13 Things Every Yogi Needs to Know About Yoga

June 21 is International Day of Yoga and I am celebrating by honouring the yogic lineage of my ancestors.

As a South Asian woman born into a Vedic/Yogic lineage from India, I am most often aghast at what yoga has become in the western world. The absence of honouring yoga’s roots, sacred objects on display with no context, the missing sacred stories of the teachings and practices – and the lack of protocol and general dilution of the study of yoga – are all common examples of this.

A South Asian friend recently said to me, “If Eurocentric folks practiced the teachings and sang the sacred songs of Indigenous folks without permission, taught their traditions and practices without permission, and continued to extract billions of dollars by the ongoing commodification of their culture – it simply would not be ok.” 

She has a point.

Below I offer some awareness around yoga that may not be well known by yogis and yoga practitioners. I invite you to consider these reflections. And. I would love to hear your thoughts, so please do comment at the end of this post. I invite you to share this article widely and help celebrate and honour the roots of yoga in honour of International Day of Yoga!


Yoga came to the west by the order of colonization.
This happened in 1893 when Swami Vivekananda attended the World’s Parliament of Religion, and introduced yoga through the cloak of Hinduism. (By the way, yoga is not a religion but we’ll get to that.) This was at a time that India was under colonial rule, and Indians were prohibited from freely coming and going in and out of their own country. It was also a time when yoga was banned in its homeland. 


Yoga predates religion. Yoga was originally an earth-based spiritual practice and tradition connected to the elements. Yoga is its own tradition. Other ways of being/traditions/religions – cross over with yoga including Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. However, the order of colonization deemed it a religion and subsequently, cancelled it.

Furthermore, Yoga is not “spiritual”. Yoga is a way of life. My lineage, culture and traditions are rooted in what can be interpreted as spiritual, by western folks. But no one in India would say, “I am spiritual” or “Yoga is spiritual”. Yoga just Is. Spirit just Is.


Yoga and Ayurveda were banned in India for 200 years during European colonization. Practices, rituals, ceremonies, etc.- the yogic culture – was outcasted and outlawed. Therefore it is a privilege to practice yoga. And it is important to practice it in the way that honours and respects its roots and acknowledges its colonial history. And to practice it in a way that was originally practiced before it was colonized.

Note: the period of Portuguese rule in India was 1505 – 1961. The period of British rule in India was 1858 – 1947. That’s 442 years of total colonial rule.


Indian independence in 1947 – spearheaded by Mohandis K Gandhi – was rooted in yogic principles. This included satya(graha) and ahimsa (re: truth and non-violent struggle).


Yoga is rooted in the scriptures of yoga – known as the Vedas. The Vedas have no authorship. If there was authorship, then the ego would come in to identify with I/me/mine. The point of yoga is UNITY. And unity indicates no separation. Centring identification in yoga with ego (re: my yoga class, my yoga retreat, my yoga training, my yoga course, my yoga program, etc., etc.) perpetuates separation which consequently takes us away from the true meaning of yoga. (Note: the Vedas were complied and arranged by Veda Vyas, not written by him.) Yoga does not belong to anyone. The moment we think it does, we have lost the essence of what yoga truly Is.


Besides the male rishis and seers that channelled the scriptures of yoga some 10,000 years ago, there were also Rishikas. These were female sages of high order and deep understanding. Why don’t we hear about them ever? Because the patriarchy is dumbing down the feminine (again). Some of the Rishikas include Maitreya, Gargi, Romasha, Lopamudra, Apala, Kadru, Visvavara, Ghosha, Juhu, Vagambhrini, Paulomi, Yami, Indrani, Savitri and Devayani. 

INVITATION: Look them up, and honour and celebrate them in your practice.


The root language of yoga – Sanskrit – was designed to elevate one’s subtle body system. It consists of 48- 54 letters (depending on your source). Letters form words, a few words form a mantra – further enhancing the elevation of your subtle system. Ultimately, this ancient language is medicine designed to heal people. Sanskrit is the oldest, most ancient language on the planet. It crosses over into Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. 

Note: Plastering this ancient language on clothing commodifies it, and appropriates its original meaning and intention.


Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras came long after the Vedas – the root scriptures of yoga. Patanjali amalgamated what was already established in the root scriptures of yoga know as the Vedas. He consolidated teachings that were already in place and being practiced. He restructured some of these teachings, and then called it his own. This was only 3,000 years ago. The Vedas came into being some 10,000 years ago. Presently, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras are the crux of yoga teacher trainings worldwide. However, it is a dilution of the original yogic teachings known as the Vedas. The yamas and the niyamas are useful of course, but they are not the complete teaching.

INVITATION: Go deeper and study the Vedas with a South Asian teacher, there is so much more to yoga.

INVITATION: Question the integrity of the teaching you are receiving from a teacher, book, class, course, training, etc. Consider doing your due diligence. Pay attention to the sources you are consulting and the practitioners you are learning from. Are they authentic sources that are connected to a lineage that you can trace back to the ancestral land of the teachings and its people?


Cultural appropriation versus cultural appreciation. What’s the difference? 

“Cultural appropriation refers to the idea of taking something from a culture that is not your own, without full regard for the context, respect or acknowledgment of the culture from which it is taken. 

By remaining unaware of the history, roots, complexity, and challenges of the heritage from which yoga evolved – one is misrepresenting yoga’s intention, its many limbs, and its true aims.

As often happens with cultural practices initially shamed by western colonists, once the commercialization of yoga was realized, it was readily taken, stripped of its origins and repackaged for the financial gain in the west.

Cultural appreciation: If your goal is to learn, listen, understand, and honour a culture without benefit to yourself, you are most likely showing appreciation. It is a good idea to learn about and honour other cultures.”

INVITATION: the next time you’re at a yoga studio, ask the teacher what lineage of yoga they are teaching, and who their teachers are, and who their teacher’s teachers are. Look for signs of this in the studio and during the class. If there are no signs leading back to authentic South Asian teachers and their homeland, the yoga may very well be a diluted, colonized form – and well off the mark of what yoga truly is rooted in. Again, I invite you to do your due diligence.


Reparations. As we’ve established, yoga came to the west through the order of colonization. Yoga in the west has become a multi-billion dollar industry. South Asians make up only a tiny fraction of this number. The disparity is blatant. The question is what are we going to do about it? 

Here are some ways to give back in the spirit of reciprocity: 

–> Learn from the lineage holders of yoga.

–> Support South Asian yoga teachers, studios, and teacher trainings by attending their classes, workshops, retreats, schools – and other offerings.

–> Look for South Asian faculty in yoga spaces. 

–> Collaborate with South Asian practitioners.

–> Consult yogic texts and resources written and produced by South Asian authors foremost. 

–> Donate to South Asian-led organizations that are upholding the roots of yoga and traditional yoga.


What does Yoga Alliance have to do with the roots of yoga? The organization’s aim seems to be to collect money from its membership, but doesn’t seem to do anything to uphold any sort of standard – educational or ethical – for the thousands of teachers that are coming out of every yoga school under the sun each year. They have no clear autonomy nor authority. Furthermore, they don’t encourage accessibility, including to marginalized groups. The “Yoga Alliance” label is the epitome of appropriation, in my view. It seems they are an alliance of colonizing a culture which isn’t theirs. Coming from a yogic lineage, when I am asked if I am registered with Yoga Alliance, I cringe.


Yoga is actually pronounced “YOG”. The “A” is silent in Sanskrit, but through English transliteration, it becomes YOGA. Even the name “yoga” was colonized.


Yoga is from South Asia, formerly known as “India” – pre-colonization, which is actually its colonial name. India’s original name is “Bharat” – but the colonials who occupied it for over 442 years changed it to “India” so they could pronounce it. One translation of “Bharat” is “one who is in search of light and knowledge [truth/wisdom]”.

(Photo 1: Indian Express, Photo 2: RQS Digital)

Satya Jehman is a facilitator in the Yogic/Vedic lineage of her ancestors. She would love to share more on the above. Feel free to invite her to your in-person or online studio to share more on the roots of yoga, traditional yoga, and Vedic knowledge.
satya@vedicpriestesstemple.com
www.vedicpriestesstemple.com 

I welcome your reflections on this article in the comments.
Please share this article if you feel inspired.