Uma Dinsmore-Tuli on Embracing Post-Lineage Yoga and Reconnecting with Yoga's Feminine, Indigenous Source

In this episode, I was both privileged to sit with, and deeply inspired by, my guest, Uma Dinsmore-Tuli, PhD. Uma is the author of Yoni Shakti, as well as many other books, and her work, along with Vicki Noble's, set something alight in me. As I read her book, I saw written in plain and clear language what my body-heart-mind had always known: there is a feminine source-point for yoga that is the key or code to understanding the truth of the practice. Uma helps me to unpack this awareness, and she and I cover many topics that are challenging but, hopefully, ultimately liberating. We do touch on some sensitive subjects, so be prepared for a big conversation.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How yoga has changed since Uma met (and fell in love with!) yoga in the 60s
• The abuse of power within largely patriarchal, commercially-driven yoga lineages
• The "yoga industrial complex"
• Why Uma no longer refers to herself as a yoga teacher
• How women can meet yoga as cyclical beings (menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum, menopause), and how we can all get more out of our yoga practice (hint: it involves more rest!)
• The natural siddhis and altered states of the feminine experience and how yoga seeks to emulate them
• The exploitation of yoga teachers in the current, unsustainable studio-based business model
• Yoga Nidra beyond its commercial trademarks - as a practice that is perhaps as old as humanity and found (in some form) across multiple indigenous cultures
• Uma's new book, Nidra Shakti, and her process of writing and researching
• How Uma's Celtic roots manifest in her yoga practice
• How Uma developed Womb Yoga
• The importance of education and community (sangha) in breaking through the barriers to collective healing and empowerment
• And so much more...!!

Throughout this episode, Uma advocates for a holistic, inclusive, therapeutic approach to yoga that honours the body's natural cycles and supports collective healing. This podcast provides an in-depth exploration of yoga's commercialisation, the importance of reclaiming indigenous and feminine cyclical wisdom, and the empowerment of women through respectful and individualised yoga practices (and a lot more rest!). I cannot wait to share Uma's body of wisdom with you!

About Uma Dinsmore-Tuli: