Why I Love and Hate Yoga as a Hindu

Every time a skinny white yogi tells me to relax for Savasana, I want to scream.

Photo by Simon Rae on Unsplash

Yoga is a beneficial practice. We see this in popular literature, research, and personal stories. I grew up Hindu and my experience with yoga consists mostly of my family and all their South Asian friends hailing yoga as one of the greatest gifts to global society.

Years ago, I went to the Aveda store to get some facial toner and I mentioned to the white male cashier that I was about to take a trip to India. He stood about 5'8", was half my waist size, had dark scruffy hair, and wore an earring.

“You’re going to India? Wowwww…are you going for a yoga retreat or something?” he asked.

I smiled politely. His assumption made me want to roll my eyes a million times over but I contained the fire raging within me.

“No, it’s actually going to be a very material experience. I’m going to go wedding shopping,” I responded with a sweet, cutting smile.

“Oh.” He was pretty disappointed at my lack of desire to become realized.

This attitude isn’t his fault. But as a Hindu, I can’t help but hate how yoga has become an exoticized Western practice.