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I had heard horror stories about being the only ‘desi’ in an all-American yoga class.

CULT FRICTION

How I finally found my yoga happy place

7 min read . 10:20 AM ISTSandip Roy

My yoga ignorance and the occasional cheating during asanas is much more acceptable in Kolkata than in the US, where it is the serious subject of spirituality and copyrights



The embarrassing truth is I had never been to a yoga class until I went to the US. Thus the first yoga class I attended was taught by a blond, shirtless American man. There were Krishna posters on the wall and disco balls hanging from the ceiling. I spent most of it in terror, afraid my yoga ignorance would be exposed for all the Americans to see. I had heard enough horror stories about being the only desi person in an all-American yoga class.

A friend of mine had been told to lead the Sanskrit chants in her American yoga class just because she was brown. Another one had been asked to demonstrate squats because “Indians just know how to squat well"! Yet another one had been requested to explain the meaning of her name because Indian names have such “beautiful spiritual meanings". Her last name happened to be Sundaralingam. One friend swore by the body-positive naked yoga class in San Francisco. I didn’t quite dare try that. As a yoga newbie, I was too embarrassed to admit I didn’t know my Ashtanga from my Iyengar from my Bikram. I felt like an imposter from the birthplace of yoga