{"id":680,"date":"2011-05-09T17:17:27","date_gmt":"2011-05-09T21:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/omsweetom\/?p=680"},"modified":"2011-05-09T17:24:49","modified_gmt":"2011-05-09T21:24:49","slug":"yoga-a-trendy-way-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/omsweetom\/2011\/05\/yoga-a-trendy-way-of-life.html","title":{"rendered":"Yoga: A Trendy Way of Life"},"content":{"rendered":"
A few days ago, as I picked at the lonely avocado on my plate, I overheard a group of girls discussing how much they loved their outdoor yoga session. \u00a0I glanced over and noted that they were like countless women in the city, myself included, wearing similar black yoga pants and toting around their own yoga mats. \u00a0I wouldn\u2019t have even thought to write about it except I was particularly amused by one girl in the group. <\/p>\n

\u201cI loved it [doing yoga outside] because it gets me in tune with nature…like, I feel one with nature,\u201d she said as she absentmindedly plucked leaves off of a low hanging branch of a nearby tree.<\/p>\n

I found this amusing (and a bit distressing), because it seemed that neither she nor anyone at her table saw the disconnectedness between her words and actions. \u00a0I point out this incident because it brings up an issue that we at the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) have been highlighting in our Take Back Yoga<\/a> campaign for the past two years: yoga is not just a physical asana practice, but rather a philosophy, rooted in Hindu thought, of how we should lead our lives at all times, not just during a yoga \u201cclass.\u201d \u00a0We\u2019ve found that most practitioners readily agree that yoga is more than just a few rounds of surya namaskar<\/em>, or sun salutations. But it is our second point – the idea that yoga is rooted in Hindu philosophy<\/a> – that has generated and continues to evoke strong feelings on all sides.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with why before we move on to what. \u00a0Why, you may be wondering, did HAF feel compelled to create this campaign? \u00a0Quite simply, it was due to the various yoga magazines, Yoga Journal<\/em>, in particular. \u00a0After reading countless YJ magazines, we noticed an unusual trend – the words \u201cHindu\u201d and \u201cHinduism\u201d almost never appeared in its pages, barring an article about making yogurt at home. \u00a0Sacred Hindu texts such as the Bhagavad Gita or the Upanishads were referred to as \u201cancient Indian,\u201d \u201cyogic,\u201d or even \u201ctantric,\u201d but never as \u201cHindu.\u201d \u00a0Our initial thought was that the magazine was avoiding all religious overtones, but at second glance, that proved to be untrue. \u00a0The magazine was replete with references to Buddhism and also included the occasional shout out to \u201cmystical Christianity, Judaism and Sufism.\u201d \u00a0While we had no qualms with that, we were perplexed enough to write a letter<\/a> of inquiry to Yoga Journal. \u00a0Unfortunately, the letter did not generate a reply, nor did a couple of follow up phone calls. \u00a0Persistent as ever, my boss continued calling until one day, a lady who identified herself as a receptionist and part-time writer for the magazine, actually answered the phone and informed us that the magazine does avoid the word “Hinduism,” because “it carries too much baggage.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that was all the spark we needed to launch our campaign. \u00a0So, what are we saying? \u00a0And what are we asking for? \u00a0Over the past two years, with a growing number of media reports on the campaign, there have obviously been some misunderstandings.<\/p>\n

Quickly, let\u2019s start with what we are not saying. \u00a0We are not saying that Hinduism owns yoga. \u00a0We are not saying that yoga is only for Hindus. \u00a0We are not saying yoga practitioners must pledge allegiance or convert to Hinduism.<\/p>\n

We are saying two things:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Yoga is more than just the physical asana-based practice it has largely become in the US. \u00a0The most famous of all yoga texts, Patanjali\u2019s Yoga Sutras<\/em>, explains that yoga is composed of eight limbs, asana being just one.<\/li>\n
  2. Yoga, in its entirety, is rooted in Hindu philosophy. \u00a0Patanjali describes the goal of Yoga as chitta-vritti-nirodha,<\/em> or \u201cthe cessation of mental fluctuations.\u201d \u00a0This is also a core concept also expounded in Hinduism\u2019s Bhagavad Gita: \u201cThus always absorbing one\u2019s self in yoga, the yogi, whose mind is subdued, achieves peace that culminates in the highest state of Nirvana, which rests in me [Lord Krishna\/Brahman\/Supreme Reality].\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    And we are asking for a nod of acknowledgement to the Hindu origins of yoga. \u00a0We never thought our simple request would generate so much debate and dialog, not only within the yoga community, but also from the national media and even from self-help Advaita Vedantists<\/a>. \u00a0But it has – from the New York Times<\/a> to CNN<\/a> to NPR<\/a> to Huffington Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    I realize that this piece only reaches the periphery of the issue and debate. \u00a0There is much more to say…and it will be forthcoming in the next few blogs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A few days ago, as I picked at the lonely avocado on my plate, I overheard a group of girls discussing how much they loved their outdoor yoga session. \u00a0I glanced over and noted that they were like countless women in the city, myself included, wearing similar black yoga pants and toting around their own…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":390,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hinduism-101"],"yoast_head":"\nYoga: A Trendy Way of Life - Om Sweet Om<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/omsweetom\/2011\/05\/yoga-a-trendy-way-of-life.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Yoga: A Trendy Way of Life - 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