Yoga and Mindfulness in Climate Advocacy with Gayatri Sehgal
What is something that two-thirds of Americans are worried about? Upcoming elections? Inflation? International affairs? A study at Yale Sustainability found that 64% of Americans are concerned about global warming, reporting feeling "helpless" or "doomed" about the state of Planet Earth. The notion of climate anxiety is not a new one. Over time, climate activists and community leaders have realized that to address climate change holistically, we must be grounded, mindful, and grateful for the land we occupy. For what is climate justice if people are not mindful of the Earth they are on? How can we advocate for liberation and justice if we are not free and balanced within ourselves? Further, humans are not the only living creatures who are negatively impacted by climate change. Animals are experiencing unprecedented stress, disease, and abnormal migratory and reproductive patterns. To fully promote the prosperity of our planet, we must advocate for every living being that inhabits it.
Gayatri Sehgal, a unique voice at the intersection of mindfulness, veganism, and climate justice, brings a distinct perspective to these interconnected issues. As a Yoga scholar-practitioner, artist, and climate justice activist, Gayatri harnesses wellness as a potent tool for empowerment and advocacy. Their work is about amplifying the voices of the voiceless and inspiring others to use mindfulness as a catalyst for activism. Through their initiative, Bodhisattvism, Gayatri empowers ecologically and socially engaged individuals in their biopsychosocial resilience through Yoga and mindfulness facilitation, all guided by the principles of total liberation and climate psychology. We had the honor of chatting with Gayatri to delve deeper into their impactful work.
What role does social media play in your climate justice advocacy?
One of the most crucial aspects of my advocacy is staying connected to the current events related to climate justice. This engagement helps provide context for applying the environmentalism, sociology, or psychology I've learned thus far. I have spent time in spaces where people do not stay in touch with current events, which makes it hard to imagine how our work could be useful. When used mindfully, social media allows me to keep up with local, national, and global campaigns, receive news, and interpret its implications through online communities. It also provides a space for my climate distress to feel seen and heard. This way, I get to calibrate how my work fits in with the larger movement for environmentally just futures, demonstrating the practical application of mindfulness in the digital age.
As someone who transitioned from the User Interface/User Experience field, I am hyper-aware of how social platforms can skew our social behavior. In my online activism, I try to be a positive living example to inspire people to become more curious about essential issues by highlighting my role and passions within the movement, such as climate mental health, slow fashion, low waste, and anti-speciesism, as well as my journey as an activist. Although modern social media companies can be dangerously neutral and extractive, harvesting our time and attention and perpetuating the systems of harm that have pre-existed them, without social media, I also would not have been able to learn about the vast majority that I have about climate change and environmental justice. People still use social media to document the movement and shift narratives if we show up with new values so that technology can serve our needs rather than exploit them.
Where do you see the intersection of climate justice and yoga/mindfulness?
As a Gen Z child of immigrants, I didn't have much access to formal mental health resources. Growing up, I struggled with depression and anxiety, and my stress about personal, environmental, and social issues all felt intertwined. What supported me during high school and undergrad was art making and appreciation. Still, post-undergrad, I learned to regulate myself and build personal resilience through Yoga/mindfulness practices and philosophy.
My interest grew in how our social systems impact our mental health and our optimism for positive societal change. I would read about how the environmental multi-crises had underpinnings in hyper-individualism, patriarchy, colonialism, commodification of Nature, and a sense of superiority towards it. I would read about the need to decolonize our climate solutions, incorporating the support of Indigenous people and philosophy. I also saw how so much Dharma and Turtle Island philosophy shared overlaps and how Yoga could be an answer to developing climate resilience.
Although there is Yoga literature related to environmentalism, it is often quite individual-action-focused. That is why, fast forward to today, I am working to integrate what it means to interpret Yoga through the lens of environmental justice and the emerging field of climate psychology in my graduate Yoga Studies thesis. This intersection reveals that we can both engage the world while remaining fully grounded, serving others through a complete well and a greater focus on naturally being rather than doing through the embodiment of our values. Some examples include adopting a responsibility consciousness (karma) about today's world, acknowledging the interconnectedness of the suffering of all sentient beings, a spiritual discipline (tapas) towards liberation work, psychosomatic resilience through the channeling and breathing in of divine vital life force energy (prāṇa), decentering the intellect as our master to see our own body as an ecosystem, and releasing our attachment to the outcomes of our work (vairāgya), amongst many other things.
