This is a big topic in yoga and rightly so.

Cultural appropriation is defined as when a member of a dominant culture takes one aspect of a culture that is not their own and uses it for their own personal interest or profit, without regard for the context or respect or even acknowledgment of the culture it’s taking from. Sound familiar?

The thing about cultural appropriation is that the appropriator does not have to face the same consequences that we do for practicing our culture or faith. For them, it is an accessory that can be taken on or off at will, while for us, it is a way of life. I’m not saying cultural or religious garb or practices should not be shared. Culture never exists in a vacuum and is never pure, nor should it be. It is ever-changing, evolving, growing. But in a society where immigrants and communities of color are marginalized at every level, we can’t pretend that power relations do not exist when we have this conversation about appropriation. Sharing and exchanging cultural and spiritual practices is great, but it gets more complicated when we’re not all on equal footing. It gets more complicated when meaningful things are taken, commodified, and exploited for a profit, with little respect shown to the community they were taken from. - Sonny Singh Brooklynwalla

Cultural appreciation is when time is taken to learn and to be a student. To show respect, honor the culture, and credit cultural practices from other cultures.

Here are some tips on how you can better appreciate instead of appropriating yoga:

1. Acknowledge the roots of yoga and where it comes from: the Indian Subcontinent. Take time to understand the origins and history of these traditions and practices.

2. Learn from, hire, and uplift South Asian and Indian yoga teachers. We shouldn't be marginalized and invisible in our ancestral, cultural practices.

Here are some I recommend:

@yogaprasad_institute @tejalyoga @susannabarkataki @nikyyoga @findyourbreath @mxpujasingh @rabiameghani @alchemystic_studio @archshingwani @arundhati_baitmangalkar @wanderingmat @harpindermannyoga

Racism is so implicit that you never even notice that it's a white girl on the cover every single time," says Amy Champ, a PhD scholar from UC Davis who wrote her dissertation on American yoga. "When you begin to ask yourself, 'What does yoga have to do with my community?', then you begin to question all these inequities."

3. Pay respect to your teachers and gurus and credit where you learned from.

4. Before teaching something, make sure you have practiced it yourself and thoroughly understand it. If you don't practice meditation yourself and haven't studied it, then don't teach it. Bring reverence and devotion back to these practices. We are always yoga students first before a yoga professional or teacher.

5. Teach yoga as a method of spiritual development and not simply a form of exercise. Yoga is a spiritual practice with a well-defined goal of liberation, originating from the Indian subcontinent 2500+ years back. It is a path of transformation that may take lifetimes. if you want to teach or practice only asana, then call it asana.

6. Use practices and rituals backed by an understanding of their sacredness and value - not simply for decor, aesthetics, or to play the part.

We need more yoga students, practitioners, and teachers who practice with integrity and honor the roots of yoga and the original intents, and goals of this spiritual practice.

Which one of these are you already practicing or will start practicing? Let me know!