Olivia Amplified
Wow these posts are long overdue! It has been a busy few weeks.
Heading into tonight, I am hoping the government does not shutdown tomorrow! Either way I am still grateful to have a job, although this shutdown will have long-lasting affects on government employees and the departments.
But to distract myself from this and my LSAT test date on Saturday, let’s talk about yoga! As you may know, I am a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher. I currently teach at CorePower and at several residential buildings around Boston.
I have had an enjoyable National Yoga Awareness month!
I change up my sequence every month, and last month I decided to theme my classes around the chakras. In Indian philosophy, chakras are understood as energy centers in the body. They are not physical organs but are understood as places where life energy (prana) flows. Each of these chakras focuses on a specific area in the body. So, to go along with my classes, last month my students and I worked towards balancing the Root chakra (base of your spine), and this month was the Sacral chakra (about three fingers below the belly button). I could do a whole post on elaborating on the chakras and what I have noticed while sequencing, planning, and teaching these classes, but I digress!
Essentially, I am really attempting to be in touch with the philosophy of yoga and continuing to learn and grow. Of course, that is what this month has been about for me, learning and growing my practice.
I want to dedicate this post though to recognizing the commercialization and common appropriation of the yoga practice. It is important for me to bring attention this in everything I do when it comes to teaching this practice.
As I understand, I am not a South Asian woman and as much as try to understand and learn the deep cultural connection that yoga has to South Asia, some things will never be authentic for me to reproduce.
With this being said, why don’t I say “namaste” in my yoga practice? What does this word mean? Why do people say it? Why is it common to use the word in the completion or beginning of the yoga practice?
To put it simply, if a word doesn’t feel authentic or aligned with your voice, students can sense that. Additionally, if you do not completely understand the significance of a word, then do not use it. I believe this applies to everything.
The literal meaning of “Namaste” in Sanskrit is “I bow to you”. Namaste is a common respectful greeting. It carries both a literal and a spiritual meaning.
*Sanskrit: Sanskrit is a classical language of South Asia
Now let’s discuss the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation.
One of the most important distinctions I’ve learned, through both teacher training and my academic studies, is between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation.
Cultural appreciation involves engaging with a tradition respectfully, seeking to understand its roots, values, and meaning, while honoring the community it originates from.
Cultural appropriation removes practices from their cultural and spiritual context by commodifying them or using them superficially in ways that perpetuate stereotypes or power imbalances. This distinction is especially significant in yoga because these traditions are deeply embedded in South Asian philosophy and spirituality. We see this often being reshaped for Western consumption.
I see this in examples like fads of goat or puppy yoga and drunk yoga. Basically, people have taken this sacred and spiritual tradition and turned it into a way of making money or being trendy.
Now another term that speaks to this common theme of commercialization of culture and cultural appropriation is orientalism.
*Orientalism: the presentation of Asian and North African cultures through a Western perspective
The West has long constructed “the East” as the other—exotic, mystical, and available to be consumed. This idea of “othering” exemplies orientalism. This dynamic continues yogas evolution in Western traditions. Practices can be stripped of context and sold as lifestyle trends.
Where in goat or puppy yoga are we recognizing the significant culture of yoga?
In the U.S., yoga often carries the sterotyped image of wealthy white women in expensive atheletisure. It seems at times, yoga becomes an aesthetic performance situating as a ritual without any depth. Yoga is a living breathing tradition rooted in spirutaul practice.
Commercialization plays a central role in this tension. Chains like CorePower Yoga make yoga accessible in scale and structure, but the model sometimes dilutes cultural depth and sacrificed this in favor of consistency and branding. Yet I do want to recognize that CorePower also acknowledges these problems. Even in my teacher training we go over the philosophy, maybe not in the depth it could be but there is effort. CPY has made efforts to diversify its student and teacher base and expand awareness of yoga’s roots. Programs like BIPOC scholarships and teacher training curricula that address cultural appropriation reflect attempts to reconcile the brand’s commercial identity with yoga’s authentic heritage.
As a teacher, I do not want to contribute to the commodification of yoga. For me, the challenge is to acknowledge the realities of yoga in the Western world while consciously working to honor its South Asian roots. This means teaching with intention, avoiding negligence in how I use sacred language or rituals, and continually educating myself on yoga’s cultural and historical foundation. It means resisting the reduction of yoga to “exotic” or “othering” and instead fostering an environment of inclusion, respect, and authenticity.
So saying “Namaste” can in way be just a ritual aesthetic rather than the meaningful tradition and greeting that it is.
Another piece of knowledge I’ve been able to apply- wow, thank you Northeastern- is the practice of decolonizing. When I talk about decolonizing yoga, I don’t mean it in the political sense of removing an empire from power. Instead, I use the term to describe a process of decolonizing our minds, practices, and perspectives. Colonization did not only seize land but it also imposed values, hierarchies, and worldviews that continue to shape how we think and engage with culture today.
So how can I decolonize my practice…
To decolonize my yoga practice means to move beyond the surface-level Western adaptation of yoga and reconnect with its cultural, historical, and spiritual roots. It begins with acknowledging that yoga has been shaped by colonization, particularly British rule in India, which reshaped its traditions and contributed to the global commercialization of yoga as we know it today. Decolonizing asks us to honor yoga’s origins and to bring intentional awareness into every choice we make as teachers and practitioners.
My next goal is to take the 300-hour training. This training traces the history of colonization in India, recognizes the impact of racialized biases, and re-centers yoga as a path of liberation. It also integrates practices often absent from Western teacher trainings, such as trauma-informed approaches, ritual and ceremonial elements, and meditation as a form of healing. In contrast, my CorePower YTT included only limited attention to these themes. I believe this will expand my san kalpa (my overall yoga intention) to truly connect with communities and foster this space.
With gratitude,
Olivia
