Industry Trends

Cultural Appropriation vs. Appreciation in US Yoga Studios

How studio owners can honor yoga's South Asian roots through Sanskrit use, diverse hiring, and education—moving from extraction to partnership in 2026.

Key Takeaways

Cultural appropriation in yoga reflects deeper issues of power, colonialism, and the erasure of South Asian voices from a practice that originated in their culture—now often marketed by and for affluent Westerners while Indian practitioners remain marginally represented in US studios, publications, and leadership roles.
Common forms of appropriation include using sacred symbols as décor without understanding their meaning, commercial misuse of Sanskrit on products like underwear, banning South Asian teachers from using Sanskrit or chanting Om, and trends like Beer Yoga or apparel reading "Namaslay" that trivialize spiritual traditions.
Sanskrit language carries spiritual significance beyond simple translation—its vibrations and intonations are integral to practice—and stripping it out constitutes what some scholars call "whitewashing an entire cultural practice."
Representation gap is stark: research from the British Medical Journal shows 91% of yoga teachers and practitioners in the UK are white, mirroring US trends where South Asian communities remain underrepresented across studios, streaming platforms, apparel companies, and accreditation boards.
Cultural appreciation requires action: learning the meaning behind Sanskrit terms and symbols, acknowledging Indian yoga masters, hiring and uplifting South Asian teachers, and recognizing yoga's commodification—a devotional practice free for thousands of years now marketed and sold at premium prices.
The goal is not cessation but education: scholars emphasize white practitioners should continue yoga while understanding how its US practice is linked to colonization and oppression, shifting from consumption to respectful partnership with the culture that created it.

Why Cultural Appropriation Concerns Have Intensified in 2026

The question "What is the difference between cultural appropriation and appreciation?" has moved from academic circles to studio floors as South Asian teachers in the diaspora increasingly speak up about misuse of their cultural heritage. According to commentary published in October 2025, yoga is now "often marketed by affluent Westerners to affluent Westerners—and Indians, ironically, are marginally represented, if at all." For US studio owners and instructors in 2026, this is no longer a fringe conversation but a core ethical issue affecting brand integrity, student trust, and the ability to recruit diverse teaching staff.

As Living Yoga Journal noted in June 2025, the term "cultural appropriation" itself can dilute what is fundamentally about "the role of power and the legacies of imperialism." The fitness-focused version of yoga prevalent in American studios has systematically eliminated the Indian culture from which it originated, leaving South Asian practitioners feeling the practice is no longer inclusive to them.

What Appropriation Actually Looks Like in American Studios

Appropriation manifests in everyday studio decisions. Industry observers identify studio owners who use sacred symbols as wall décor "just because they think it looks cool" without understanding their meaning or how to honor them. The materialistic nature of retailers like Lululemon, who use Sanskrit words inappropriately to name products like underwear or yoga mats, represents commercial appropriation at scale.

More troubling are instances of exclusion. A British Indian yoga instructor reported being warned by an east London studio that she wouldn't be "allowed" to use Sanskrit in her practices, with staff telling her "you're not allowed to use Sanskrit, you're not allowed to chant Om, you're not allowed to say namaste." Meanwhile, trends like Beer Yoga, Goat Yoga, and apparel emblazoned with phrases like "Namaslay" or "Namaste bitches" are seen by cultural commentators writing in March 2026 as trivializing spiritual traditions for novelty and profit.

Why Sanskrit Removal Constitutes Cultural Erasure

Sanskrit is not merely a historical language but carries specific vibrational and spiritual properties. According to yoga education resources published in October 2023, when yoga terms are used in Sanskrit, "that divine language has a certain vibration that, when translated simply to 'union,' doesn't have the same vibration that the word yoga has." Sanskrit emphasizes sound, vibrations, and intonation in ways that communicate meaning far deeper than simple translation.

Yet many Western studios strip out Sanskrit entirely. Critics argue this practice constitutes "whitewashing an entire cultural practice," removing the cultural signature from yoga while retaining its marketability. Using Sanskrit words for yoga forms and concepts, by contrast, honors yoga's origins and draws attention to the fact that this practice was not developed by English-speaking people in North America.

The Representation Crisis in Western Yoga

The power imbalance extends beyond language to leadership and visibility. Research by the British Medical Journal surveying approximately 2,500 yoga professionals shows that 91% of teachers and practitioners in the UK are white, a pattern that mirrors US demographics. As Yoga Journal reported in September 2021, it is "a sad reality that Indian and South Asian yoga communities are not well represented in the contemporary Western yoga world, whether we're talking about studios, publications, on-demand streaming, the apparel industry, or accreditation boards."

This exclusion occurs within a practice that has been commodified at scale. Scholars Shreena Gandhi, PhD, and Lillie Wolff writing for Yoga International in February 2021 emphasize that a devotional practice free of cost for thousands of years is now being marketed and sold, often at premium prices that exclude the very communities who created it.

Practical Steps Toward Cultural Appreciation

Appreciation requires more than good intentions. Industry guidance from Yoga Journal emphasizes learning about and honoring yoga's cultural roots, including understanding the meaning behind Sanskrit terms and chants, respecting Indian deities and symbols, and acknowledging the contributions of Indian and South Asian yoga masters in class introductions and studio materials.

Concrete actions include hiring South Asian and Indian teachers, compensating them equitably, and creating pathways to leadership roles. The Yoga Outreach Society notes these practitioners "shouldn't be marginalized and invisible in their ancestral, cultural practices." Studio owners can also support South Asian-led training programs, seek out voices like Susanna Barkataki (founder of the Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute), Rina Deshpande, and Nadia Gilani (author of "The Yoga Manifesto"), and incorporate their decolonization frameworks into teacher training curricula.

Navigating the Nuance Between Western and Indian Practice

The conversation contains inherent complexity. Commentary from June 2025 notes that Western practitioners "tend to obsess about it in a way that is rarely witnessed in India," turning yogic arts into commodities that must be consumed and perfected through books, trainings, retreats, and endless online discussion. Many South Asian teachers in the West rarely address the differences between how yoga is practiced and experienced in India versus Western contexts, leaving these subjects unspoken.

This does not excuse appropriation but suggests the path forward requires dialogue that acknowledges both yoga's evolution and its roots. Gandhi and Wolff emphasize the goal should not be for white practitioners to stop practicing yoga, but rather to understand how yoga practice in the United States is intimately linked to colonization and oppression, and to practice with that awareness.

What This Means for Studio Owners

Editorial analysis — not reported fact:

Studio owners face a choice between perpetuating extraction or building partnership. The evidence suggests a clear path: audit your studio for appropriative practices (sacred imagery as décor, Sanskrit-free modifications marketed to white comfort, novelty classes that trivialize tradition), then invest in education and representation. Bring South Asian teachers onto your roster not as token diversity hires but as core faculty with decision-making authority over how yoga is taught and presented.

This shift will require uncomfortable conversations, especially in predominantly white communities where students may resist Sanskrit or unfamiliar cultural context. Frame these moments as deepening practice rather than politicizing it. A student who balks at chanting Om needs to understand they are participating in a living spiritual tradition, not a fitness format designed for their preferences. If yoga's cultural roots make them uncomfortable, that discomfort is data worth examining rather than eliminating.

From a business perspective, studios that proactively address these issues position themselves ahead of inevitable market pressure. Students under 35 increasingly expect cultural competency from wellness brands. Teacher applicants, particularly those from marginalized communities, evaluate whether studios practice the equity they advertise. Waiting for a social media incident to force change is far costlier than leading with integrity now.