- ✦Yoga is Hindu in origin — a statement of historical fact, not a claim of ownership.
- ✦Asana (posture) is just one of Patanjali’s eight limbs; the true goal is moksha, not fitness.
- ✦Sharing yoga is welcome; erasing its roots and meaning is not.
Yoga is Hindu. That is not a claim of ownership — it is a statement of historical fact. Yoga emerged from the Vedic civilisation of the Indian subcontinent at least five thousand years ago, was codified by the sage Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras, and has been practised within Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions for millennia. To say “yoga is Hindu” is no more controversial than saying “tea ceremony is Japanese” or “Gregorian chant is Christian.” And yet, in the global wellness marketplace, the Hindu roots of yoga have been systematically erased.
The modern yoga industry — valued at over $80 billion globally — has reduced a comprehensive spiritual discipline to a fitness routine. When most people think of yoga, they think of asana: the physical postures. But asana is only one of eight limbs (ashtanga) described by Patanjali. The full path includes yama (ethical restraints), niyama (personal disciplines), pranayama (breath control), pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (union with the divine). Practising only asana and calling it “yoga” is like playing only scales and calling it “music.”
The question of yoga cultural appropriation is real and worth taking seriously. When yoga is stripped of its philosophical content, rebranded with English names, and sold back to South Asians as a “wellness product,” something has gone wrong. This is not about gatekeeping — Hindu tradition has always welcomed seekers from every background. The Bhagavad Gita does not check your passport before offering its wisdom. But welcoming is different from erasing. You can share yoga without stripping it of its meaning.
What does “authentic yoga” look like in practice? It means understanding that every posture has a purpose beyond flexibility. It means learning the Sanskrit names and what they signify. It means acknowledging the tradition you are drawing from. It means recognising that the goal of yoga is not a flatter stomach or a calmer Monday morning — it is moksha, liberation from the cycle of suffering. You do not need to be Hindu to practise yoga authentically. But you do need to know what you are practising.
Hindu Centre’s Vedic Yoga programme teaches yoga as it was meant to be learned: as a complete spiritual discipline rooted in Hindu philosophy. The asanas are there — but so is the chanting, the breathwork, the meditation, and the study. We welcome everyone. We ask only that you come with respect for the tradition that made this practice possible.