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I began my Hatha Yoga practice later in life - at the age of 27. I initially began yoga, as so many do, to tone my body. But as I progress through this journey - and yes, I have come to believe that yoga is a journey of the body and mind (I'm still working on the atman part) - yoga is no longer only about toning my body; it has become the most important tool to develop my powers of concentration and focus. Yoga possesses the unique ability to force me to focus on myself alone. In only 90 minutes, my stamina, flexibility, balance and most importantly, concentration are tested as never before. Instead of thinking in pain, as I used to, "How long is my instructor going to make me hold Vasistasana?," I have now learned to focus on my breath. I now understand that balancing is the art of intense focusing and a momentary loss of concentration leads me to fall out of Virabhadrasana III (Warrior III). Instead of finding a way to avoid Rajakapotasana (Pigeon pose), I now use it as way to focus on my breath and direct my breath to alleviate the aching in my hip.
As I slowly continue to discover the true beauty of yoga, I find myself increasingly proud to be Hindu; to be able to claim the religion that has brought this amazing practice to the world as my own is truly empowering. Yet through my work with the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), a nonprofit advocacy organization, I have become keenly aware of an alarming trend that disassociates yoga from its Hindu origins. I regularly read Yoga Journal at my gym and am continuously amazed at how many times its editors blatantly avoid using the word "Hindu." As I perused the April 09 issue, I found the Upanishads described as "Tantric yoga texts." Exactly one year ago, HAF wrote to the editors of Yoga Journal about the clear disregard for Hinduism. Our letter was never published, and upon following up with them, HAF was informed that the journal does intentionally avoid using the word "Hindu" because it carries too much baggage, and ultimately, their goal is to sell magazines! I immediately requested my parents to discontinue their subscription.
These issues plagued me, but it wasn't until I began furthering my own yoga practice that I found this disassociation so stark. When I look around the yoga studios I frequent, I am almost always the only Indian Hindu in the room. If I lived in a small mid-Western town, this observation may not be so surprising. But I reside in Manhattan, one of the most diverse cities in the US, where Hindus abound and yet, I can't seem to find any in my yoga classes.
During the course of a project for HAF, I reached out to my personal yoga instructor, an Iyengar practitioner who is well networked in the Western yoga world and actively practices in Rishikesh yearly, if she could point me in the direction of a yoga instructor in the US who is Hindu. She could not. I then turned to one of my studio instructors and posed the same question. She had no idea either. Immediately, I scanned the names of instructors of five well-known and successful yoga studios in Manhattan...from approximately 90 instructors, I found only four Hindus, as well as a handful of instructors who had given themselves Hindu names such as "Ganesh Das". I was stunned. Where are all the Hindu American yogis?
So, perhaps it's time for the Hindu community to look inward and accept our share of the blame in losing the affiliation between Hinduism and yoga. How can we maintain and promote the Hindu origin of yoga if the majority of yoga studios don't have Hindu students, forget the idea of Hindu yoga teachers? Our Hindu forefathers understood the unique benefits of yoga and shared yoga with the Western world. The West understood, fell in love with yoga, morphed it into a physical and "spiritual" practice - thereby removing any religious association - and proclaimed their expertise. And while so many non-Hindu Americans delve into yoga with passion, the majority of Hindu Americans seem to have forgotten its importance in uniting their mind, body, and soul and relinquished their knowledge and ownership of this life changing practice. As yoga seems to move further and further away from is Hindu origins, I am fearful of the day when instructors will altogether stop naming the various asanas in Sanskrit or ending class with the traditional 'Namaste' - that is the day yoga as a Hindu practice will truly be lost.
In an effort to avoid such a catastrophe, I urge you, as a Hindu American, to reclaim yoga by once again becoming an expert in its practice. We cannot lay claim to a practice if we as a community don't follow it ourselves. As a proud Hindu, it is a humbling experience to learn a practice originating in Hinduism from so many non-Hindus. But it encourages me to push forth with my yoga practice and perhaps, teach it to others one day. I urge you to take a beginners' yoga class at a local studio and encourage your children, siblings, parents and friends to do the same. Many of our local Hindu temples offer free yoga classes taught by instructors who are born Hindu, and some of you already attend them...next week, bring a friend or family member with you. If you practice basic asanas at home, move your practice to the next level and take an intermediate yoga class at a studio. Swami Ramdev's yoga has surged in popularity with Hindus in America and around the world...continue to strengthen that practice and share that knowledge with others. I am not denying that many Hindu Americans are regular yoga practitioners - but that number is still a fraction of the strength of our two million strong Hindu American community. We can and should do more. Yoga is one of Hinduism's greatest gifts to world - something that can be practiced by anyone, without relinquishing the religion of one's birth, and is beneficial to everyone. As you practice yoga, you too will find an immense pride in being Hindu and once again, the world will credit the practice of yoga to its rightful mother - Hinduism.
