Sat Nam Dear Sangat,
Greetings, my name is Tiaga Harprem Singh and my pronouns are he/him/his and I wanted to write an open letter to begin a dialog. With respect to the current global climate crisis, current social movements occurring (BLM, metoo, and save the children), and the release to light of the allegations against Yogi Bhajan by several individuals for abuse of power and sexual misconduct- how are you, or maybe you’re not, continuing to teach, move forward, and train? What are you doing, or feeling called to do to address these situations in you teaching and training of other teachers?
I have asked myself these questions for the last several weeks and I wanted to begin to formulate a concrete path to moving forward, or at least one of many to come. There are no right or wrong answers as I am looking for advice and experiences present to assist in forming the next series of teacher trainings.
I am looking for input on best practices surrounding:
Inclusive Practices – How can we be more open and inclusive to all while teaching? Are we color blind or color brave? Do we offer modification or are we militant in our teaching? Especially for our students that are POC, LQBTQIA2+, or differently abled?
Trama Informed Practices – How aware are we of the research surround the long term affects of trauma on the brain, behavior, and the body? How aware are we of our own trauma in respect to our own teaching and why is that important? How are we handling these situations without causing secondary trauma?
Understanding through Compassion – How understanding and compassionate are we to those that have a different opinion, experience, or view point? How can we hold two very different experiences in the same bubble and can we separate the teacher from the teachings?
I sincerely appreciate any feedback on pieces of this or the whole of it.
Peace to all
Love to all
Light to all
Tiaga Haprrem Singh
Tiaga Yoga 