Anjali Rao is an author, yoga educator and practitioner.

She brings an intersectional and decolonial feminist lens to the study of philosophy and yoga history integrating storytelling, art and poetry. Emphasizing an embodied approach, her work interrogates the link between religions, politics and yoga.

She is on the faculty of multiple yoga teacher training programs—her areas of specialization includes deconstructing the dynamics between caste, gender, nationalism and colonialism. She is the host of The Love of Yoga podcast bridging scholarship, activism and yoga.

Woman dressed in a bright yellow saree with a black blouse, smiling and holding a small pot, against a plain background.
A woman in a red and white traditional dress standing among tall stone pillars and palm trees in an outdoor setting.
A woman in traditional Indian attire dancing in front of an ancient stone temple with intricate carvings and large wheels, under a partly cloudy sky.
Carvings of a deity in a circular frame, surrounded by ornate decorations, in a temple or historical structure.

Anjali has served as the President of the Board of Directors of Accessible Yoga Association, a non-profit dedicated to ensuring accessibility and equity in yoga spaces to people of all backgrounds.

Growing up in Bangalore, India, Anjali has also studied and practiced Bharatnatyam, Kathak and Odissi and considers dance as her foremost connection with the sacred.

She is currently a Doctoral student: Ph. D in Philosophy and Religion in California Institute of Integral Studies

Her forthcoming book, Yoga As Embodied Resistance: A Feminist Lens in Caste, Gender And Sacred Resilience in Yoga History, will be published by North Atlantic Books and is now available for pre-order.

She loves the ocean, old trees, cheeky dogs and lives in unceded, occupied Ohlone land, in Pleasanton, California.

Book titled 'Yoga as Embodied Resistance' by Anjali Rao with a red cover, featuring an illustrated woman with blue skin in a yoga pose, set against an orange background with flames.
Abstract fiery pattern with orange and yellow flames on a red background.