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> much of modern Yoga practise in the west That's a shift in goalposts from the original post's claim of "common modern Yoga poses" - Yoga practise in the wes

> much of modern Yoga practise in the west That's a shift in goalposts from the original post's claim of "common modern Yoga poses" - Yoga practise in the west is only a small portion of modern Yoga in general. There's a difference between saying "common modern English borrows a lot from Hindi grammar" and "modern English spoken in India borrows a lot from Hindi grammar" - and there's as much difference between your statement and the statement the original comment made.

harimau777 6y ago
Since Hacker News readers tend to be (but are certainly not exclusively) living in Western countries, I think it's reasonable to assume from context that the original poster was likely referring to the yoga that's common in the West.
amadsen 6y ago
It's true though: "common modern Yoga poses", as popularly practiced in the west and in India, are derived as much from Western gymnastics as they are from classical Hatha yoga, as the GP said. I don't think that that in any way denies the diversity of yoga, or its ancient roots. It's simply a fact that traditionally, asanas were only of marginal importance and they were almost exclusively seated poses intended for meditation. There is no downward dog in the medieval texts, no Surya Namasakar, no vinyasas... Postural yoga was popularized in India in the 1930s. Hatha yoga had been out of fashion for centuries at that point. Famous teachers like Swami Kuvalayananda, Yogendra and Krishnamacharya revived it and incorporated the standing poses from contemporary gymnastics and, for the first time, movements. For some, maintaining a connection to the Hatha roots were more important than others. Pattabhi Jois claimed that his Ashtanga yoga (the origin of modern Mysore style in India and Power yoga in the West) was based a 5000 year old sanskrit text that Krishnamacharya had discovered, but unfortunately it was "eaten by ants". Cultures change over time and the Silk Road is a two-way street. We all learn from each other and that is, for the most part, a good thing.
- cies 6y ago
  > Famous teachers like Swami Kuvalayananda, Yogendra and Krishnamacharya revived it and incorporated the standing poses from contemporary gymnastics and, for the first time, movements. And Yoga went from an obscure practice of (mostly male) Indian ascetics to a household name the world over (practiced a lot by female lay persons). I find it a great story, though my initial comment on this thread was down voted. We like marketing here on HN right? This is marketing.

harimau777 6y ago

Since Hacker News readers tend to be (but are certainly not exclusively) living in Western countries, I think it's reasonable to assume from context that the original poster was likely referring to the yoga that's common in the West.

amadsen 6y ago

It's true though: "common modern Yoga poses", as popularly practiced in the west and in India, are derived as much from Western gymnastics as they are from classical Hatha yoga, as the GP said. I don't think that that in any way denies the diversity of yoga, or its ancient roots. It's simply a fact that traditionally, asanas were only of marginal importance and they were almost exclusively seated poses intended for meditation. There is no downward dog in the medieval texts, no Surya Namasakar, no vinyasas... Postural yoga was popularized in India in the 1930s. Hatha yoga had been out of fashion for centuries at that point. Famous teachers like Swami Kuvalayananda, Yogendra and Krishnamacharya revived it and incorporated the standing poses from contemporary gymnastics and, for the first time, movements. For some, maintaining a connection to the Hatha roots were more important than others. Pattabhi Jois claimed that his Ashtanga yoga (the origin of modern Mysore style in India and Power yoga in the West) was based a 5000 year old sanskrit text that Krishnamacharya had discovered, but unfortunately it was "eaten by ants". Cultures change over time and the Silk Road is a two-way street. We all learn from each other and that is, for the most part, a good thing.

cies 6y ago
> Famous teachers like Swami Kuvalayananda, Yogendra and Krishnamacharya revived it and incorporated the standing poses from contemporary gymnastics and, for the first time, movements. And Yoga went from an obscure practice of (mostly male) Indian ascetics to a household name the world over (practiced a lot by female lay persons). I find it a great story, though my initial comment on this thread was down voted. We like marketing here on HN right? This is marketing.