Yoga is not fitness.

Physical exercise was never the true purpose of yoga.

Yoga is a living tradition thousands of years old, rooted in India and North Africa — and it’s never been about touching your toes.

To honor yoga’s roots, we have to practice all eight limbs, not just asana (the physical postures). Many of these limbs call us toward awareness, compassion, justice, and deep personal and collective transformation.

Yoga carries a long history of resisting colonization and supremacy. Yet when it reached the West, it was commodified — repackaged and sold back to us as $25 classes in $100 leggings.

Yoga is not fitness.

It’s liberation.

Liberation from the inner barriers of ego — self-judgment, shame, fear, and the pull toward comfort that keeps us small. These patterns create suffering and cloud our ability to live with presence and peace.

And liberation from the outer barriers — systemic oppression, trauma, and cultural narratives (like productivity culture) that reinforce disconnection and over-identification with the ego… yes, including the $100 yoga pants.

For many of us, these internal and external struggles are deeply intertwined. Through yoga, we begin to gently unravel both — remembering our wholeness, our interconnectedness, and our capacity for liberation. 🌿

👀 Get ready for an exciting new collaboration between Integrative Life Therapy and Electric Cottage Collective that dives deep into Yoga As Liberation- coming soon! @integrativelifetherapy