ABSTRACT
In “Trials and Transformations: Ruminations of a Community College Teacher,” Shyamala Moorty brings to life her memories of diverse college students to whom she taught yoga over the span of 10 years (2008-2018) at West LA College. In memoir style, she reflects on memorable successes and challenges that sparked her growing awareness of the many injustices in her students’ lives, and the barriers that blocked them from accessing the benefits of yoga. Moorty’s stories highlight the transformation of an Iranian refugee and her classmates, a queer Latinx youth struggling to feel safe in yoga class, and two young black men taking refuge in savasana (deep relaxation) after a night in prison. She discusses the lack of tools from her yoga teacher trainings to deal with these myriad of situations and how the infrastructure of college, as well as the systemic injustices that some students face, can undermine the possibility of some being able to use undermine and limit access to the benefits of yoga. Moorty shares her journey as a teacher in order to open the door for further conversation on how to support, include, and use yoga as a tool for liberation for all.