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Recent Comments
On 6/8/09 Swami Param said:
"To Omprem: You confuse being proud with prideful. One should be proud about one's ethical life choices and acheivements. So, are we to take it that you have formally becomce a Hindu? Such a conversion or adoption would be a pre-requiste for being a teacher of any aspect of Yoga. Your point about Hatha Yoga being "integral only to Raja Yoga" is false. All the Hindu/Yogas are intertwined. Hatha Yoga is most essentially a posture/attitude which begins in Karma Yoga. In Bhakti Yoga, one learns to clasically sit for long periods of time in sthirasukhamasana. "
"It amazes me anytime anyone says they are doing yoga and consider themselves as having an authentic practice, and say that yoga is not Hindu. One of my students this semester was a yoga teacher and he kept repeating that his yoga doesn't talk about or have anything to do with Hinduism. I asked him if he had read Patanjali and no, he hadn't. I told him that yoga came about so that people would be in good shape to worship God. He said that that is religion and they don't mess with religion. I told him enough about the spiritual side and even mentioned the siddhis to get him interested in knowing more. Who knows if he will follow up? In his defence, he lives in South Louisiana in a rabidly Catholic area and people here will protest the dangedest things. I first ran across this practice with the martial arts: Christians would protest that the instructors were teaching their kids anti-Christian philosophy and end up shutting down some schools. Since money seems to be the sole reason some people are running yoga or martial arts studios, some operators are willing to do or say whatever will let them keep making money. Of course all this would seem to be against the ethical teachings of yoga, so for them it is easier to pretend that yoga is just healthy exercise. I think these yogis that water down their teachings are maybe reasoning with this in mind. From what I have seen here in the gym, some of these guys are not competent to teach even the asanas, and are totally ignorant of all the rest of the iceberg. I wonder how many of the ones you are talking about even know that there is so much more to the whole thing than the physical. Oh well, asato maa sad gamaya...."
"Expressed my sentiments exactly! After exploring both Buddhism and Hinduism for several decades, then deciding upon 'entering' the Hindu religion via a namakarana puja at our temple here, I,too, was a Yoga Journal subscriber as part of my sadhana. But I stopped because of the magazine's mercenary agenda of avoiding giving HInduism its proper respect and acknowlegment. Not only has nonHindu exploitation of Yoga for profit and fashionability been another example of racial piratism, it has cheapened the vast spiritual and cultural importance of Yoga sadhana until it has become a narcicistic industry at odds with its original Divine purpose. About time someone stood up and protested this prostitution of yoga's gifts..."
On 5/30/09 caryn_sobel said:
"I am an American of European descent, who noticed this avoidance of Hinduism in yoga about twenty-five years ago, when I began my yoga practice. It was obvious even then that there was a concerted attempt to strip yoga of any religious connotations--a secularization, of sorts. Hinduism wasn't "popular" enough to warrant inclusion in the background, and some of my teachers even implied that Buddhism was the root of yoga.
Especially for those of us who had no early exposure to Hinduism, or the cultural heritage, exposure to it through yoga would have been meaningful and productive. I am glad I wandered my way to Hinduism eventually through another means, and it has definitely enriched my yoga practice, but the gaps over the years need not have been there.
Good article, Sheetal, and thanks for the laugh about breathing and falling out of poses!"
On 5/31/09 yogachandra13 said:
"thank you. i have found this disassociation as well. i found hinduism through my hatha yoga practice and a stay at an ashram for a summer. the two cannot be apart, my asanas or pranayama will not be what they are supposed to be without the mantra. CHANDRA"
"Namaste! I applaud this opinion. I am a former Catholic who formally embraced the Dharma 20 years ago, & teach Yoga @ a local college. I am very focused on teaching the firm Hindu foundation of Yoga, & include the deep spirituality of the tradition as well. Things are presented in a manner that allow those of any or no religious belief system to appreciate the benefits.
I will also become a part of a team who will be offering Hatha classes @ our local mandir this summer.
When we say "let's take Yoga back," we don't mean to exclude people outside of the faith from practice (we couldn't if we tried!). But we should do our best to make sure that the West knows its auspicious origins.
Fred Stella"
On 6/4/09 Swami Param said:
"Here are CYHA, we have been trying for years to give the non-Hindu yoga movement the Hindu/Yoga facts. Sadly, we have also been trying to get the Hindus (even HAF) to wake-up and smell the incense, so to speak, with little or no reply. In fact, it is many Hindus that actually have and do encourage this spurious yoga. The young Hindu lady who wrote the article is right to say "Let's Take Yoga Back," but this process would invlove not attending these spurious yoga classes.
