GRSJ224/Medicalization of Yoga

This page was created by Vanessa J. Singleton (pronouns: she/her/hers)

Land Acknowledgement

The author would like to acknowledge that the land on which she works, studies, and lives "is the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) People" (Canadian Association of University Teachers 128).

Key Terms

Medicalization, Accultruation, Globalization, Co-optation, Colonialism, Orientalism, Secular

Introduction: What is the Medicalization of Yoga?

On this wiki page, the medicalization of yoga will be defined as the process by which yoga, a traditionally religious and spiritual practice originating in South Asia, becomes acculturated within North America (Askegaard and Eckhardt 51). Acculturation occurs when one group adopts "the cultural traits or social patterns of another group" outside of the contexts in which these practices emerged.

In the globalized world we live in today, it is often assumed that the processes of cross-cultural sharing are simply the "natural" results of modern day political and economic freedoms that emerged from more advanced systems of trade, travel, technology, and government (Chapple 73).

A closer examination of the history of yoga and its migration to North America reveals a strong case for the contrary: the cross-cultural sharing of yoga (between South Asia and North America) emerged out of colonial relationships (Long 125). These relationship were far from "naturally" occurring encounters, but instead part of larger systems of power aimed at the co-optation of South Asian cultural and religious practices for the benefit of European and eventually North American society (ibid).

In the sections that follow, the colonial history of South Asia will work as a framework through which the medicalization of yoga can be understood as an ongoing project of colonialism.

A Brief History and Analysis of Yoga in North America

The accultural practicing of yoga in North America can be traced back to the mid 1700's when "the colonial presence and the expansion of western powers and influence... [in] South Asia" fueled a "strong academic interest" in South Asian culture and religion resulting in "the creation of 'Oriental Studies'" (Michelis 4). These studies engage in what Said (1978) calls Orientalism: "a style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological distinction made between 'the Orient' and (most of the time) 'the Occident'" (Said 10).

To apply Said's (1978) definition of Orientalism to the accultural practicing of yoga in North America, "the Occident" (or North America) has co-opted "the Orient's" (in this case, South Asia's) cultural and religious practice of yoga and modified it so that it may better suit a prominent secular cultural in North America (Long 126). It is through this co-optive act of modification that North American iterations of yoga attempt to distinguish themselves from South Asian forms of yoga when the two are inextricably tied to one another.

The colony's denial of co-optation and simultaneous adoption of the colonized culture and traditions is historically and currently characteristic of colonialism across various contexts. For instance, Frank (2000) discuss how the misrepresentation of First Nations culture in British Columbian museums "is a [part of a] history embedded in colonialism" (165) Although Frank (2000) does not discuss the co-optation of yoga in North America, her point that "instead of presenting an image of the beliefs and customs of Northwest Coast peoples within the context of their individual cultures, [the colonial museum] displayed them in ways that had meaning in [the colony's] world" speaks to the acculturation of yoga (169). I would be mistaken to conflate Frank's (2000) discussion of the colonization of First Nations people in Canada with the content of this wiki page as the contexts are explictly distinct. Noting Frank's (2000) point simply illustrates a correlation in scholarship that offers support for the claim that the accultural practicing of yoga in North American, like the misrepresentation and of First Nations people and culture in museums, is embedded in a larger system of colonialism.

The Larger Implications of Acculturation

An image of a professional surfer, Maddie Peterson, taken for Lululemon's "This is Yoga" campaign (2017). Text on the image reads, "This is yoga. Practice of Trust. Maddie Peterson, Los Angeles, USA."

Lululemon's This is Yoga campaign is a strong example of what a current colonial re-articulation of yoga can look like. Singleton (2011) claims that yoga "postures such as those we know today [physical postures and movement of the body] often figured among the auxiliary practices of yoga systems...but they were not the dominant components" of traditional yoga: "a practice handed down for thousands of years originating from the Vedas" which focused mainly on mediation in stillness.

Even more significant is the finding that it was not until the early 20th century that India "was gripped by an unprecedented fervor for physical culture...building better bodies, people reasoned, would make for a better nation and improve the chances of success in the event of a violent struggle against the [British] colonizers" (Singleton). The name "yoga" was used as a code name by "teachers [of this new physically aimed practice]...who traveled the county disguised as yoga gurus, teaching strengthening and combat techniques to potential revolutionaries" (ibid).

Singleton's (2011) research demonstrates how the uncritical process that occurs when 'the Occident' acculturates 'the Orient' results in the loss of the cultural practice's - in this case yoga's - social significance and nuance. In other words, yoga as a means to building a strong body for combat is completely lost in translation and instead an Orientalist understanding is perpetuated through an often times ignorant and misguided yoga practice in many North American yoga studios.

