The Problem with International Day of Yoga
Plus, check out my June Recommendations
Wishing you a happy Summer Solstice (if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere)! I hope you can get outside and enjoy some sunshine.
In this post, I discuss some of the problematic issues surrounding International Day of Yoga and I offer some recommendations for things I’ve been reading, listening to, eating, etc. this month. Also, the next Intuitive Yoga session is coming up on Sunday, June 7th! More info below.
The Problem with International Day of Yoga
In 2014, the United Nations designated June 21st as International Day of Yoga in order to “raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practicing yoga.” The date (typically) coincides with the Summer Solstice — the longest day of the year for those in the Northern Hemisphere. In honor of the occasion, communities across the world organize large events, featuring yoga classes, vendors, and more. For example, Surat, Gujarat, India hosted the largest yoga class coinciding with the last year’s International Day of Yoga. 147,952 people participated.
On the surface, International Day of Yoga appears to be a well-intentioned, wholesome way to share and celebrate yoga; however, the motive behind creating this day of recognition serves to further India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political agenda to enact Hindu nationalist ideology and claim India’s ownership of yoga.1 While espousing the unifying benefits of yoga, Modi is widely criticized for engaging in anti-Muslim rhetoric and resisting the legal recognition of gay marriage.
Yoga teacher and sociologist Sheena Sood says, “ … Modi and his spiritual allies have appropriated yoga as propaganda for Hindu nationalism and right-wing policies; to rewrite India’s history; and divert public attention away from their Hindu supremacist political agenda.”2 Sood calls this “om-washing.” Furthermore, scholar and professor Dr. Andrea Jain, author of Peace Love Yoga: The Politics of Global Spirituality observes,
Modi’s approach to yoga represents a political, ahistorical, and essentializing strategy. His activities around yoga generally…serve to trap his audiences in myths of India’s national identity and neoliberal aspirations as well as yoga’s static Hindu essence and to perpetuate divisiveness in a society already rife with asymmetrical power relations and social conflict.3
This reveals how yoga, which is supposed to be a method for self-actualization and liberation, can be weaponized by systems of power in order to both distract from harmful rhetoric and policies, as well as to build a national identity around a specific version of yoga. As Anusha Kedhar, Indian dancer and scholar, remarks, “International Yoga Day doesn’t just reflect Hindu nationalist ideology; it enacts ideology.”4
Reflecting on all of this, it’s a bit interesting to note that this year’s theme for the 10th International Day of Yoga is “Yoga for self and society.” I’m not sure how the organizers interpret the theme, but it makes consider how the yoga I practice and teach not only affect me but also the communities I belong to. And it reminds me to apply the yogic principles of Ahimsa (non-violence) and Swadyaha (self-study) towards uncovering and resisting harmful systems of power in our yoga community spaces. How does this theme speak to you?
My June Recommendations
Check out my recommendations for June and feel free to share yours in the comments!
Reading:
“this I know for sure” by North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green from 2022 in honor of Juneteenth.
The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality by Amanda Montell. I finished this up a few weeks ago and highly recommend! (In a future post I’ll be talking about my thoughts on magical overthinking.)
Listening:
“A Cult Within a Cult: Charlotte Medlock on Guru Jagat.” I enjoyed this episode from A Little Bit Culty about the cult-like Guru Jagat, a popular Kundalini yoga teacher who espoused dangerous conspiracy theories and unexpectedly died a few years ago.
June Yoga Playlist on Spotify. Every month a create a new playlist for my yoga classes. This one is more upbeat for the summer vibes. If you want something a little more chill, check out my Yin Yoga playlist.
Eating:
Blueberry Rhubarb Buckle. It’s delicious and super easy to make! We had ours with vanilla ice cream. We forgot the confectioners’ sugar, but didn’t miss it.
Donating:
Online Intuitive Yoga ~ Sunday, July 7th
The next Intuitive Yoga session is coming up in a few weeks!
Join me on Sunday, July 7th at 10am Pacific/1pm Eastern on Zoom. This 75-minute class consists of a gentle flow and long-held stretches, along with intuitive tools to connect you with your body and spirit.
Yoga is not strictly a Hindu practice; in fact, yoga pre-dates Hinduism.
Anusha Lakshmi, “Choreographing Tolerance: Narendra Modi, Hindu Nationalism, and International Yoga Day,” Race and Yoga, 5/1 (2020): 49, http://dx.doi.org/10.5070/R351046987.
Sheena Sood, “‘Om-washing’: Why Modi’s Yoga Day Pose is Deceptive,” Aljazeera (June 22, 2023), https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/opinions/2023/6/22/om-washing-modis-yoga-day-pose-of-deception.
Andrea Jain, Peace Love Yoga: The Politics of Global Spirituality, New York: Oxford University Press (2020): 156.
Lakshmi, 52.