Yoga cancelled.
November 24, 2015 6:11 AM Subscribe
University cancels free yoga class for students with disabilities over concerns about colonialism and oppression. The email notifying the instructor of the class' cancellation read, "[cultures] have experienced oppression, cultural genocide and diasporas due to colonialism and Western supremacy … we need to be mindful of this and how we express ourselves while practicing yoga."
According to inside higher ed, two vice presidents of the federation said the issue of cultural appropriation was one of several factors at play in putting yoga "on hold" this semester, and that it could return next semester, after a review of all of the issues, including but not limited to cultural appropriation.
Original reporting by the Ottawa Sun.
On yoga and cultural appropriation in general:
Like It Or Not, Western Yoga Is A Textbook Example Of Cultural Appropriation
No, Westerners Practicing Yoga Are Not Guilty of “Cultural Appropriation”. Contains an argument that yoga was actively exported by Indians.
According to inside higher ed, two vice presidents of the federation said the issue of cultural appropriation was one of several factors at play in putting yoga "on hold" this semester, and that it could return next semester, after a review of all of the issues, including but not limited to cultural appropriation.
Original reporting by the Ottawa Sun.
On yoga and cultural appropriation in general:
Like It Or Not, Western Yoga Is A Textbook Example Of Cultural Appropriation
No, Westerners Practicing Yoga Are Not Guilty of “Cultural Appropriation”. Contains an argument that yoga was actively exported by Indians.
This post was deleted for the following reason: This feels a lot more like a "taken from a distance, this makes for a juicy and topical subject to argue about" sort of situation than a "the core event here is itself substantially interesting" kind of deal, and given that the larger subject is a messy one that we've have some pretty bumpy and difficult discussions about already recently this seems like not really a great idea for a post. -- cortex
As best I can tell from my privileged white male perspective, people need to do a better job of differentiating Hatha yoga (Western colloquially: "yoga") from Yoga as a larger whole.
It's not inherently wrong to teach a physical discipline separate from the cultural surrounding that it comes from. Teaching Hatha yoga without spirituality is no more wrong than teaching Krav Maga without supporting the state of Israel, or Pilates outside of the context of war-torn Europe.
posted by explosion at 6:25 AM on November 24, 2015 [12 favorites]
It's not inherently wrong to teach a physical discipline separate from the cultural surrounding that it comes from. Teaching Hatha yoga without spirituality is no more wrong than teaching Krav Maga without supporting the state of Israel, or Pilates outside of the context of war-torn Europe.
posted by explosion at 6:25 AM on November 24, 2015 [12 favorites]
From the email: “yoga has been under a lot of controversy lately” - I wish whoever wrote that would 'appropriate' a bit of knowledge of English.
posted by Paquda at 6:27 AM on November 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Paquda at 6:27 AM on November 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
We must learn to distinguish cultural gifts from cultural appropriation.
posted by mittens at 6:30 AM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by mittens at 6:30 AM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Is it cultural appropriation? Yes.
Does cultural appropriation contain such a large amount of things to make it almost a useless definition to define harm? In my opinion, also yes.
Cultural appropriation contains Redskins mascots and orange chicken, origami and terribly inappropriate costumes.
And I wish that like the last thread, we could hear from the people that are actually harmed. I felt a lot better about the protests at the kimono exhibit when there were actual people of Japanese ancestry who were offended. All we have have here is the language of social justice regurgitated into the limp prose of academic bureaucracy.
posted by zabuni at 6:30 AM on November 24, 2015 [7 favorites]
Does cultural appropriation contain such a large amount of things to make it almost a useless definition to define harm? In my opinion, also yes.
Cultural appropriation contains Redskins mascots and orange chicken, origami and terribly inappropriate costumes.
And I wish that like the last thread, we could hear from the people that are actually harmed. I felt a lot better about the protests at the kimono exhibit when there were actual people of Japanese ancestry who were offended. All we have have here is the language of social justice regurgitated into the limp prose of academic bureaucracy.
posted by zabuni at 6:30 AM on November 24, 2015 [7 favorites]
I'd want to know more about how the class was taught to decide if this was an appropriate response.
posted by bgal81 at 6:36 AM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by bgal81 at 6:36 AM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
And I wish that like the last thread, we could hear from the people that are actually harmed. I felt a lot better about the protests at the kimono exhibit when there were actual people of Japanese ancestry who were offended. All we have have here is the language of social justice regurgitated into the limp prose of academic bureaucracy.
Well, in the email to the instructor:
“I have heard from a couple students and volunteers that feel uncomfortable with how we are doing yoga while we claim to be inclusive at the same time.”
So we can either assume that those people who felt uncomfortable are people from the affected culture(s) or we can assume they're not and it's all a bunch of silly oversensitive types. I'm sure a lot of readers would assume the second, but we don't have that information.
They are not cancelling it forever or banning it. They are pausing it for now while they discuss the issues that have been raised.
