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Week2_maps

From the map, I find that ancient Indian yoga is actually quite different from modern yoga. Ancient Indian yoga mainly focuses on practice, and there are many different branches in ancient yoga, but its core idea is to achieve the goal of harmony between heaven and man and secularization. However, modern yoga has basically shifted its focus to physical exercise and added many modern fitness poses. Gradually, it has become a commercial sport. Yoga has developed into a business worth billions of dollars worldwide, involving courses, teacher certification, clothing, books, videos, equipment and holidays. The United Nations General Assembly designated June 21 as the International Yoga Day. On December 1, 2016, yoga was listed as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.

2 thoughts on “Week2_maps”

  1. I appreciate your diving into the difference between ancient Indian yoga and modern one. I think it could be interesting to explore how a cultural shift is achieved through changing commercial patterns. As the core philosophy is to fulfill spiritual/psychological harmony, I wonder if the modern business model enhances the well-being of society or if it benefits only some of the stakeholders.

  2. To build on Danni’s comments: In addition to the question of cultural appropriation v cultural translation (and the tensions embedded in that dialogue), what factors motivated the adoption of this practice? What organizations emerged which compounded tensions between traditional spiritual Yoga and contemporary Western Yoga (Yoga Cults for instance: https://thebodyintl.com/cults/yoga-cults)?

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