Moreover, multinational corporations like Lululemon take part in the mass production of misinformation and misrepresentation of the historical and cultural significance of yoga in South Asia and North America. Their ad campaign, 'This is Yoga' (2017), is exemplary of how the practice of yoga in North America continues to be, if anything, auxiliary to where the practice began. An image from this particular ad campaign reads, "This is Yoga. Practice of Trust." As discussed above, yoga as a means to combat is contrary to the practice of trust: it is about the physical conditioning of the body to protect oneself and nation against colonization, it is not about catching a wave on a surf board. Yet, Lululemon has found a way to speak to a consumer base conditioned by a medical profession that touts yoga as part of the modern "Mind-Body Medicine" regime that idolizeis bodies like the surfer we see in Lululemon's ad: skinny and athletic (Michelis 13).

Yoga & Global Health

Global health has been defined by Koplan, et al. (2009) as "highly interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary within and beyond health sciences" (1994). Over time, yoga has migrated from being a traditional cultural and religious practice in South Asia to becoming part of a globally accepted health care regime known as "Mind-Body Medicine" (Michelis 13). Yoga has gained a spot within this particular medical discourse, as a type of preventative care, through substantial research efforts that empirically demonstrate the physical, emotional, and mental health benefits of practicing postural yoga (Michelis 15).

Not only does research on the health benefits of secular yoga fit within the discipline of global health - as defined by Koplan, et al (2009) - the research also presents the regular practice of secular postural yoga as in line with the goals of global health overall. As further discussed by Koplan et al (2009), global health "places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide" (1995).

Since secular yoga has become acculturated: detached from its traditional cultural and religious roots and transplanted into the secular landscape of North America, the practice no longer requires that its participants engage in a religious and/or cultural life. The apparent acculturation and adaptation of yoga in North America translates into the assertion that yoga "can no longer be 'owned' by a single culture or national identity" because yoga itself has been stripped of its traditional cultural identity markers; yoga is therefore accessible to "all people worldwide" regardless of their religious or cultural affliations (Chapple 73; Koplan et al 1995 ).

Critical Analysis of Yoga as Secular

What remains unsaid in the assertion that yoga "can no longer be 'owned' by a single culture or national identity" is that yoga has in fact been claimed by a culture that is prevalent in many nations: a culture in which science and medicine have become the absolute, reputable sources of information. Said's (1978) theorization of Orientalism provides further insight into the implication that yoga, although detached from its traditional religious and cultural roots in North America, is not necessarily void of culture.

'The Occident' (North America) defines itself as distinct from 'the Orient' (South Asia) (Said 10). Following simple logic, if 'the Orient' is traditionally religious and cultural then 'the Occident,' being 'the Orient's' inverse, is void of traditional religion and culture. This statement is undeniably false, yet it has become an assumed and uncritically examined truth that is continually reproduced in North American yoga culture as we see in the Lululemon ad above. Put another way, "the idea of European identiy as a superior one in comparison with all the non-European peoples and cultures" is the prominent sector of North American culture that has boldly refashioned yoga into what is seen as a more credible, medically backed practice of physical health management (Said 15).

Furthermore, the emergence of global health has facilitated the Orientalist acculturation of yoga in North America. Global health is yet another arm of colonialism that has simultaneously detached yoga, a cultural and religious practice, from its history and adopted the very culture and religion as part of a colonial health system that asserts ownership over the discovery of yoga's health benefits. In other words, the unwelcome acquisition of the cultural and religious knowledge of yoga is no different than the unwelcome acquisition of traditional, ancestral and unceded territories. Medicalizing yoga through global health initiatives is a colonial tactic that operates at the expense of a lack of critical analysis on the far reaching implications that the medicalization and acculturation of yoga has on South Asian and North American culture and relations.

Suggested Reading

• The Ancient & Modern Roots of Yoga by Mark Singleton

If you are interested in learning more about the roots of yoga, as North America has come to know and interpret it, I would strongly suggest reading the above linked article ( The Ancient & Modern Roots of Yoga). Mark Singleton (no relation) is a prominent scholar in modern yoga studies and provides his readers with accessible and extensive information on how and why yoga (vinyasa or postural yoga) has emerged in western societies.

• What is a Colonized Mind? by Peter d'Errico

Opinion piece on modern forms of colonization i.e. Colonization of the mind

• East meets West by Daily Excelscior

Short piece on the phenomenon of re-appropriation of western yoga practices in India as described in depth by Søren Askegaard and Giana M. Eckhardt in their 2012 journal article, Glocal yoga: Re-appropriation in the Indian consumptionscape. Although I did not have space to go into this phenomenon in depth on this wiki page, it is worth a read if you are interested in developing a well-rounded understanding of the current status of yoga within and without North America.

• 21 Health Benefits of Yoga by Katherine Griffin

A 2013 article that discusses some recent medical research on yoga with reference to yoga's initial integration into what has come to be known in the medical profession as "health care."

• Yoga in the Modern World: Contemporary Perspectives, Edited by Mark Singleton and Jean Byrne

A collection of essays that critically examine, from various academic view points, the development of a multi-billion dollar yoga industry.