Case Study 4: The problematics of foreign-owned yoga and wellness retreats
This case study stood out to me because I agree with a lot of what the article has to say on the appropriation of yoga in the Western world. Both my parents, especially my dad, are very committed to the practice of yoga. I grew up with it being a common point of discussion, and really started taking it more seriously this past year. I’m currently halfway through my training to be a certified instructor. My immersion in the yoga world, mostly in Hong Kong but somewhat in the US, has been thought provoking at times. The studio that I frequent back home presents a fascinating hybridization of appropriation and appreciation; of exoticization and understanding.
All of the practice rooms, for example, are named something in Sanskrit like Niyama or Santosha. Until my teacher training, I never knew what these words meant. It’s funny to me how the words are meaningful and reflect a larger, deep philosophical tradition, but in this yoga studio, they’re treated just as words on doors. In a similar vein, some teachers really make it a point to use the Sanskrit names of the asanas (yoga poses) in class to preserve that historical root, while others don’t.
The studio also hosts retreats every few months, often in Bali or Thailand. While I have never been on one, I’ve seen pictures and read itineraries and it amazes me that people would spend all that money on airfare to barely interact with any of the rich local culture. When I was in Nepal, our guide brought us to a bazaar in Kathmandu and showed me a store that sold all kinds of beautiful patchwork clothes, including big flowy pants and overalls. He pointed at them and said “Buy these for yoga!”. That made me realize that the Western commercialization of yoga has created a whole market for . Yoga pants shouldn’t be . This story is just a synecdoche of many parallel stories of Western capitalism rebranding, disneyfying, and reducing foreign cultures leading to their misrepresentation and mystification.
Beyond that, the reading made me really think about my own travel experiences and future plans. Since being old enough to decide what I want to do while travelling, I have noticed that what I enjoy exponentially more than staying in a resort is getting a taste of real life, learning pieces of the native language, eating in real restaurants owned by locals, visiting temples and sites off the beaten path, etc… That being said, there is work I could do. Even the whole Nepal trekking experience when I was 17 which was a profound awakening of my social awareness is laced with privilege and power dynamics. Getting to trek in the Himalayas is not cheap! And there are aspects of the trek-tourism industry that disadvantage the Sherpa and Tamang people native to the region. Plus I don’t speak a lick of Nepalese! (Except maybe ba-chori which means father-daughter…)
