We all choose to take care of ourselves in different ways. While health is the state of physical, mental, and social well-being, wellness is the conscious, self-directed, and active pursuit of complete health. 

Some of our wellness practices may involve sipping on hot teas, practicing breathwork, hitting the gym, or spending time with our furry friends. As we each discover the wellness practices which heal our inner beings, connect us to our planet, allow us to feel our best, and help us cope with stress, we may begin to try new methods which each tap into unique aspects of what makes us well.

With the wellness industry’s growth, many Americans have begun to use the gifts of the foods, traditions, practices, and cultures around the world. In particular, yoga and meditation are examples of how practices from the Indian subcontinent have become embedded in the regular routines of Americans.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report from 2017 found that about 14.3 percent of surveyed American adults said they had done yoga in the past 12 months and 14.2 percent said they had meditated. In Tubman Health’s WELL US study, Yoga was one of the most utilized modalities marginalized community members in the Puget Sound Region utilize to manage their health. 

Yoga is a spiritual discipline which aims to create harmony between the mind and body. The word ‘yoga’ is derived from the Sanskrit root ‘yuj’ which means to join or unite. According to Indian guru Sadhguru, yoga essentially means “that which brings you to reality.” 

It is not inherently wrong to admire and use the gifts of other cultures. Some of the best health and wellness secrets have been practiced for thousands of years by our ancestors around the world. While modern medicine is a development which many agree has helped humans live longer and improve quality of life, the healing traditions of the past are also valuable. 

At the Tubman Center for Health & Freedom, we believe in decolonizing medicine, healthcare, data, and science. In fact, one of our guiding principles is to recognize cultural lineage, roots, medicines, and lands. 

Even science has proven that the health practices our ancestors developed have their unique benefits. Studies have shown that yoga decreases stress, anxiety, and depression and may reduce inflammation, improve heart health, improve quality of life, reduce chronic pain, and promote sleep quality. 

However, one of the problems with using the gifts of wisdom around the world is that many people have begun to feel entitled. We must remember that we are guests and must learn from those whose ancestors created these gifts. We must be careful to not colonize practices. 

Before beginning to learn from and use the wellness secrets from cultures that are not your own, it is important that you learn their true purpose and cite cultural references.

In the way that yoga has been exploited for its utility, it has clearly become a colonized practice. And the way it has become popularized has colonial roots. British colonizers wanted to prove that Indians were not primitive and that their religion was scientific. This contributed to the idea held by colonizers that knowledge is only valuable if it is scientifically-based. Indian yoga missionaries who traveled to England and the United States helped reinforce the idea that the “west” was progressive and thus superior compared to the inferior, spiritual “east.” 

Much of the explosion of yoga studios in the United States can be attributed to Petty Arnold Baker who learned from a Syrian man claiming to know all about yogic practices. Baker called himself “The Great Om” and marketed yoga to middle-aged white women. Baker’s legacy is a version of yoga that has strayed away from its religious Hindu roots. Due to the anti-Hindu attitude at the time, Baker saw financial benefit in portraying yoga as a new, exotic form of physical exercise. This is the version of yoga most of us are familiar with today. 

Most people who practice yoga in the United States today are only focusing on its physical aspect, the poses or asanas, rather than its mental and spiritual aspect. There are actually eight limbs of yoga: ethical conduct, personal practice, working with breath, awareness of the senses, meditation, concentration, being present and being interconnected with all that is in existence. The colonized form of yoga is only a fraction of what yoga is meant to be. 

Decolonizing yoga involves thinking about its current image in society and transforming it into one that is closer to its roots. 

For instance, when I searched “yoga” on Google images, I scrolled for 2 minutes and still did not find an image of an individual who appears to be of Indian descent practicing yoga. Google told me it “looks like [I’ve] reached the end” before I could even find a person who looks like me. White women are the face of the colonized form of yoga. 

The answer is not to define who should or should not practice yoga. There is a way to learn from the practice of yoga without harming others. Thinking critically about the history of the practices you take part in and inquiring about the businesses you support is a good first step. For instance, an article by Refinery 29 gives examples of good questions to ask: “Are they owned by or led by BIPOC people? Do they attempt to fill the needs of a community, or do they center certain individuals? Who is being excluded from the space on the basis of income, ability, or representation?”

Locally, Zarna Joshi has been running a decolonizing yoga group since 2015 to address the cultural appropriation of yoga. The yoga industrial complex harms Hindus, and we must begin to ask ourselves and our yoga teachers the hard questions to ensure we are not contributing to these harmful systems. Listening to and learning from those who are part of yoga’s authentic lineage or have permission from spiritual leaders is vital. 

Yoga is a great option for nourishing your mind, body, and soul, but be conscious of the roots of its practice in order to appreciate it rather than appropriate or colonize it.