Nowadays, you can find yoga just about everywhere in every corner of the globe, including at gyms, studios, corporate offices, festivals, and more. Alongside kundalini, hatha, Iyengar and vinyasa, you can find disco, goat, and stand-up paddleboard yoga. Much of this modern yoga is the same: specific postures with rhythmic or coordinated breathing. The word “yoga” seems to simply connote a few postures that can then be applied to an aerial hammock or done alongside your infant. Instagram is inundated with photos of people in those same poses in front of tourist attractions, natural wonders, and Lululemon stores.
Many practitioners familiar with the history of yoga lament that the practice has simply turned into a physical exercise and no longer carries the same philosophical, religious, or spiritual insights it once did. Many also see what is sometimes referred to as “modern postural yoga” as an insult to India’s culturally rich and incredibly diverse spiritual traditions. Saying something like “yoga means union of mind and body” is very different from “yoga is the unification with Shiva, Devi, Vishnu or Krishna.” Even modern commentaries on Patanjali’s yoga sutras will remove any reference to God, Ishvara and other religious ideas, translating words like “devotion to god” and “celibacy” to “surrender to self” and “moderation,” respectively.
However, we can look at yoga’s emphasis on physical exercise as a net positive both for the human body and for yoga’s rich spiritual history. Simply put, yoga would not have become a worldwide phenomenon if it had not divorced itself from any and all religious baggage. By “reducing” yoga to its physical practice, it was able to resonate with all types of peoples and cultures around the world, as it no longer went against people’s preferred belief systems. We see this same phenomenon with the popularity of mindfulness meditation. While once part of the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism, by secularizing it into a simple mental exercise, the practice can be taught anywhere and to everyone.
Modern postural yoga blew the doors wide open for who could practice yoga and what you needed to do it. You no longer needed to be initiated into any lineage, devote yourself to a guru, or memorize any sacred text. You did not need to learn Sanskrit, know the history of Hanuman and Ganesh, or believe in karma and reincarnation. You simply had to show up for class. Modern yoga says that the only thing you need to heal and grow is your own body and a focused attention on it.
What a delightfully promising approach. All you need to find peace and calm in this world is a body. And if you’re reading this, you have a body, so congratulations!
This idea that all you need is your body and mind is not some modern appropriation, but is also found across Eastern religions too. Even in the cosmology of karma and reincarnation, where we carry with us the repercussions of our actions from previous lives, a human birth is always seen as a fortuitous one. While a dog or lion might have an awakened nature too, it is said to be more covered and much harder to change. The human body, and in turn the human experience, is ideally suited for spiritual awakening. This body is the perfect vehicle for spiritual awakening, and simply by bringing it to a disciplined place on the yoga mat, we are putting ourselves on the spiritual path. You don’t even need to move actually; all you truly need is the breath.
Not only did the separation of the secular and spiritual aspects of yoga become the catalyst for its worldwide popularity, but at the same time, it became a gateway for many people into India’s rich spiritual history. More people than ever are venturing to the East to learn about the truth hidden in the Vedas, Upanishads, and the Gita. Renewed interest in yoga has facilitated the rise of interest in great gurus like Swami Ramdev, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and Amma, whose organization do tremendous good in the world.
Exercise has influenced yoga, and yoga has influenced exercise too. A huge point to be made about the “yoga is just exercise” critique is that while yoga involves a lot of movement, it also involves relaxation too. While most workout “cool downs” might involve light stretching or slow walking, yoga’s unique contribution to all exercise is how it emphasizes listening to ones body, moving with a clear mind, and reducing stress. Most yoga classes begin in a simple cross legged pose and end in a long Savasana. Entire yogic disciplines, like yin, restorative, and nidra, are designed to bring the participant into deep stages of relaxation. Yoga thus offers a balanced approach to physical health and strength with an inner peace and resiliency.
I love teaching the history of yoga and getting into its long, complex, and rich history. And at the same time, I recognize that it is a practice, not just a system of knowledge. The path of yoga is just that, a path. It encourages action over pontification, and modern yoga is currently meeting a lot of people’s needs by getting them off of their butts and into positions that stretch them in many ways, not just the physical.
So is yoga “just” exercise? For some people, absolutely. But even at the gym, that exercise is for the body, the mind, and the heart. Almost anyone who comes to yoga just for the exercise gets exposed to new ideas, thoughts patterns, and beliefs that will change their perspective for the good, and often act as a gateway to Eastern spirituality. Ask Gordon Ramsey if food is “just” for sustenance. Yoga sustains us, nourishes us, and encourages us to always go deeper into the nature of human experience.
