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Thread: Female Saudi Yoga Instructor

  1. #1

    Female Saudi Yoga Instructor

    http://arabnews.com/lifestyle/food_h...icle155386.ece

    What are your opinions on this? Do you think it seems a little odd for a Saudi female to go all the way to India to learn yoga?

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    Re: Female Saudi Yoga Instructor

    this is something I am completely against as it is theft of Indian/Hindu culture. westerners have been doing this for decades in America and Europe by stealing from Hinduism and other Indian traditions and misappropriating parts of philosophy that originated in India.

    For example, "Pilates" is a ridiculous mishmash of yoga and "cardio" exercise and renamed as such by a person who studied yoga in India and then repackaged it for the western audience. The goal was to strip it of all its Indian roots and yogic tradition and is now very popular in the west.

    Why, even "regular" yogasana has been misappropriated in many ways outside of India. All of whom are trying to deny its Hindu roots and traditions; which is silly because Yoga is a fundamental school of philosophy in Hinduism!

    This saudi female is trying to do the same by saying, "Yoga is a pre-Buddhist practice in India" that was done for over 5000 years. My only question is, if it is pre-Buddhist, which it is, then what religion existed then? Only Hinduism! She conveniently leaves that out!

    I am willing to bet we will soon see some garbage "muslim" yoga come up around the middle east. They will, like their idiotic christian brethren in the west, do their best to deny its Hindu and even Indian roots and call it some "gift from allah" or some nonsense.

    I strongly condemn non-Hindus/non-Indians from practicing yoga or any other Indian/Hindu tradition as mlecchas were not allowed to do it before; and for good reason.

    Allowing others to practice yoga and learn Hindu/Indian philosophy will end up with cultural misappropriation, theft, and frankly, cultural terrorism. That is what the christians are really good at. Now the muslims are trying it to appear "peaceful", which is obviously a joke.

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    Re: Female Saudi Yoga Instructor

    I don't see a problem with westerners turning to yoga, even if they only do it for health or peace of mind. There is a difference between yoga therapy and yoga sadhana. Yoga sadhana is Hindu by definition of yoga philosophy which is vedic in origin. Even yoga therapy is based on the Hindu science of Ayurveda, but yoga therapy can help anyone, even deluded people who don't want to admit that they are practicing elements of Hinduism. Those who practice yoga should at least acknowledge Hinduism as the foundation of yoga. They don't absolutely need to convert to Hinduism, because fire burns everyone, even people who don't know the power fire. I do have a problem with people who seem allergic to anything that has to do with Hinduism, call Hinduism superstitious and dogmatic, but still want to practice yoga.

    I strongly disagree with TTA on this matter, westerners should not be excluded to study yoga and ayurveda. There is always a risk though that people will distort the teachings of yoga, but as I have said many times before, the appropiation of Indian culture is not only done by people from other races or countries, but also by people with Indian backgrounds, even by people born in orthodox brahmin families. For example Bikram and Deepak Chopra have severely westernized the teachings of yoga for the sake of money. It's absurd to restrict the teachings of yoga to high caste Indians. If there would be any restriction, it should be based on the sincerity of the student, not based on birth or on financial status.

    Yoga practicioners should focus their effort on keeping yoga pure and going back to the source of the teachings. I can only applaud this Saudi Arabian teacher that she went to India to study yoga, instead of taking some certification at her own country.
    Last edited by Sahasranama; 10 October 2010 at 06:21 AM.

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    Re: Female Saudi Yoga Instructor

    namaste.

    I agree with TTA's statements:
    Allowing others to practice yoga and learn Hindu/Indian philosophy will end up with cultural misappropriation, theft, and frankly, cultural terrorism. That is what the christians are really good at. Now the muslims are trying it to appear "peaceful", which is obviously a joke.
    =====

    The so-called inculturation followed by the Christian Church is, in the same vein, cultural misappropriation. Such malpractices are effectively countered by the Government of the country, but the present Indian government formed by highly corrupt politicians is far from being a Hindu government, and actually encourages such practices. Fortunately for us Hindus the readers' comments to such articles bring out the truth about the roots, as in this case of orthodox Muslims taking exception to Muslims practising the Yoga of the Hindu religion.

    The very nature of the West is that it is never at rest, so whatever yoga practices they indulge in are only for the body and for mental stress release. They never go beyond it into the real meditation on the Self since their religions don't allow it. Had the West taken up the sAdhana of yoga meditation in its traditional form, at least one among the Tom, Dick and Harry would be much advanced in spiritual practice, and one in a thousand TDHs would have become a Self-Realized sage, which we find in much larger numbers in India among the Hindus.
    रत्नाकरधौतपदां हिमालयकिरीटिनीम् ।
    ब्रह्मराजर्षिररत्नाढ्यां वन्दे भारतमातरम् ॥

    To her whose feet are washed by the ocean, who wears the Himalayas as her crown, and is adorned with the gems of rishis and kings, to Mother India, do I bow down in respect.

