Yoga cultural appropriation or not?

quizzical - on a more serious note - I don't know who invented the term and concept of "cultural appropriation", but I'd love to have a word with them sometime.

While I share the skepticism of many here about "cultural appropriation", I will read into the record that I was once shopping for a wedding gift for a Canadian who was ancestrally of a particular culture(non-European), and saw something at an art shop that seemed like it was from the same culture. I mulled it over a bit, and figured it would be an inappropriate gift to give her. Even though I ended up giving her something else that was from another non-European culture.

I'm not sure if that counts as an aversion to cultural appropriation, or if it was just that, given the one-on-one context of gift giving, it would have seemed a little presumtuous on my part(like, I think she needs my help to appreciate her culture).

Personally, I think cultural appropriate certainly does exist (think:  Indigenous costumes at Coachella, or dressing like a "gypsy" for the Hallowe'en party) but I don't think the practice of yoga counts as an example.

Yoga, in a sense, has a "use value" -- it's not solely a religious or cultural practice.  Same with martial arts.  Someone wearing an Indigenous headdress at a music festival isn't doing it to keep their head warm,  but many people who practice yoga do it for the exercise, to improve flexibility, to relax, etc.

Now I suppose if you practice yoga for six months, then open your own "hot yoga" studio, adorned with random clip art of Hindu Gods, and start peppering your speech with snippets of sacred Sanskrit, you've crossed a line.  But just doing yoga, on a mat, wearing LuluLemon gear?

It's ironic that one of the complaints seems to be that yoga has strayed from its orginal origins and is now about spandex and weight loss, but wouldn't it be even worse if non-Indian practitioners were buying cheap saris and making offerings to Ganesh and acting like holding the Downward Dog for two minutes brought them spiritual enlightenment?

I'm not looking to turn this into a foodie thread or anything, but I really hope there aren't many (if any) people sincerely trying to make the point that cooking or eating or liking food that originated in another culture is somehow anything but good.

First, of course, is that food is so intertwined with history, and moved about the world the same way people did, and so it's difficult to really say whose food is whose.  Goan (Indian) food is half Portuguese.  Okra came to the Caribbean along with slaves.  The Japanese found that even though it's a very non-Japanese thing, they love mayonnaise.  The Chinese invented noodles and Italy made them a cultural icon.  And the second-best Indian food in the world is in London, England.

Second, many of the crossovers of food between cultures have happened because of immigration.  Running a restaurant was often an avenue "into" another culture -- think Jewish delis, Greek diners, or the first Chinese restaurants.

Admittedly, we might want to at least be aware of those times when colonialism forced that crossover, but I think it's still OK to like the results.  Banh Mi is as awesome as it is because the French, even as they colonized Vietnam, at least blessed the Vietnamese with the secret to really good bread.  The U.S., when they left (in something of a hurry) left behind cases and cases of sweetened condensed milk, and thereby blessed the Vietnamese with the secret to sickly-sweet coffee.  But in any case, it's a legitimate part of Vietnamese food culture now.

Third, food and the recipes for it are just too naturally fluid to ever pin down.  Sure, Boeuf Bourguignon is French, and Pad Thai is Thai, but if I borrow a bit of flavour profile from both, use duck and fettucine in place of beef and rice noodles, and throw in some Chinese five spice and a little Worcestershire sauce, what's the real pedigree of that inedible monstrosity?

Whatever your opinion of copyright laws, I think we can all agree that it was a good thing when it was decided that recipes would be exempt from them.  Food just moves freely, and we don't need any fences around it.

Does this count?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH0l4FlZT-A

quizzical wrote:

nope. but try telling the speaking in tongues evangelicals it isn't devil worship.

This is why my cousins are estranged from each other. His ever so holy wife can't be in contact with his sister and family because she runs a business that includes 4 or 5 yoga studios. Wifey was willing to overlook them being Jewish, but the yoga was the final straw.

Religious people are weird.

I think the word "yoga" we use in the West is more accurately called "asanas" in Sanskrit. Within Hinduism, Asanas are just a tiny part of yoga.