When I was invited to contribute an article comparing Yoga education in India with the United States, I eagerly accepted. However, I realized that while I could gladly share my direct experiences of Yoga training in India, I could not say the same about my experience in the United States since all my training and certification was done entirely in India and not in the United States. So with this in mind, I beg the reader to understand that my views of Yoga education in the United States are based upon more general observations and impressions rather than direct experience and hope not to offend anyone in the process, particularly those who know better.

It would be remiss of me and inauspicious not to firstly acknowledge my abiding gratitude, love and respect to my numerous teachers at the Yoga Institute of Santacruz (East) in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India and in doing so recognize the fine and noble work being done there. It was here that I spent two years where I received my training and certification thus beginning the great adventure of studying the vast art and science of Yoga. I remain deeply grateful to the Founders and their staff for their tireless and unfailing efforts in working to educate and share the manifold benefits of Yoga with the public through the numerous health camps and workshops while preserving the original intent of the art and science of Yoga.  And so to the many Gurudevas, whom inspired the startling transformation in me, I bow down in honor to you all…”Namaste.”

In India, Yoga is incorporated as part of the educational process in school- age children teaching them primarily postures (Asanas), breathing (Pranayama) and concentration techniques such as gazing (Trataka). Yoga practices are further enforced in many households with extended family members living under one roof. Also, Yoga is widely used to treat patients with medical conditions particularly for those requiring physical therapy. Because of this early and prevailing exposure, Yoga remains a vital force in the land of its origin. 

There are many different systems of Yoga practiced in India. These include Raja, Bhakti, Laya, Jnana, Mantra, Japa, Buddhist, Jain, Tantric, and Karma to name but a few and so, depending on your personality and natural abilities, there is a system to suit everyone.

In its purest form, Indian Yoga is primarily about becoming master of our mind and achieving God-realization through union with the Self. This can be done through concentration and relaxation techniques as well as the more physical practices of Pranayama and Asana. According to the Raja Yoga system, mastering our minds to achieve God realization by sincerely following the eight-fold path known as Ashtanga Yoga (not to be confused with the Westernized concept of the same name which is essentially dynamic power Yoga). This, along with classical Hatha (physical) is the system primarily taught and practiced at the Yoga Institute.

Greater emphasis is placed on the mental processes of mastering the mind and God- realization by cultivating a devotional spirituality. Even Asanas are performed with a mindful attitude and a focused awareness of what is occurring inwardly within the mind-body complex. This level of awareness must be cultivated to to help the practitioner remain single-pointed. This has the intended benefit of giving our mind something to concentrate on in order to quiet the mental chatter and keep it under control.

Yoga is often described as a science as well as an art because we are able to experience the outcomes first-hand. In my coursework, sharing of our personal experiences was crucial to our Yoga education and largely based upon our direct experience of certain practices and techniques as codified in the “Yoga Sutras,” a series of aphorisms compiled by the great sage Maharishi Patanjali. These sutras are tantamount to “The Bible” for those studying Yoga and the philosophy behind it and serve to guide the Sadhaka (spiritual seeker) in comprehending the mind-body complex. 

Regrettably, like all good ideas in the West, Yoga has become a commodity and it is more often treated as a commercial, money-making venture. Our competitive society, too often neglects our spiritual dimension in favor of and this approach has done a great disservice to the ancient system of Yoga in its  marketing tactics by placing greater emphasis upon the physical aspects of  Yoga in the hopes of achieving the “body beautiful”  rather than absolute spiritual enlightenment. It is indeed disconcerting to learn that there are even Yoga “competitions” being held. The problem with this competitive attitude is that it inflates the Ego. Yet Yoga calls for the eradication of the Ego because it  is ultimately the root cause of all our desires resulting in our suffering. 

How often have we browsed through any number of Yoga publications only to find beautiful, young, perfectly- formed, nubile creatures performing impossible feats of strength and flexibility that the vast majority of us could never hope to or wish to achieve. This sends a message and creates a mindset that Yoga can be practiced only by the young and flexibly fit. As a Yoga instructor, I often hear this message repeated like a pre-programmed response, particularly among those new to Yoga.

Here also, prices for courses, workshops and classes are often prohibitively high and in order to accommodate the tastes of the patrons who can afford to pay these prices, many Yoga studios incorporate loud and stimulating music, and in some cases, wine and chocolate-tasting into their programs. To be sure, many of us enjoy wine, music and chocolate, yet a Yoga ashram is an inappropriate venue in which to indulge our sensual and worldly delights. It never ceases to astound me that the 300 plus hours, nine-month teachers-training course in India cost a mere $50.

Yoga hybrids have also developed in the United States advertised as Body Flow, Yogaerobics, Yogilates, Piyoga and others. Labels take on a greater importance in the United States with everyone wanting to know, “What type of Yoga do you teach?” My usual response is “classical Yoga,” which is often met with a blank look. What the question really asks is do you teach Ashtanga, Anusara, Vinyasa, Iyengar, Bikrim, Hot, Pre-natal, Tween, Mommy and Me, or Power (all variations of Hatha Yoga) Yoga?

In India, Yoga is Yoga and is practiced with quiet sincerity in accordance with the precepts of a particular system. The practitioners of the many different systems co-exist peacefully without competition and so labels comparing and judging one system to another are unnecessary.

The good news is that the West is at last awakening from its rational and reason-based paradigm of understanding the universe and taking note of what many of the Eastern cultures have known intuitively for thousands of years. Many more people in the United States are becoming aware of Yoga’s presence and influence. And with good reason for many of these practices have successfully endured and are universally held by many world religions and philosophies. It is incumbent upon us to safeguard this precious knowledge and ensure that the integrity of this ancient wisdom is preserved in its purist form and accurately passed along to benefit many generations to come.