    --viShNu purANam

  5. #5

    Re: Female Saudi Yoga Instructor

    Quote Originally Posted by bp789 View Post
    http://arabnews.com/lifestyle/food_h...icle155386.ece

    What are your opinions on this? Do you think it seems a little odd for a Saudi female to go all the way to India to learn yoga?
    Shouldn't this be banned in saud country? I mean where women are not allowed to drive a car, how can they start teaching heathen things like yoga and stuff? I am confused...but then I couldn't care less about what happens in that most wretched part of sandy land on earth.
    What is Here, is Elsewhere. What is not Here, is Nowhere.

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    Re: Female Saudi Yoga Instructor

    Namasté
    Many of our sentiments are fueled by rajasic and tamasic gunas. In my observation, my mind only needs to touch such negative and hate filled thoughts and the mind is again polluted with similar hurtful sentiments. I observe that it takes much energy to avoid this contamination and retaliation. One bad apple rots the bunch.

    Knowing that all is Brahman, the thought which cause division between us is just a product of our mind; tamasic and out of control. We are told that mind-body is prakriti and forms the Lord's lower self, they are His will. It was His will to become many. Blinded by the divide of maya, misery and samsara takes hold.

  7. #7

    Re: Female Saudi Yoga Instructor

    Quote Originally Posted by Snip View Post
    Namasté
    Many of our sentiments are fueled by rajasic and tamasic gunas. In my observation, my mind only needs to touch such negative and hate filled thoughts and the mind is again polluted with similar hurtful sentiments. I observe that it takes much energy to avoid this contamination and retaliation. One bad apple rots the bunch.

    Knowing that all is Brahman, the thought which cause division between us is just a product of our mind; tamasic and out of control. We are told that mind-body is prakriti and forms the Lord's lower self, they are His will. It was His will to become many. Blinded by the divide of maya, misery and samsara takes hold.
    It would have been respectful to post in relevance to the topic (yoga theft) or ignore it (more in line with your philosophy perhaves). But commenting on the mental guna of the posters, which you have no way to know beyond your own paranoia about tamasic guna, is a little unwarranted.
    Last edited by sm78; 10 October 2010 at 09:35 AM. Reason: removed out of context matter
    What is Here, is Elsewhere. What is not Here, is Nowhere.

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    Re: Female Saudi Yoga Instructor

    Quote Originally Posted by Sahasranama View Post
    I strongly disagree with TTA on this matter, westerners should not be excluded to study yoga and ayurveda. There is always a risk though that people will distort the teachings of yoga, but as I have said many times before, the appropiation of Indian culture is not only done by people from other races or countries, but also by people with Indian backgrounds, even by people born in orthodox brahmin families. For example Bikram and Deepak Chopra have severely westernized the teachings of yoga for the sake of money. It's absurd to restrict the teachings of yoga to high caste Indians. If there would be any restriction, it should be based on the sincerity of the student, not based on birth or on financial status.

    Yoga practicioners should focus their effort on keeping yoga pure and going back to the source of the teachings. I can only applaud this Saudi Arabian teacher that she went to India to study yoga, instead of taking some certification at her own country.
    Your statements (in bold) make no sense. How on earth does an Indian "appropriate Indian culture"? Deepak Chopra et al. are aberrations and I completely agree they are doing what they do for money. Yet, Hindus, mostly in India, know that they are complete frauds and are dancing to the tunes of the westerners to make a killing ($$). They are neither "gurus" nor are they spiritually erudite so it is rather silly to use them as examples of misappropriation of Indian culture.

    Even if what you say might happen, the likelihood of it occurring at the hands of Indian Hindus are very low especially when compared to yoga "teachers" who are not from the tradition.

    It is most apt that all of Hinduism, not just yoga, was restricted to Brahmins and only the most advanced students for thousands of years. We are really at a cultural crossroads now, especially given the fact that the modern Indian youth have willfully ignored Hindu culture thanks to the Indian "secular" system. By pandering to all sorts of fellows, the traditions will be broken, more so than they already are, and what we will end up with is some "pilates" version of Sanatana Dharma where you can offer AbhiSekhaM with wine and do ShRArdhA with spaghetti!

    Even if everyone is for being inclusive of outsiders into Sanatana Dharma, they need to go through some hoops in order to gauge their sincerity and integrity; my wager would be 99% of these "converts" would leave in a jiffy once they know self-discipline, tradition, and selflessness are involved.

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    Re: Female Saudi Yoga Instructor

    What I have written in bold indeed doesn't make any sense, if you believe that the cultural tradition of yoga was meant only for Indians and high caste Indians in particular and cannot be misappropiated as long as it stays in the hand of Indians. But the teachings of yoga were not constricted by birth and caste. The practice of hatha yoga is ativarna. If you would talk about another subject, like the formal study of the vedas and the upanishad, that would be a different matter.
    Last edited by Sahasranama; 11 October 2010 at 05:50 AM.

  10. #10

    Re: Female Saudi Yoga Instructor

    most westerners who practice yoga are not interested in the spiritual aspects at all, which they avoid and find distasteful.

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