tantric

The Daily Beast is reporting how a Russian city, with the support of senior leadership, has banned yoga, citing practitioners for cult-like behaviour. Taking the statement in a glancing, off-the-cuff manner, it does strike one, especially those among the trendy-set, as getting into a furore over jazzercise. As the article demonstrates, however, as it looks beyond the established and familiar health benefits into its holistic history with mental, spiritual and even political faces, it becomes manifest that certain regimes might find this lifestyle contentious. Though I would side with those who’d prohibit the practise only insofar as we can’t selectively embrace some aspects without appreciating what those techniques are rooted in—just as karma is no cosmic-cashbox, I would also think that those antagonists (this Russian town not being a singular instance and other religious groups object to the direct or the vaguely spiritual side of it) would benefit greatly from those treasonous influences.