Good to see that the 'old man' of yoga knows which side his bread is buttered on. If not for America, yoga would still be a back-water practice that would be kind of quaint as something shown in National Geographic or on the Discovery Channel.

This post definitely surprised me since I've always thought of India as being more in touch with the soul than as described. Yoga is an element of Hinduism which is the main religion in India but I guess this type of wide spread drug dependency should have been expected.

Maybe not so surprising if related to the fact that the modern indian society is a really materialist one with more developped country being models (for the worse side of consumerism)

I have family and friends who live in Miami, or right in Miami Beach, that RARELY if ever go to the beach. It's funny to see them when I visit - they are more pale than I am in the dead of winter! So no, I am not surprised.

Here's my 2 cents, if you care to know what I think. From the Indian people that I've spoken to, Yoga is being taken for granted and the philosophy is seen as something corny that their parents and grandparents are into - oh, they are too MODERN for that 'old' stuff now! Probably also a bit of rebellion against the old establishment as well. Whereas in the West, part of the acceptance is that it's hip (well, not the purest of reasons), and people are not satisfied with the established religions here. They are looking for more (better reason). I guess there's also a bit of rebellion against the old establishment here as well.

Sharon, tantric hatha yoga has been around for almost 5,000 years. There are many masters of this tradition still in India and the Himalayas today. If not being a "back-water" and "quaint" practice means being a stylized and copyrighted one with added American shallowness focused body image, then I'll take my yoga off the Discovery channel any day. American's version of yoga is all asana all the time. Meditation, the "unmarketable" part (half of the practice, don't forget) of yoga seems to have not made it here in full effect like it is in India. The "If not for America" practitioners need to realize we've got a long way to go before we start claiming we re-popularized yoga.

While yoga is good for certain ailments (asthma, back pain, stress related illness), if you have an infection, a burst appendix or whatever, you absolutely need "Western" medicine or you will die. I think that we should not view this as an either/or, but rather simply match the cure to the disease. Indians have been doing yoga for thousands of years and still had one of the lowest life expectancies in the world. Yes, there are multiple reasons, but poor health care was a major part. Now that many Indians can afford "Western" medicine, life expectancy has increased dramatically. Of course they embrace "Western" medicine. Which would you prefer if you are blind with cataracts? What would you want for your child with malaria?

Most of our basic needs are met. We can therefore look to yoga for further enhancement. Most people in India are just trying to meet their basic needs. We should be compassionate, not critical. We should not think that our choices are superior to others' choices.

I am an Indian and I can say there is some truth to Iyengar's comments. But its not as simple as Iyengar Guru put it. In India, most Indians don't learn about religion or yoga in school (unless it is taught as it has been, in some school systems) or home. As everyone knows Hindu religion and Yoga systems are all over the place unlike monotheistic-Abrahamic religions like Judaism, Christianity, Islam where at least few key things are agreed upon by everyone. If you ask 10 Hindus about yoga/god experience/salvation means you will get more than 10 answers. This is because most parents don't indoctrinate their children into anything. Exception is the Brahmin or priestly caste because they know something about religion. From my personal experience, most Brahmins are also trying to figure spiritual paths for themselves and are more into their careers than spiritual quest. The middle class in India is turning into Yoga, thanks to Swami Ramdev whose shows on TV on Astha Channel has 20 million viewers and has been in the forefront of spreading awareness all over India. Recently state of Tamil Nadu in South India, made Yoga compulsory in all schools. Some other states are also thinking of doing the same. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of the Art of Living Foundation has been spreading the Yogic Breathing techniques (Raja Yoga) all over India including prisons, conflict ridden zones in India and abroad (e.g. Iraq). Plus because lot of Bollywood celebrities are getting into it impressionable kids and teens are also getting into it. So its not as bad as Iyengar puts it. Besides more Indians try out alternative methods like Ayurveda, Homeopathy, etc than Allopathic medicine because of cost.

those who wish to claim it, own it, market & sell it, copyright it may miss the true yoga which is open only for those who seek it and are able to walk the path ... rest can be packaged for the masses with various trade names and corrupted as desired.