to better understand the cultural, political, and social forces that continue to shape yoga today, both in South Asia and in global practice.
This training invites participants to engage with yoga critically and ethically, expanding their awareness and practice in relation to community and history, we hope you can join us in this conversation.
Saturday begins with a critical look at early South Asian societies, including the Harappan civilisation and the Vedic period,
highlighting how Sanskrit, ritual, and emerging spiritual authority were used to consolidate Brahminical power.
Students will examine the formation of caste, patriarchy, and knowledge control, as well as the alternative perspectives
offered by ascetic and Buddhist traditions. We will then focus on yoga’s key textual sources
— like the Vedas, Upaniṣads, Bhagavad Gītā, and Haṭha texts — considering whose voices are
included or excluded, and how marginalised lineages have been absorbed or erased.
Sunday brings this historical grounding into the present. Students will explore how colonialism, nationalism, and
caste supremacy have influenced the image and global reach of yoga — particularly in relation to the Modi government and
the framing of yoga as a Hindu nationalist tool. Finally, the training introduces the concept of debrahminisation, engaging
with Dalit and Adivasi voices, and reflecting on how yoga might serve as a practice of liberation when grounded in anti-caste
ethics. Students will be invited to consider how to engage with yoga critically, ethically, and with care — while expanding
their own awareness and practice in relationship with community and history.
Saturday Modules
History, Language and Caste — Understanding the Historical Foundations of Practice
Tracing the Roots — Pre-vedic + Vedic Periods
Examine the Harappan civilisation and the Vedic period.
Role of Sanskrit and ritual in consolidating Brahminical authority.
Formation of caste systems, patriarchy, and control over knowledge.
Alternative perspectives from ascetic and Buddhist traditions
Exploring texts, lineages + power systems
Analyse foundational texts such as the Vedas, Upaniṣads, Bhagavad Gītā, and Haṭha Yoga texts.
Examine whose voices are included or excluded in these texts.
Discuss how marginalised lineages have been absorbed or erased.
Sunday Modules
Politics, Power and Responsibility — Applying Historical Context to Modern Yoga
Nationalism, Colonialism + Decolonisation
Explore how colonialism and nationalism have influenced the global image of yoga.
Impact of the Modi government's framing of yoga as a Hindu nationalist tool.
Role of caste supremacy in shaping yoga's global reach.
Debrahminisation and Praxis
Introduce the concept of debrahminisation.
Engage with Dalit and Adivasi voices in yoga.
Reflect on how yoga can serve as a practice of liberation when grounded in anti-caste ethics.
Encourage critical, ethical engagement with yoga, fostering awareness and community connection.
Dates
Saturday 20th - Sunday 21st of September
Times: Saturday and Sunday 12:30pm - 3:30pm
Location: Folde Yoga School — 4/65 Murray St, Nipaluna, Hobart 7000
Investment
$65 Saturday Only
$120 Full Course
10% Members Discount
Meet your Teacher
Roshni Lakhani
Roshni Lakhani (she/her) is a scholar, educator, and facilitator whose work explores the intersections of language, caste, and power in South Asia. She holds a BA (Hons.) in Sanskrit and South Asian Studies from SOAS, University of London, and has pursued further Sanskrit studies in Pune and Kerala, India. After working in the global non-profit sector and completing a law degree, she returned to her lifelong passion for South Asian studies.
Raised in a caste-privileged Gujarati Hindu family in London, Roshni was immersed in Sanskrit and spiritual traditions from childhood. As her studies deepened, so did her understanding of how caste, gender, and race shape these traditions. Her current work challenges Brahminical dominance in yoga and Sanskrit spaces, combining lived experience with historical and intersectional analysis.
Now based on unceded Gadigal Country, Roshni centres a feminist, anti-caste approach that uplifts caste-oppressed and Indigenous knowledges. She is currently undertaking Romana’s Pilates International training, while continuing her research and building connections across movements for justice and liberation. Roshni acknowledges her position as a caste-privileged person and settler, and is committed to using her scholarship and facilitation to disrupt dominant narratives in yoga, spirituality, and South Asian studies.