The imminent release to patent offices worldwide of a catalogue of yoga postures, part of India’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library, is exciting attention in global news outlets (see below for some examples). The initiative is of special interest in the US, where the “yoga wars” have been ongoing for a decade.
World news coverage explains the context of the “yoga wars” – the proliferation of tailored varieties around the world ranging from Kosher Yoga to Call Centre Yoga, and widespread efforts to trademark, copyright, or patent aspects of these practices, most notably Bikram Choudhury’s 2004 claim to IP ownership of 26 postures performed in his US-wide “hot yoga” studios. Choudhury’s patent application prompted the creation of a San Francisco nonprofit, Open Source Yoga Unity, and the counterchallenges have been going on ever since.
On the other hand, the news stories are inconsistent about what India is trying to do: patent yoga as a national cultural property? Fix the now-flexible forms of yoga according to “original” traditional models? Or simply provide accessible documentation of the tradition in order to prevent third parties from propertizing it? As so often in questions of cultural protection, the goals of different actors are easily misconstrued and the nature of the available instruments is ambiguous.
In an upcoming series of posts on this blog, invited commentators and members of the Research Group on Cultural Property will write on some of the issues raised in the “yoga wars” debate. We invite the reader’s contributions, comments, and questions.
News Reports on Yoga Wars:
- BBC: Yoga Wars
- Washington Post: “Yoga wars” spoil spirit of ancient practice, Indian agency says
- The Guardian: Yoga Heritage: Don’t Even Think About Stealing It, Says Indian Government
- Hindustan Times: India to patent yoga asanas
- Telegraph: India moves to patent yoga poses in bid to protect traditional knowledge
- Christian Science Monitor: India: Breathe in, and hands off our yoga