Episode 10: The Black History of Yoga
Episode 10 of M3CS’s Contemplative Science Podcast saw Yirser Ra Hotep come on to the podcast to talk about Kemetic Yoga and his work teaching mindfulness in prisons.
For the full podcast, check out the episode here.
In this episode, we cover...
The origins and guiding principles of Kemetic Yoga.
How he led pioneering research teaching mindfulness to inmates in Chicago.
The similarities Kemetic Yoga shares with more commonly-known Eastern practices.
Yirser Ra Hotep is a master instructor of Kemetic Yoga. In addition to helping pioneer its research in the 1970s, Yirser is the most senior instructor of Kemetic Yoga in the United States, training and certifying instructors across the world.
Here are some of the key insights from the conversation...
Their are five qualities that make up the guiding principle of ancient Kemet.
”The guiding principle of ancient Kemet is a concept called Ma'at, which means that the nature of the universe is composed of five qualities: order, balance, harmony, justice and reciprocity.”
Yoga is about becoming aware and connecting with our true nature.
“And so we know that keeping these energy channels open and allowing the energy to flow is very important for healing ourselves and for evolving our consciousness, into a place where we can then become aware of our true nature.”
Each culture has its own interpretation of yoga and mindfulness practice.
“If you go to China, Korea or Japan... they may talk about Chi, Ki and the chakras, but every culture has their own slant on these things, their own interpretation. When you really examine African culture - Africans have been talking about these things since the beginning of time! They just talk about it within their own cultural context.”
The best place to find Yirser Ra Hotep is here.
See you next week!