Hindus should seriously ask, "Why do we have to take Yoga Back?" Why did we let it go? Look at how much Hindus have simply let go. Ask the average person about the Swastika and what is a Guru, Mantra, Kundalini, Chakras and of course Yoga, for example. The answers are revealing. Remember, Hindus, all of real Yoga is Hinduism: Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga and Jnana Yoga. Anyone can learn these Hindu/Yogas from a qualified Hindu (and not for fee). True religious/spiritual teachings and practices are offered on a donation basis--this is not a business!
On our web site, we have much information that is highly useful in the worthy mission of clarifying the Hindu/Yogic Dharma, so, "Let's Take Yoga Back" and so much more.
In Dharma,
Swami Param
Dharma Yoga Ashram (Classical Yoga Hindu Academy)"
" The article and some comments demonstrate the confusion that occurs when something is twisted /misrepresented by many and their followers continue the spiral deeper into confusion...here we are discussing yoga or actually Hatha Yoga for the most part. The author, a Hindu, with seemingly the best of intentions, sadly plays into the phoney yoga movement/business/delusion. She recognizes the yogas are Hinduism, but yet is willing to take and promote non-Hindus classes teaching and misrepresenting her sacred religion and terms. We then see Omprem with a "Guru", mantras, a Hindu name, a "yoga" instructor, etc.who is presumably not a Hindu...this makes no sense! Omprem then chastise the author for having "pride" in Hinduism...what is wrong with healthy pride? Omprem conveniently finds it OK when a Hindu father is "pleased" or had pride because his son became a phoney "yoga" teacher. The phoney gurus referred to in "when you disparage those teachers you disparage their Guru also." should be taken to task for exploiting Yoga/Hinduism and misguiding the religiously naive.
Below are some FACTS too often overlooked in these discussions.
Sanskrit: The ancient language of the Hindus [Webster's] Note: all subsequent terms are Sanskrit (Skr.) and thus Hindu
~Aum/Om: The most sacred syllable in Hinduism [Oxford World Religions]
~yoga: Skr. "Hinduism" [Webster's]
~yoga: Oneness of Atmana and Brahman [Dict. of Skr. Names]
~yogi/yogini: (male/female) Hindu Ascetic [Oxford World Rel.]
~Atmana: Skr. Self/Spirit; Hinduism [Webster's]
~Brahman: Skr. Hindu Religion [Webster's]
~yoga: Skr. A Hindu discipline [Oxford Am. Dict.]
~ yoga: Skr. A system of Hindu religious philosophy [Thorndike Barnhardt]
~yoga: Skr. general term for spiritual disciplines in Hinduism [Columbia Encyclopedia]
~Swami: Skr. Title of respect of a (Hindu) Holy man or teacher. [Oxford World Religions]
~Guru: Skr. A teacher of worldly skills...more often of religious knowledge...liberation (Moksa). [Oxford World religions]
~Moksa: Release/liberation - the fourth and ultimate goal of Hinduism. [Oxf. World Religion]
~Veda Skr. The most ancient sacred literature of the Hindus. [Webster's]
~The first recorded evidence of the Skr. word "yoga" is found in the Vedas."Seers of the vast illumined Seer yogically control their minds and intelligence." Rig Veda V.81.
~Upanishads: Text in Hinduism which ends or completes the Vedic corpus (body of [Hindu] laws)[Oxf. World Religions]"
"Can I agree with all of the comments thus far mention. I take no side to this arguement however, I do want to provide some insight into this debate. Some people who have learned yoga truly have the insights to the authentic derivations of it from Hinduism while others not so much. What I do have a problem is with those Yoga teachers that takes the origins completely out of it as what Sheetal so eloquently described. Some comments also demonstrate this too. I attended yoga classes can't remember what type of yoga though... but that doesn't really matter now does it? Anyways, I encountered english phrases for asanas, rather than the traditional names. Its irritated the hell out of me in a way because, these new names offer no insight to the would be follower of yoga to understand its origins. Furthermore, it devalues the experiences of it.
On the otherhand, Sanskrit names for certain asanas are hard to pronouce. If Hindus have a hard time saying them, then how can we expect non-Hindus and "Westerners" address them by there proper name.
So, when push comes to shove as long as yoga isn't completely distorted from its origins and Christan don't contribute to the distortion of the facts as what the infamous Pat Robertson has done in the past.... I don't have a problem with the way its practiced.
Now, what I want to know then from everyone who has posted included Sheetal, is Yoga a secular practice or should it be tied down to religion as many people propogate. When u mix religion into anything it causes problems. When "all" Hindus themselves don't practice it, then how can we go and assert that it is Hindu form of worship. Hindus must assert their "uniform" identity. Until and unless we do, these problems will still surface.
What do you all think?"
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On 5/30/09 Omprem said: