Yoga in America
From its first introduction to the United States in the late 1800’s to its overwhelming popularity today, yoga has secured itself a place in the hearts of the American people. This initially religious practice has become one of the most common exercise routines, to the point where an estimated 37 million people in the United States claim to participate in yoga. So how did this ancient Indian custom become popular in a country more than 8,000 miles away from its origin? It was not an overnight success. There are many factors that led to yoga’s widespread recognition in America, all of which have allowed this exchange of culture to create more healthy and happy citizens worldwide. Some claim that the Americanized version of yoga is too different from its Indian roots because all sense of religion has been removed thereby eliminating the benefits of the practice. While I recognize yoga has been altered dramatically from its traditional form, I believe this change has allowed for the popularization of yoga to the American people allowing many to experience significant health benefits.
To begin, let’s explore a brief history of yoga and how it was brought to the attention of United States citizens. Yoga is a practice that originated in ancient India around 5,000 years ago which focused on “expanding spiritual energy” through various breathing, mental, and physical exercises. Though it’s true inventors remain unknown to this day, many have speculated yoga originated from the Indus Valley Civilization in the pre-Vedic period or shortly after, during the Vedic period. During the Medieval era, yoga branched off into more distinct styles including Bhakti yoga and Tantra which inspired medieval Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains. Since then, yoga has become one of the six main pillars of Hinduism leading many who observe this faith to become avid practitioners. Where yoga’s history becomes more clear is when it was introduced to America at the World’s Parliament of Religions in 1893 by Swami Vivekananda. He aimed to promote a tolerance for all religions and ended up prompting American fascination with yoga because so many people attended his subsequent teachings. Since Vivekananda’s introduction, yoga has been involved with many American affairs such as the “counterculture movement, a search for spirituality, and most recently the development of fitness culture and wellness initiatives’’ (Singh). Though it has been involved in American culture for over a century, yoga’s popularity developed the most when Americans could practice it free of any spiritual influence.
To become so popular in America, yoga had to shed its religious and spiritual affiliations which made it an integral part of Indian culture. This was a necessity due to the multicultural identity of the United States, created by constant immigration into the country since its inception. Such immigration led to over 300 distinct religions being practiced today, hence the infamous phrase “under God’’ means a multitude of different things to American citizens. To promote a Hindu based yoga to nearly 330 million people with different religions would be an impossible task, therefore, the religious aspect associated with yoga was incrementally removed to mainstream yoga in America.
Though this religion removal process was necessary, it has caused our country to lose a deeper understanding of the practice. Yoga, as previously mentioned, is a pillar of Hinduism and as such many of the individual poses are named after different sages, deities, and types of worship in this faith. Consider the sun salutation Surya Namaskar, where one completes a cycle of twelve different poses to help energize the body. In American routines, this cycle is most often used at the beginning of a yoga session as a warm up for the body and mind. However, Surya Namaskar was originally created as a way to worship the sun god Surya since the sun is thought to protect against death and disease in Hinduism. Thus this pose was typically practiced in the morning facing the east so practitioners can have the first sun rays of the day fall on them while worshiping. Since the American version of yoga is religionless, the significance of poses such as Surya Namaskar are lost on practitioners and a piece of yoga’s history is forever removed from the sacred practice in the United States. Furthermore, loss of religion reduces the complexity of yoga to a unique form of exercise instead of an all encompassing spiritual experience.
After gaining national acceptance through removing its religious affiliations, yoga became a prominent form of exercise in America. This is because we are constantly seeking new ways to stay fit as it is both a status symbol and a style in American culture. By being healthy, one demonstrates their ability to pay for workout materials, exercise classes, organic food, and to meet the unrealistic standards of being physically attractive to others. Yoga is a common regimen used to achieve this level of fitness since it is a full body workout which can take many different forms to suit individual needs. Some benefits from practicing yoga are increased balance, strength, and flexibility which all help to outwardly reinforce fitness culture in America. With all of these benefits aligning so clearly with Americans’ need to be healthy, it is no surprise that yoga became a dominant exercise.
