Yoga and Orientalism
Rooting back to 2700 B.C, yoga originates from Indian culture and Hinduism. Unlike the West’s portrayal, yoga is not only a physical but also a spiritual and religious practice. Throughout the last few years, yoga has become a very popular physical exercise in the West; many Westerners have benefited from yoga’s mental and physical perks. However there is a very critical problem concerning the West’s practice of yoga. The problem lies not with Westerners doing the practice, but with how yoga is inaccurately and offensively practiced and commercialised in Western contexts.
As a New-Yorker, I have a love and hate relationship with New York — just like other 8.6 million people living here. But whether you love or hate New York, there is one thing we should all agree on: New York is a stressful place to live. And for our well-being we really need and deserve to slow down.
That’s where yoga and meditation enters every New-Yorker’s life — with the promise of making you feel less stressed and more stretched.
Walking down the crowded New York streets, you see “Manhattan’s best yoga studio”. You go to Lululemon and women are waiting in the purchase line, holding yoga pants. Scroll down Instagram, and yes that influencer, too, does yoga in Bali. Well you get curious and search nearby yoga classes. You go to the studio, rent a mat and sit on your yoga blocks with your eyes closed. Downward dog, cobra pose, shavasana… 60 minutes pass. You place your hands together in front of your heart, close your eyes and bow your head. Namaste.
At the end of most yoga classes in the West, people say ‘Namaste’ — without even knowing what it means and what it represents. I’ve been practicing Yoga here for more than a year now. I know. It is a way for fast-paced New Yorkers to become healthier both physically and mentally. Yet, there are problems, and in this post, I’m going to discuss them. At some points, it is controversial but we have to address them to improve not only the practice but also the culture of yoga.
Let me explain what’s wrong with our perspective about yoga. Western culture took yoga, the traditional practice of India and Hinduism, and turned into a capitalist commodity that benefits the dominant group — now yoga has become a multibillion dollar industry in the United States. This process of cultural appropriation, adopting the culture of a marginalized group without respecting the culture and the people who created and practice it, ultimately erases the origins and meanings of the traditional practice of yoga. Many of us use the word “namaste” without knowing its meaning. We practice yoga just as a physical workout, without even knowing its history and importance. Just so we all know: in Sanskrit, the word ‘namah’ means bow, ‘as’ means I, and ‘te’ means you, translating into “I bow to you.”
I believe that the inaccurate practice of yoga should not be underestimated into an innocent misunderstanding of the Indian culture and misrepresentation of yoga. But if it’s not a misunderstanding, what is the real reason behind the wrong interpretation and application of yoga in the West?
The simple answer is that, the belief that the West is superior to the East gives a “justification” for the West to do whatever they want without anybody saying anything to them. This idea of superiority is the product of colonialism and how the West characterized and still continues to characterize the Eastern culture: uncivilized, undeveloped and exotic. This characterization is called Orientalism. That’s how yoga is culturally appropriated. It’s because of Orientalism that many people practice yoga as an exotic physical exercise but not as a cultural practice. Without exploring the history, roots, complexity and philosophy of yoga, practicing yoga is re-colonization because it diminishes yoga’s true depth and meaning. It is the continuation of white supremacy and colonialism, maintaining the pattern of white people consuming the stuff of culture that is convenient and portable.
“Once we begin to think of Orientalism as a kind of Western projection onto and will to govern over the Orient, we will encounter few surprises.” — Edward Said
Edward Said is the founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies and is known for his book Orientalism — that critiques the cultural representations that are the bases of Orientalism. Said implies that Western characterization of the East and Orientalism is not actually a system of knowledge about the East. During European colonialism, Indian culture was something that needed to be destroyed. India was characterized as extremely different and the West labeled India “inferior” through using Orientalism as a system of knowledge for suppressing and governing the Orient. Apparently that same Indian culture, which needed intervention according to Westerners, is something widely “borrowed” (culturally appropriated) and desirable nowadays since more than half of the U.S. population practices yoga. This contradiction within Western attitude towards Indian and other Eastern cultures reveals that Orientalism provides a rationalization for European colonialism based on irrational conclusions about Eastern cultures.
It is said that Yoga existed also in the pre-Vedic period (2700 B.C.), but general belief is that Yoga stems from the Vedas. There are two major Indian holy texts that explain yoga. The first text, Bhagavad Gita is part of the Mahabharata, a collection of religious works written between 4th century AD and 4th century BC. The story opens to the scene of a battlefield just prior to the start of a colossal war with Arjuna asking Krishna for guidance. As Timothy Burgin, a yoga instructor, explains, “Arjuna and Krishna’s conversation develops into a discourse on the nature of the soul, the purpose of one’s life, and the threefold path of yoga”. The second major Indian holy text about yoga, the Yoga Sutra, a collection of Indian sutras written probably in the last half of the sixth century AD, explains Patanjali’s yoga system. “The yoga system of Patanjali is known as the Eightfold Path, which leads to the final goal of God-realization”. Each path focuses on different concepts varying from moral conduct to religious observances, purification of body to controlling human impulses, and the practice of breathing to supporting collective humanity, through meditation.
Western yoga only focuses on the Asana, the third path of the Eightfold Path, which is the physical practice of yoga poses, originally sitting for meditation. At first, there were only 14 yoga Asanas, meaning postures. With the big explosion of hatha yoga, during the early 1900s new postures evolved and now there are over 100 unique postures. (Kailaya, Avanna) Although Asana is just one part of the yoga, the very definition of it in Western consists of only Asana because yoga is only portrayed as a physical exercise in the West. This process of cultural appropriation and commercialization disrespects yoga’s religious and spiritual values.
Yoga shouldn’t be just a workout with a price tag. We shouldn’t undervalue its meaning.
According to a survey conducted by Yoga Alliance, when people were asked what their objective is in practicing yoga, people’s answers were that yoga:
- Enhances athletic performance
- Relieves stress
- Increases flexibility and strength
- Is good for you.
Through looking at the answers, it is seen that yoga is commonly practiced as a physical exercise as well as a mental practice — with its incorporation of meditation and breathing techniques to manage stress.
Considering the physical and mental benefits of practicing yoga, everyone should be able to practice yoga and benefit from it. I am grateful for the opportunity to explore such a powerful practice for my mind and body. I am honestly thankful to yoga’s roots, culture and I am showing my full respect to people who practice yoga and who invented it. It’s so important that we share our cultures with each other, that we are a global world. I believe that cultures should interact with each other and exchange values and ideas. However, it is important that this exchange occurs respectfully, without ultimately erasing the origins and meaning of the borrowed culture.
I sincerely believe that nobody intends to take part in yoga as cultural appropriation and I don’t aim to criticise anyone practicing yoga. I just want to create awareness that there is more to yoga and encourage all of us to discover the beautiful world of yoga behind a 60 minute workout.
To conclude, yoga is not just a workout, it is a way to achieve harmony between the heart and soul on the path to divine enlightenment. When one ignores the original meaning of yoga and diminishes the practice into a physical exercise, it is not ethical.
Regardless of who we are and where we are, we should all carry the culture of “yoga”. We should be respectful to culture and “unite.”
