My yoga philosophy mentor, Dr. Shyam Ranganathan of York University in Toronto, pointed out in a recent talk, that what we tend to label “fascism,” “authoritarianism,” “oligarchy,” and other similar terms, all fall under the umbrella of colonialism.
Under the system of capitalism, it’s easy to forget how colonized we all are. Capitalism is what enables our labor, creativity, and resources to get exploited. Capitalism is so deeply imbued in us that soon, we become the exploiters ourselves. We sell others and ourselves to the highest bidder, we strive to get a piece of the colonial pie. Those who thrive under capitalism will never admit they’re colonized. Instead, they uphold themselves as exemplars of society.
In Hawai`i, colonialism permeates all life on the islands. We only became a state in 1959, and Queen Liliu`okalani illegally overthrown in 1893, which sometimes feels like yesterday. The US military controls over 200,000 acres in Hawai`i. In Waimānalo, you can hear military drills and bomb testing several nights a week up in the mountains. It shakes the house and startles the dogs. During the day, fighter jets roar through the air, disrupting conversations, and making me cover my ears and close my eyes. The dire housing shortage and the roaming houseless communities remind us constantly that this beautiful land has been sliced and diced for profit, and that only the wealthy can acquire housing stability. And just how was their wealth acquired? Hmmmm.
Colonizers are the most colonized. Over time, the colonized subject begins to buy into the system and allow themselves to be shaped by the colonizer. It could begin with, “Oh, I like that song you sing to your god, let me learn it.” Or “what a beautiful cloth your dress is made of,” or “I can express myself more through English than my mother tongue.” Soon enough, the colonized have internalized the values, beliefs, and practices of the colonizer and will do the bidding for them.
What we’re witnessing in 2025 in the so-called United States of America, is just the next stage of colonialism. We know USA was built on genocide of the Native Americans, and chattel slavery of Africans. That transitioned into Jim Crow, institutionalized racism, Indian reservations, power to corporations, devastation to our natural resources, and greater and greater concentration of wealth into fewer and fewer hands, and much more.
The oppression that People of the Global Majority have always experienced in the USA now extends to white folks and the middle class. The American myth was that class privilege could protect you. That if you worked hard enough, and taught that work ethic to your progeny, that over generations, you too could be a homeowner, with a retirement account, healthcare, paid vacations, and all the other perqs.
Trump and Musk have revealed that myth as a great lie. Under DOGE, even middle class white folks are losing their jobs, the stock market falling, and even US citizens face deportation for violations as minor as traffic tickets. Colonization not only oppresses Black and Brown folks, as it always has, but has caught up with everyone outside of the 1% billionaire class.
The good news is that now that we can name it, we can fight it. We know how to decolonize! Many of us have been working on decolonizing for decades. From a yoga perspective, decolonizing means devoting yourself to sovereignty, and also supporting others in their sovereignty. In Iyengar Yoga, we begin with the body. As we become more deeply attuned with our own physical form, we start to notice our habits that cause imbalance, and later, aches and pains: “I favor my right leg,” “My head tilts to one side, “ “I slump at my desk.” As we begin to notice and disrupt harmful physical habits, we may note our minds starting to shift. Why am I spending so much time at my desk? Is this what I value the most? Do I feel good when I’ve spent an hour scrolling on my phone? We may start changing our lifestyles, diets, and the way we spend time and interact with others.
From a yoga perspective, sovereignty, the opposite of colonization, means we will take charge of our lives, no matter what. We recognize that we always have free will. In contrast to libertarianism, it’s not my desires and preferences at the expense of yours, but rather, if I value and uphold my own sovereignty, I also must uphold yours. This does not lead to a hyperindividualized, selfish society, mimicking the hoarding billionaires, but instead, can be the first stage of decolonizing, and building beloved community.
For me, decolonizing means I have largely extracted myself from mainstream culture. I have chosen time over money. I subsist on very little money so that I have time for my artistic, spiritual, cultural, and family practices. I help care for my grandkids twice a week. I practice hula and traditional Korean dance and drumming. I engage in community resistance efforts and projects, especially regarding Palestine. I engage in aloha `āina and I mālama the land. I devote myself to the next generation of Iyengar Yoga practitioners. I keep practicing, studying, teaching, and sharing everything I have learned and am still learning. To tell you the truth, I have no retirement account. When I run out of money, that’s it. It will be time to leave my physical body and existence here on earth. But I know my words and deeds and spirit will live on. I like to think I am not afraid of death. I hope this is true.
As I write these words, I laugh and suspect very few people will want to decolonize themselves to the extent I have! It’s a constant project. We can never declare that we have fully decolonized or that we are completely sovereign. I drive on government roads, burn fossil fuels, and carry my government ID. I paid my taxes to Caesar. I receive Medicaid and food benefits. I live on crown lands, stolen and occupied. I write this on my device and post it to a corporate website. UGH! We constantly compromise.
But the more we are willing and able to hold these contradictions and persist in the larger project of decolonization, the less Musk, DOGE, ICE, Meta, Google, and all the rest can control us. Make yourself wildly and radically uncontrollable. Grace Lee Boggs starting declaring to youth in the 1990s: “The most important thing you can do is grow your own food.” Parliament Funkadelic advises, “Free your mind, and your ass will follow.” As an Iyengar Yoga practitioner, I would say the reverse, “free your ass and your mind will follow.” Or in more pedagogical language, “Learn to align your hips over your heels, thighs pressing back, and buttocks forward, and notice the spaciousness in your mind that arises.”
May it be so. Pay no mind to the colonizers. Defy them at every turn. Fly your flag of sovereignty. May it blow freely in the wind.
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