One of your posts is about how going vegan is like a spiritual vow. Where do you see the intersection of veganism and spirituality?
My spiritual practice solidly developed as a yogāsana and vipassana mindfulness routine during the pandemic. Alongside this practice, my teachers would teach that spirituality isn't much without incorporating ethical principles into our actions. Some important ones include loving-kindness (maitrī), compassion (karuṇā), non-harm (ahiṃsā), and non-possessiveness (aparigraha).
From my intersectional feminist work in college, I was already committed to reducing human suffering. Yet, I didn't realize how much my diet impacted non-human animals and the planet. I used to perceive veganism as an extremist position that neglected the needs of humans. However, my spiritual practices allowed me to put my preconceived judgments aside and begin to connect the dots. I first went vegan to reduce my environmental impact. Then, social media exposed me to total liberation veganism—educating me on the intricate connections between speciesism, racism, misogyny, ecocide, and other forms of prejudice and oppression. I began to grasp the carnist system we live within that conditions us to objectify and exploit the bodies of non-human animals, making veganism an anti-carnist and anti-speciesist stance, especially with the ample scientific evidence that humans can get all our required nutrients from plants.
The most challenging aspect of it, of course, was sustaining the lifestyle. That's where I saw the challenges and misconceptions about veganism more intimately. People who stopped being vegan did so because they lost perspective of the animal victims of their lifestyle choices or perhaps never truly seeing, thinking "vegan" was simply a synonym for "plant-based." People can also be quite hard on themselves during their vegan transition, and it can be challenging to eat or discuss this ethical choice around our carnist friends and family. That's where my spirituality kept me strong, and I got to apply a sense of spiritual discipline to my commitment to animal liberation. In Yoga philosophy, a vow (vṛata) is a means of resolve and devotion towards collective liberation. Holding my own in non-vegan spaces became a way for me to stay true to my values and practice my yogic commitment to the liberation and protection of all sentient beings.
A detail I want to mention here is that spirituality helps us transcend fear-based thinking. My total liberation veganism acknowledges that humans in survival situations may need to kill non-human animals for their needs, such as Indigenous people in remote places of the world. But those of us with ample choice and resources can see the difference in that there is no justification for paying to take an individual's life when we do not need to, and we can embrace the abundance of plants that Mother Earth has offered us.
What advice would you give to someone just getting into Yoga?
The Yoga world can be overwhelming because there are many different teachers, schools, and lineages to choose from. I believe we are now in a post-guru world in which community (sangha) is the core, and the teacher helps tune us into the voice of our inner guide. So, I would summarize my advice with the following:
Question everything.
Listen to your gut.
Study the background of the teacher or school you're exploring.
If someone tells you their Yoga is the best and only, while all others are deluded and must convert, look at what they're implying. Be aware of cult dynamics and avoid them like the plague. Don't fall for the bypassing of scientific evidence and dismissal of systemic oppression. It is entirely alright to benefit from the teachings of a school/lineage in the short term while checking out any cognitive dissonance or hypocrisy in their politic. Keep pursuing finding a teacher that empowers and resonates with you and spend ample time digesting information at your own pace. Yoga is learned not through intellectualization but through practice, so practice!
Finally, describe your ideal day in Nature.
What a lovely question; I love to carve out time to be in Nature where I can harvest the mystical. I would prepare my needs for a camping trip in a tropical climate, ideally, a forest with hiking and a waterfall, packing nutritious whole plant foods, art supplies, a bathing suit, a journal, a yoga mat, an oracle deck, or two, and a camera of some sort. I'd go with a companion or two I know I could trust should anything go wrong. We'd spend time together—cooking, exploring, joking around, swimming, reflecting on life—and alone, in our own world, gazing at the beauty, silence, and harmony of the natural world. I would meditate, chant, practice yogāsana, create a ritual with the natural materials around us, and integrate by journaling. I would dance and sing to my heart's content. We'd capture pictures or videos at random. I would paint, get frustrated, and paint some more, knowing it's all part of the process. We would leave when it was still good, yearning for the next time we could return.
You can follow along and learn with Gayatri on their Instagram @bodhisattvism.
Written by EMA Contributor Orlee Bracha