Political Yoga
Numerous yoga schools are offered in Berlin, from Urban Yoga to Beer Yoga. But yoga does not only stand for meditative self-awareness and personal relaxation, but also has problematic, geo-political and power-political aspects. However, a critical view of the form of meditation so far exists only marginally. The social and societal impact is increasingly significant. Especially against the background that Indian nationalists are increasingly expanding their power, using yoga as a geopolitical tool, as a so-called soft power strategy. The cultural influence serves to hide the violent repression of Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims and other minorities in Indian and Indian-descended societies.
Political Yoga is exploring how social, cultural and geopolitical power dispositions are reproduced in one's own meditation and body practices. Together we try to develop a decolonizing and inclusive school of yoga. Movements and gestures are analyzed and new forms of body language are developed.
Political Yoga is a program by Sajan Mani which is funded by 'Berliner Projekfonds' Kulturelle Bildung'
Sunday, 17 November 2019, 11am - 5pm
Body Workshops with Melody Makeda Ledwon and Jana Prepelluh
Yoga Workshop by Melody Makeda Ledwon
Melody Mel is a sex educator, interpreter, translator and yoga teacher. 2014 she founded BPoC Community Yoga Berlin a safer space for Black people and people of Color who experience multiple forms of discrimination to learn about Yoga and deepen their practice. In her work focuses on intersektional feminist perspectives on sexuality and reproduction.
Body Workshop by Jana Prepelluh
Jana Prepeluh (born in Yugoslavia in 1973) nowadays lives between Ljubljana, Slovenia and India. Witnessing her country falling apart, she instinctively and later on intentionally boycotted any kind of institutional framework, including formal education. This self-aware attitude and critical observance of local and global socio-political context lead her through various creative fields from video, film into art tutor, co-curator and above all a live artist and performer.Her live art entitled Autogeography, which is every time presenting a new work.
With her art Prepeluh addresses subjects with great sensibility, ranging from transcendental, cosmological and transformative potential of individual, often embracing feminist politics, social injustice. Since quite a while she has been interested in discourse of decolonialism in the neocolonialist context as also apply to contemporary art . She mostly focuses on visible and invisible mechanisms of the structural neocolonialism simultaneously spinning off and resisting within white middle class that doesn’t exists anymore’.
Workshop Registration
BPOC, Queer and other Margnilased bodies are prefered but not limited. Prior registration is requested (kunsthalle@kh-berlin.de) but also drop ins are welcome. But if you are a drop in please make sure register yourself in the venue at least 45 minutes before the workshop.
