Social Justice is Yoga
Transcript
If you’re someone who cares about society at large, or someone who engages in community action—like, let’s say, a lawyer—I have news for you: every time you engage in justice work, you’re practicing yoga.
Yoga is not just about the asanas or better known as poses here in America. Do not be fooled by Western culture that has colonized yoga as nothing more than a workout and a reason to wear expensive athleisure.
There are ten principles of yoga rooted in positive ethics and eight limbs of yoga that guide us through life.
Pratyahara is a practice that asks us to withdraw from external influences, including external rewards that maybe boost ego. When we relieve ourselves of these external rewards, we can better practice Seva, the practice of service for others.
As lawyers and legal professionals, we engage in Seva often like when we do a pro bono project. But we hold power where Seva could also be powerful and that is in social justice work. And by social justice work I mean fighting for rights, fighting against discrimination and inequitable practices, and educating our communities to empower them to understand the legal systems that hold so much control over our daily lives.
If you practice the law, your work is inherently political. At some point a legislative session lead to the law you’re working with or against. So we only do ourselves and primarily, society, a disservice when we don’t engage in politics more intentionally as legal knowledge experts. That means practicing Seva more mindfully like ensuring our most vulnerable communities have access to vote through empowerment, education, and action.
Seva and the practice of law go hand in hand. Yoga supports working towards meaningful change in society that creates a more inclusive and equitable communities. As lawyers, we have an obligation to use our knowledge for good. Next time you lose your purpose or forget why you wanted this career, ground yourself in the practice of Seva.
