Manifesto..
“An important read for anyone who rolls out their mat”
Stylist
When Nadia felt lost, yoga helped bring her home.
But today, for so many who need it, yoga feels out of reach.
Now, is it yoga itself that’s lost? And can it be saved?
#THEYOGAMANIFESTO
How did an ancient spiritual practice become the preserve of the privileged?
Yoga has been a friend to Nadia Gilani through both the highs and lows of her life, and she believes wholeheartedly in its power to benefit and nourish our bodies and minds.
In The Yoga Manifesto, she investigates how the practice has evolved into a modern billion-dollar industry and asks at what cost. Does yoga in the west shut out people of colour, working-class communities, or those who don’t identify with bendy, slim, able-bodied wellness gurus? From slogans like ‘Namastay in bed’ to pricey bum-sculpting leggings, has this enduring spiritual practice lost its way?
By turns poignant, funny and shocking, The Yoga Manifesto charts Nadia’s own love story with the practice; shares how it helped her through heartbreak, grief, and mental-health struggles; and explores how it can help you too. Looking ahead to a brighter, more inclusive future, the book provides 'Eight Pillars for Recovery' on how we can work together to restore yoga and preserve its roots.
“The Yoga Manifesto is about equality, creativity and revolutionary hope - and you definitely don’t need to practice yoga to know these things matter”
Stella Duffy, author of Lullaby Beach
What People Are Saying
A confessional memoir and meticulous polemic.
Kate Spicer, The Sunday Times
The Yoga Manifesto is about equality, creativity and revolutionary hope - and you definitely don’t need to practice yoga to know these things matter.
Stella Duffy, author of Lullaby Beach
Tender, truthful and full of hope.
Nadia’s mum
What a book! It’s excellent on the politics of the wellness industry, insightful on the origins of yoga, and also a deeply felt, raw, page-turning memoir.
Jini Reddy, author of Wanderland
An informative and unapologetic look at today’s yoga industry and how it has made a sacred practice out of touch to so many. It is at once a call-to-action for us to strive to protect cultural and spiritual practices and an ode to survival.
Mireille Harper, writer and editor @mireilleharper
Nadia has written a brave and inspiring book that points to the way yoga has changed over the years. She shares in a beautifully raw way how yoga moved her, where she finds it now and challenges us to look at the practice we hold dear with tender eyes.
Scott Johnson, founder of Stillpoint London
Nadia holds up a mirror to the culture of yoga in the west, which is often far from compassionate or healing, and tells us her story beautifully, mirrored through the rhythmic and disciplined lens of Ashtanga yoga, of practise and transformation.
Kat Farrants, founder of Movement for Modern Life
Nadia is gentle and fierce and above all searingly honest in a way that feels refreshing and relatable. This book doesn’t just interrogate our approach to self care but how a practice that sits in line with true care extends to the way we politically engage with the world.
Sunnah Khan, poet @sunnahkh08
An illuminating and fascinating book that I wish I had written. A brilliantly honest account of navigating the yoga industry and its highs and lows. A must read. for anyone about to dip their toe in the yoga industry and indeed for those long established in it.
Lorna Fisher, yoga teacher @dynamicflowyoga
An honest retrospective on the highs and lows of yoga. Nadia expresses complete truthfulness and openness about her growth alongside the practice. Anyone who is interested in their relationship to yoga and themselves should read this book. I cannot recommend it enough.
Gingi Lee, co-founder of The Shala, London
The first yoga book I’ve read with a punk rock attitude. Nadia is a formidable storyteller. Most critical is her fierce analysis of the appropriation of yoga.
Sima Kumar, co-founder of The Other Box
“Yoga might save your mind, body and spirit, but not until it’s taken all your money”.
Nadia Gilani
#THEYOGAMANIFESTO