Bent to fit American culture.

Topic: Globalization

Source: In lecture we learned that "globalization is the movement of money, ideas, and things toward hegemony". Observation in yoga studios all around the country.

Relation: Yoga is a 5,000 year old traditional spiritual practice from India. However, today yoga is globally known and practiced. As yoga spread across the globe, it drifted from its roots as it met new cultures. Yoga has been localized so much in the western world, that it is now seen as a "physical" practice rather than a "spiritual" practice. The media and the culture that surrounds it localizes yoga as it is globalized.

Description: I have been practicing yoga for four years. My practice grew in a few different studios on the Big Island of Hawaii. Now looking back on it, I had no idea what a big jump I was taking in my spiritual life, just by stepping into a yoga class. I've always felt spiritual, but yoga allowed me to connect with that spiritual being without criticism from society. At first yoga really was just a way to stay in shape for me. This is due to how the media and the public views yoga. In America yoga makes you have a nice butt and strong arms. In India yoga is a tool that gets you closer to enlightenment, its a spiritual experience. In my experience I have always tried to pay attention to the traditions in western yoga that have stayed connected to the traditional world. For instance every yoga class I have attended starts with the whole class chanting the "OM" mantra. This is a traditional chant, that has stayed "alive" through the localization of yoga in America. Also, the symbols that are hung on the wall in yoga studios  are often tied to traditional meanings. For instance, many have the chakra symbols, which are energy centers in the  body. Types of yoga, such as kundalini yoga, target these energy centers. Yoga has spread into different part of American life, including fashion. In America yoga has become fashionable. There are entire websites dedicated to "girls in yoga pants" (girlsinyogapants.com) because it is "sexy" when girls wear yoga pants. Now you don't even have to actually do the yoga to be cool. You can just wear the cute pants :) Yoga is also offered in gyms all across the country. This shows how America sees yoga as a fitness routine.

Commentary: In America there is a health and fitness craze, and yoga has been localized to fit (pardon the pun) to these expectations. Americans want to feel healthy and they are told yoga will do that for them. Yoga classes have become expensive. Not to mention the hundreds of dollars American "yogis" spend on mats and pants and towels and bags all dedicated to their yoga practice. America has changed yoga o fit into their cultural world.







yoga is fashionable: http://girlsinyogapants.com/
Info. on Chakras: http://www.tantrakundalini.com/chakras.htm