03/02/2026
Some deep dives from India.
If the purpose of yoga is to achieve harmony, integration and universal tolerance, it is visually paradoxically lacking in evidence in today’s Hindu nationalist propaganda about yoga.
I have also read a lot about the history and origins of hatha yoga, as the modern yoga world (and this includes me) heavily markets “traditional” and “authentic” in its languaging, so what actually is that? And am I honoring, am I authentic in what I am spruiking?
There is this widespread assumption that once upon a time, there was this pure and original practice called yoga. And this timeless tradition passed through a long line of lineages and teachers, with only a modest amount of variance, until it reached us, our contemporary capitalist culture, where it became commodified.
What I discovered is that the many styles of yoga that we know and practice today, are actually a hotchpotch of many traditions, including Buddhism, Saivism, Vaisnavism, Jainism, even Islamic influence and non Hindu tribal asceticism.
“Hatha yoga”, the yoga that involves physical discipline and the exploration of anatomical and physiological techniques did not actually develop until the 10th to 12th centuries making it a medieval phenomenon, not an oft referenced “ancient” one.
So in the absence of any definitive tradition of original pure yoga, is any style straying from pure yoga?
Instead of pouring more of these thoughts in here, stay tuned for some blog posts for those that are interested.
