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Historically, Americans have been characterised by acquisition, capitalism and materialism, action and achievement as opposed to, say, contemplation and introspection. Thus, even from the standpoint of psychological makeup, the inward qualities of yoga go against the grain of many Americans.
But today for as many as 50 million Americans, yoga has become a part of mainstream, with over 16.5 million people practising, and over twice that number indicating interest. Yoga Day USA in January every year is a nationwide celebration of yoga with free or low cost workshops being offered. Oprah and Dr Phil talk about yoga. Hollywood and pop icons such as Richard Gere, Steven Seagal, Demi Moore, Goldie Hawn, Heather Graham, Shania Twain and countless others practice in one degree or another. The yoga industry is one of six billion dollars (Rs 30,000 crore).This money goes to yoga associations, yoga federations, yoga centres, yoga schools, yoga ashrams, yoga clubs, yoga masters, yoga dresses, book and videos, yoga retreats and yoga holidays. But this victory has not been won easily, as at the other extreme is the Christian orthodoxy, which has considered yoga as a pagan ritual. An article titled "Dangerous Meditations" in Christianity Today describes the veiled forms of Hindu yoga and meditation in general as anti-Christian. By the last count there was supposed to be 83 types of yoga being sold to Americans, ranging from the classical ashtanga yoga of the grand doyen of yoga B.K.S Iyengar (Guru of the famous violinist, late Yehudi Menuhin) to naked yoga (supposed to be based on Shaiva Nagas, who are perpetualy naked, and their every living moment is dedicated to the practice of yoga).Strangely, in San Francisco, courts found that George Monty Davis (aka "Naked Yoga Guy") is not committing a crime by practising naked yoga in a public place, a variant of public nudity. Although hatha yoga eventually became the yoga of choice for most Americans, it was the more contemplative stages — the raja and gyana yoga — that initially ignited the interest of an exclusive group of Americans over 150 years ago. Referred to as transcendentalists themselves and part of an elite group of intellectuals known as the Concord Circle, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau drew inspiration from the Bhagavad Gita. This sacred Hindu text, written in the form of a philosophical dialogue, is an integral part of yoga’s literary heritage. So it was that these men, two of America’s most influential poet/philosophers of that era, in Concord, Massachusetts, planted the seeds for the growth of yoga in the USA. The arrival of the dynamic monk Swami Vivekananda in 1893 as well as the visit of Swami Paramashansa Yogananda in 1930s gave a great fillip to yoga. The reasons for taking up yoga as stated by many Americans are, "stress relief, pain relief, better breathing, flexibility, increased strength, weight management, improved circulation, cardiovascular conditioning, better body alignment and focus on the present — for health reasons." While this is true, yoga’s main purpose is for physical, mental, and spiritual health. The paradox between yoga’s spiritual roots in India and the US’s capitalistic ethos has caused strains to real practitioners of yoga based on the ashta marga — namely yama, or restraint; niyama, or observance of purity, tolerance and study; asana, or physical exercises; pranayama, or breath control; pratyahara, or preparation for meditation; dharana, or concentration; dhyana or meditation; and samadhi or absorption in the sublime. But the real problem facing yoga initiates in the USA is the question of yoga teacher certification. The yoga industry in the USA requires 70,000 teachers, and there are no state or national licensing of yoga instructors. Right now, anybody can say, "I am a yoga teacher." This is a serious problem, particularly for those students who unwittingly learn their practice from people who themselves have received little more than a weekend of training." — MF
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