Meet Tejal Patel | Yoga teacher, writer, podcaster, and community organizer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tejal Patel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tejal, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I‘ve always understood the spiritual practice of yoga growing up in an Indian Hindu household. The challenge I faced was integrating my personal yoga practice with western yoga studio culture in a safe and welcoming space. I have often been impacted by racism, othering, and spiritual bypassing while practicing and teaching yoga. I remember in 2015 being told by a white woman studio owner that what I learned about yoga while studying in India and from my upbringing was wrong. That was so messed up. And that’s just one of the many stories I have about yoga gone wrong.

It is my vision to raise awareness of yoga to prevent these issues, and so many other mishaps that I’ve faced, from harming others.

I started the Tejal Yoga community to offer yoga students and teachers a much needed justice-focused, people-centered, decolonized approach to yoga. In March 2020, I decided to shift all my workshops, classes, private students, everything to an online space. Building out Tejal Yoga allowed me the freedom and reclamation to offer more than just movement-focused, physically-taxing practices.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
A really common question is to ask someone what they do for work. When I get asked that I say I work in yoga! It’s how I introduce people to the fact that I teach yoga, I organize communities for yoga, I uplift other yoga teachers, I wrote a book about yoga, I launched a podcast about yoga, I give education on yoga & wellness… the list goes on!

It all to down to one vision: I aim to educate and empower people around the world by advocating for yoga through a social justice lens. I founded Tejal Yoga in 2013 when I started teaching yoga, to house all my teaching projects in NYC, for colleges, corporations, and private clients. Tejal Yoga naturally evolved into a South Asian teacher-led yoga community focused on social justice actions and authentic, culturally-rooted yoga-based practices at tejalyoga.com

In 2018 I created the abcdyogi village (IG: abcdyogi), which is a global community for

1. South Asian teachers committed to decolonizing yoga and mindfulness teachings

2. People identifying as South Asian, Non-South Asian BIPOC, LGBTQIA2+, Allies, Accomplices in search of community-based, spiritually-rooted yoga and mindfulness practices and stories. Everyone is welcome to learn regardless of ethnicity, caste, gender, religion or practice level.

We facilitate healing for our community through story-telling, conversation, performance, art, song, dance, writing, and retreat.

We connect via social media, email, chat groups and in-person to support each other’s journeys. Our community is centered around uplifting South Asian teachers while standing in solidarity with all marginalized groups.

In 2019 I launched the Yoga is Dead podcast (IG: yogaisdeadpodcast) with a fellow yoga teacher to question who and what killed yoga and start critical conversations about race, privilege, fair pay, body politics, sexual and physical misconduct, veganism & ahimsa, and gatekeeping in the yoga industry. Due to the podcast’s success we launched an entire initiative to offer workshops and training about cultural appropriation, and just last year we published an e-book The Original Godmothers of Yoga.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Okay! I am sort of a newbie myself to where I currently live – the territorial lands of the Anishinabewaki , Potawatomi and Mississauga land, colonized as Rochester Hills, MI. I moved back home after 13 years in NYC and have found a few spots that I highly recommend:

A few spots where I live:

Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters, a hometown local franchise with the most amazing coffee drinks! They serve cheesecake too!

Neehee’s, for vegetarian Indian street/snack food that can easily be a meal.

Aberdeen Massage, support local businesses and Duncan’s give great massage!

You have to go to Detroit proper while in town for a few of my favs:

Mexicantown in Southwest Detroit, for the best “chalsa” (what I call chips and salsa, and the best Birria which I recently learned about and LOVE, and general authentic, cultural vibes and yumminess.

Belle Isle, for a very lovely, sunny day of walking and admiring the views of both Detroit and Windsor. The best sunset views in the world are here but maybe I’m a little biased.

Music, Soul, and history are everywhere in this city, walk around to take it all in and pay close attention to the history and the revitalization.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I dedicate my work and this shoutout to all the beautiful, brown yoga teachers and students that feel lost or disconnected to their own culture and their indigenous yoga practices. To all the people that feel underrepresented and not included in how modern yoga is currently offered.

I credit my family, especially my sisters for their efforts to build community, protect and heal the environment, and commitment to fighting racial inequality and ethnic discrimination.

Website: https://tejalyoga.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/tejalyoga

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/tejalpatel-yoga

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tejalyoga

Facebook: https://facebook.com/tejalyoga

Youtube: https://youtube.com/tejalpatel

Image Credits
IMG_4625 and DSCF3345 – Rob Alcantar / https://www.instagram.com/brandrobear/ 271A1206_Original – Stephanie Cowan / https://www.instagram.com/stephaniecowan/ Tejal_Restorative3 – Leeroy T / https://www.instagram.com/leeroy.t/