There are many diets and exercise regimens which claim to accomplish these goals that never become popular, so what makes yoga special? Well, compared to other popular forms of exercise like weightlifting, crossfit, and swimming, yoga requires very few materials and is easy to do anywhere. Furthermore, its unique style can be adapted to fit any level of experience or ability which allows all Americans to participate and gain both the health benefits and status that comes with yoga. In other words, yoga is so successful because it fosters an inclusive community rather than expecting people to complete their goals alone as seen in most trendy diets today. Yoga accomplishes this not only by being available for all skill levels, but also by focusing on introspection based exercise rather than prompting everyone to compete to be the best. When people cease to compare themselves against their neighbors and simply focus on themselves it allows for better personal growth and can even help practitioners be more in-tune with their physical and mental health. Yoga’s exercise style is so effective that two thirds of people who practice yoga go on to do so more regularly in the future. As a result of yoga’s unique inclusiveness allowing a broad spectrum of people to participate, it has since taken over the American exercise scene and allowed for many to reap the benefits offered.
However to many, this extreme change to the very foundation of yoga, from a spiritual experience to exercise, is interpreted as a form of imperialism. In their eyes, yoga is yet another foreign tradition to be conveniently assimilated into the American lifestyle as culture becomes more globalized. Though there are elements to yoga that Americans will not understand due to this removal, I believe that for something to be truly globalized it must be broadened to fit many people and yoga is no exception. To conform into American culture yoga was changed into a form of exercise, much like how yoga in Japan became a primary form of socialization for women without jobs rather than a spiritual movement. As culture becomes more globalized there are aspects of traditional practices that must be adapted to accommodate new customs, but this does not have to mean loss of all identity. For example, despite yoga’s loss of religion, it is still able to offer many benefits to Americans who participate including physical health and mental improvements as it did in India.
Yoga’s emphasis on mental health is another aspect which makes it so attractive to Americans audiences. Over the past hundred years, mental health disorder prevalence has skyrocketed in America. Of course this is somewhat due to the improved diagnosis systems we have put in place over time, but it is also because of the extreme value system our nation fosters. Americans are constantly facing pressure to buy newer products and gain distinction which lead to a state of being constantly overworked to achieve these goals. As a result, stress and anxiety levels have risen astronomically along with the prevalence of other related mental disorders in all age ranges. According to the New York Times, 55% of Americans report feeling stressed in their daily lives which is about 20% more than the global average. In other words, the achievement, consumption, and status based values of American culture are leading to ever increasing stress levels which in turn leads to decreased productivity and eventually more stress. What is the answer to this destructive cycle? Yoga. Along with being a great for building muscle and losing weight, yoga is championed as a way to help treat a range of mental disorders because of how it promotes meditation, mindfulness, self awareness, and breathing techniques. Yoga’s reputation for relieving a variety of mental health issues has become so widespread that many schools, hospitals, prisons, and workplaces in the United States have adopted it into their daily routines to ensure their people are happy and healthy. Before the introduction of a religionless yoga, Americans had no convenient outlets for the negative side effects caused by societal pressures to always be better and achieve more. So while I recognize we are losing some aspects of yoga by introducing it into the American mainstream, I see this as a necessary process. This new version of yoga creates an opportunity for citizens to healthily deal with their mental health issues brought on by America’s hyper-driven society.
In conclusion, the popularization of yoga in America has a long and complicated history. From losing its traditional religious purpose to becoming America’s outlet for stress, yoga has been broadened considerably in order to appeal to people outside of its original context. While some may claim this removes the essence of what yoga truly is, I believe that globalization of culture requires such changes to adapt to different settings worldwide. Through this exchange of traditions such as yoga between countries, citizens worldwide are able to learn and become more open minded to other cultures and traditions.
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