UNITED STATES, August 2, 2014 (Seattle Yoga News by Arundhati Baitmangalkar): A year and a half ago, I moved halfway around the world to the Pacific Northwest from my hometown in South India. It was a big, tumultuous move and the one thing that remained constant for me was yoga. Initially, I had no idea what the yoga scene would be like in Seattle and in the U.S. Every day I learned something new. There is so much yoga around here, that it was and continues to be exciting for a yoga geek like me. America is a nation that seems to have an excess of everything, and yoga is no exception. I couldn’t help but be fascinated by the differences between yoga in the U.S. and in India and these are a few of my observations.
First, yoga in America is more popular among the masses than yoga in India. Second, the yoga teacher-student dynamic in India is drastically different than in the US. Third, the teaching styles vary greatly between India and America. Fourth, the combination of yoga & fashion in the US is not present in India. And fifth, the popularity of hot yoga in the US contrasts with its rarity in India.
Even though there are differences, yoga unites people all over the world. We may be different on the surface but we all seek the same goals of good health and liberation. The paths we take towards yoga are many, but in the end they all unite. No path is higher or inferior than another. What I have learned from moving across the globe is that yoga is universal and I’ve been inspired to see how people around the world have embraced yoga and evolved with it. It is a key to freedom that belongs to all humanity.
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