2023-06-09 16:13:00
“Yoga is a sport based on rhythmic gymnastics and aerobics, in which asanas are the main elements,” we read on Wikipedia in Russian. However, not everyone agrees with this definition. Because for people born in the same place where yoga was born, this is a spiritual practice.
DW met in Berlin with a woman who has been living in the German capital for many years, but was born in Mumbai. In her opinion, in fitness clubs and yoga studios in Germany (and not only), many techniques are adapted to the tasks of students – therefore, the emphasis is on working with the body. Of course, progress does not stand still, but our heroine really wants to keep yoga in its original form – at least for those who are interested in it.
Yoga in Europe – a sport
An entire industry has sprung up around yoga in Europe that operates in six figures. “But it’s not a sport, it’s a philosophy and a way of life,” laments Sangeeta Lerner. There’s something wrong here, Sanjita thought as she stepped into the German yoga studio for the first time. After moving from India, she decided to resume classes, but here, in the Berlin studio, everything looked alien. Why are there figurines of Buddhist and Hindu deities all over the room, whose place is in the temple? And why does techno music sound during meditative shavasana?
“Everything around was sterile and chic at the same time. Everyone except me put on a sports uniform, and I just stayed in comfortable clothes. The coach walked around the room, correcting asanas,” Sanjita recalls. But at the same time, she did not feel any connection with either the mentor or with other yoga practitioners. This upset her.
Today, 10 years later, the 44-year-old is convinced that neither she nor the nearly three million Germans who regularly practice yoga are doing anything right or wrong. “Yoga is not a sport, but a healing technique available to everyone,” says Lerner. “Yoga originated in India about three thousand years ago, it is closely connected with Hindu philosophy, spiritual practices and the principles of non-possession, truthfulness, non-violence, asceticism. Translation of the word from Sanskrit means “union”. By the way, in the police and army of India, yoga is a compulsory discipline.”
Unfortunately, in Western society this practice has been taken out of context and commercialized. Sanjita Lerner calls this cultural appropriation: comfortable postures-asanas turn into athletics, mindful eating into diets, and as a result, because of a superficial attitude, there can be no question of any positive results. In her opinion, what is happening in German yoga studios is not integration, but imitation, similar to a kind of performance: “This is how colonial superiority manifests itself. Taken out of context, the phenomenon of another culture is simply adjusted to the desired framework.”
Pathway to Mentoring: From Mumbai to Berlin
Sanjita Lerner was born and raised in populous Mumbai. Sanjita’s family was not prosperous, but this did not prevent them from living happily. “My mother shared everything. She warmly welcomed guests, and she always had cookies in store for street dogs. Those were my first yoga lessons,” the woman recalls. Sanjita continues: “Mom was very spiritual. We felt how happy it was for her to share everything with everyone.” Therefore, Sanjita, as a yoga teacher, wants to share this skill with others: “Everyone who decides to become a yoga teacher does not do it for money or fame. This is a powerful practice that brings one closer to enlightenment and one’s own soul.”
Our heroine bought her first yoga mat in Germany. And after a series of advanced training courses, I finally decided to offer yoga classes under my own guidance. However, not in a fashion studio, but in a family center and in obstetric practice. And here she works in loose-fitting clothes, paying attention primarily to breathing, and performing simple asanas as if in passing. Despite the huge popularity of yoga, prejudices against India and its people are still alive. “I still run into clichés about cows in the street or snake charmers,” Sanjita laments.
Lerner has been teaching yoga “decolonization” classes for two years now. Both experienced teachers and beginners come to the two-day seminars. “Are you taking yoga away from us now?” – one of the most frequent questions. “Of course not,” Sanjita replies. “I’m trying to convey all the versatility and complexity of yoga.”
In the Berlin district of Neukölln, she is known and welcomed by all the neighbors. And with a smile called “the mayor of the quarter.”
#cultural #appropriation