Over the past few weeks, my blog posts have been focused on growing a foundation of knowledge about yoga, centralizing on its idea that yoga connects both your physical body to your intangible mind. This week, I’d like to highlight how this connection is made by millions of people around the world, and the similarities and differences that come with such a diverse practice of yoga.
In the western world, yoga has a very restorative feature that has enticed health gurus and those who don’t find medicine or religion to be a strong guiding factor in their lives. This was noted at the creation of yoga studios, the first one being in Hollywood, California, in the mid 1900s. After this health trend came about, yoga took off as a way for people to live their lives differently than those who led their lives based on a religion or other cultural factor. As we analyze how modern westerners approach yoga, it is apparent that this trend of rehabilitation that has inspired so many to adopt yoga practices into their own lives. For westerners, yoga often loses the religious connotations that it was created out of, and instead adopts a holistic approach to living life to its fullest ability. The search of the “good life” has always been a key component of western life and yoga has helped many people find at least somewhat of an answer to what that lifestyle may entail.
Referring back to the rich history yoga has played in countries like India, China, and other parts of the Eastern world, practitioners come from all walks of life to find their inner peace through yoga. The most notable country to practice yoga has to be India, where the Prime Minister Narendra Modi convinced members of the UN to declare a National Yoga Day. On this occasion, over 100 countries connected to each other through their hosting of yoga events sponsored by government agencies. It is rumored that this integration of yoga into national Indian culture is a part of a bigger political agenda, led by the Hindu nationalist leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. One article states “”Many countries which do not know our language, tradition, or culture, are now connecting to India through yoga,” Mr Modi told a crowd of tens of thousands in the city of Lucknow, where he performed poses.”
As more and more countries begin to promote yoga through government agencies and institutions, the more connected the world is becoming to each other. Although yoga centralizes around the idea of individuality, it is a uniting factor many people find within others who also practice yoga. This is known personally, as yoga has connected me with new friends as well as strengthened past relationships. The global culture of yoga is all about learning from one another and finding how the individual can make a yoga practice their own.
As we continue to move forward with the blogs, I feel it is important to speak of my own yoga experience and describe more of how yoga has become an inspiring passion that actually changed my way of thinking and living.