YogaPhobia and Cultural Appropriation



Is Western Yoga A cultural Appropriation?
  • Hindu Roots of Yoga and the Hindu American Foundation
  • Or...has Yoga always adapted to novel circumstances as Jain suggests?
  • Oldest texts of somatic yoga are shown to be Buddhist rather than Hindu texts (Mallinson)
  • authentic form of yoga does not exist
  • Jain'sDefinition of Yogaphobia:
"A social anxiety characterized by suspicion and fear of modern yoga. It is expressed by certain religious institutions and individuals, emphasizes the incompatibility between yoga and certain doctrines and moral codes, results from and perpetuates essentialist interpretations and Orientalist stereotypes, which are often buttressed by social and political ideologies and agendas, and relies on a sense of otherness, despite many shared cultural qualities."

The New Chopra App is finally here!


The social ascendancy of yoga

  • is there a "yoga industrial complex" where large corporate conglomerates "own" the business of yoga?
  • is there a demographic of yoga in the West that is coincident with affluence and education?
  • How has yoga transformed itself into a global phenomenon, morphing from a "calling" to a "premium lifestyle"?
  • How has the fact that women dominate the practice influence the marketing of yoga? Merchandising?
  • What are some of the claims and assurances, sales pitches and new age promises? WOW
    • health
    • attractiveness
    • fitness
    • healing
    • sleep
    • safety
    • longevity
    • peace
    • willpower
    • weight control
    • happiness
    • love
    • knowledge
    • sexual satisfaction
    • personal growth
    • fulfilment
    • financial success
    • enlightenment
  • What role has science and Western Culture played in the modernization (Westernization) of yoga?


The Marketing of Yoga
Plerase read these links and think about these issue for discussion on the assigned dates below. :)


Namaste Bitches 


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