I’m afraid he’s right. Yoga is nothing but sadhana or spiritual practice that unites body, mind and soul with seamless perfection. India needs to emphasise this, instead of getting seduced by its new body-beautiful branding. In fact, asana practice is only one ‘limb’ of yoga’s ‘eightfold path’ that also includes yama (codes of conduct), niyama (rules of life), pranayama (breathing exercises), pratyahara (inner silence), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (ultimate attainment). Yes, all these are deeply rooted in Vedic philosophy, which, incidentally, happens to be a profoundly universal and catholic doctrine.

In addition, yoga is powerfully therapeutic. That is why it must be taught by qualified practitioners from accredited institutions. You can spend an entire lifetime being a student of yoga. Yet today, even in this country, ‘instructors’ are being churned out in three days at five-star ‘retreats’ — mere novices who charge an arm and a leg for cavalier classes.

This is not just unethical, it is dangerous, because yogic practices like breathing and meditation are very potent and traditionally imparted only when the student has gained a certain degree of physical proficiency. Wrongly taught, yoga can cause serious injury, psychic disturbances and mental illness. Yet even classical yoga institutes are preferring catch-and-carry weight-loss, stress-relief and diabetes management ‘packages’ on popular demand.

Unfortunately, this popularisation inevitably leads to vulgarisation. An example is Somerset’s banned “Yum Yum Yoga” class for toddlers. Now I may be wrong but yoga is traditionally never taught to toddlers. Or dogs. Or cats. Neither, as far as I know, is it classically performed in the nude, for ‘tighter bums and tums’, to hip-hop and rave, with disco and salsa, on a $560 Gucci yoga mat, or in 105 degrees fahrenheit, a la Bikram Choudhury, Hollywood’s Rolls Royce driving ‘guru to the stars’ who is attempting to patent his line of ‘hot’ yoga.

... contd.