“For the moment we would just like to pause the programming also because we are very short on staff and do not have the capacity to do this as programming,” the representative wrote. “But in the future (after we have reflected on which kinds of exercise are more inclusive for our centre).” The e-mail concluded: “It is not something that is easy to explain. It is a sensitive topic for some people that use our Centre and I would just like to respect that for the moment.”
This seems fine to me. Inconvenient for class participants, maybe, but not something to get upset about. The action was taken by the Centre for Student Disabilities, who presumably will want to offer something else to students if they decide not to keep yoga. Entirely in their purview.
posted by emjaybee at 6:36 AM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Well, in the email to the instructor:
“I have heard from a couple students and volunteers that feel uncomfortable with how we are doing yoga while we claim to be inclusive at the same time.”
So we can either assume that those people who felt uncomfortable are people from the affected culture(s) or we can assume they're not and it's all a bunch of silly oversensitive types. I'm sure a lot of readers would assume the second, but we don't have that information.
They are not cancelling it forever or banning it. They are pausing it for now while they discuss the issues that have been raised.
“For the moment we would just like to pause the programming also because we are very short on staff and do not have the capacity to do this as programming,” the representative wrote. “But in the future (after we have reflected on which kinds of exercise are more inclusive for our centre).” The e-mail concluded: “It is not something that is easy to explain. It is a sensitive topic for some people that use our Centre and I would just like to respect that for the moment.”
This seems fine to me. Inconvenient for class participants, maybe, but not something to get upset about. The action was taken by the Centre for Student Disabilities, who presumably will want to offer something else to students if they decide not to keep yoga. Entirely in their purview.
posted by emjaybee at 6:36 AM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
This stuff can't be made up. We can't bend and stretch without invoking colonialism? If we follow this line of thinking, soon there will be nothing to do that isn't at some level offensive. Culture is inherently created by "appropriating" ideas and activities from other people. That's a feature, not a bug. This is just lunacy writ large.
posted by pwally at 6:37 AM on November 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by pwally at 6:37 AM on November 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
It seems like the idea of cultural appropriation breaks down on some level when talking about culture that is being actively and aggressively exported to Americans. At what point is it all right to accept teaching from a non-Western person in a practice that they are learned in? And telling people that they can't practice a methodology in a manner that is essentially non-public (though open) is... weird. Yoga practiced for health is not performative.
And if you are worried about the spiritual component of yoga being stripped out of Western practice, I understand you but that ship has sailed so far from us that it is actually in Valinor now.
posted by selfnoise at 6:39 AM on November 24, 2015
And if you are worried about the spiritual component of yoga being stripped out of Western practice, I understand you but that ship has sailed so far from us that it is actually in Valinor now.
posted by selfnoise at 6:39 AM on November 24, 2015
I have zero problem with this being temporarily shut down if it was making people uncomfortable for valid reasons.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:39 AM on November 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:39 AM on November 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
Ugh the worst part of this is that Scharf (the instructor) reacted in exactly the right way! Paraphrasing: "Oh, I see that calling this 'yoga' may be appropriative. Got it. Let's keep doing stretching exercises for people with disabilities and re-name it. Problem solved!"
It's the university administrative higher-ups who have failed, by declining Scharf's re-naming request.
posted by nicodine at 6:41 AM on November 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
It's the university administrative higher-ups who have failed, by declining Scharf's re-naming request.
posted by nicodine at 6:41 AM on November 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
Seems like they're bending over backwards to avoid offending people.
posted by L.P. Hatecraft at 6:42 AM on November 24, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by L.P. Hatecraft at 6:42 AM on November 24, 2015 [11 favorites]
My wife said she had to stop going to her yoga class because she couldn't stand the White People's Idea Of World Music soundtrack that was always playing. All those breathy flutes and gongs and shit.
That being said, I tend to think that it's okay to eat pizza even if you're not Italian. I apologize for appropriating the last slice.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 6:43 AM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
That being said, I tend to think that it's okay to eat pizza even if you're not Italian. I apologize for appropriating the last slice.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 6:43 AM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yeah they are all twisted up over it.
posted by ian1977 at 6:43 AM on November 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by ian1977 at 6:43 AM on November 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
Can anyone explain why I should be all pissed off about SJW run amok on college campuses? I don't attend Ottawa or Yale or any other university. I honestly can't see why any disinterested adult cares except for the opportunity to rubberneck and finger wag.
When I was in college, I successfully petitioned to cancel a required lab session held on Cesar Chavez day. I'm glad the internet wasn't an all-invasive presence then to gleefully explain to me all the reasons I was being naive, misinformed, and wrongheaded.
posted by muddgirl at 6:43 AM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
When I was in college, I successfully petitioned to cancel a required lab session held on Cesar Chavez day. I'm glad the internet wasn't an all-invasive presence then to gleefully explain to me all the reasons I was being naive, misinformed, and wrongheaded.
posted by muddgirl at 6:43 AM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Sounds more like a problem of bureaucratic dysfunction than philosophy.
posted by whittaker at 6:44 AM on November 24, 2015
posted by whittaker at 6:44 AM on November 24, 2015
(Disterested in the sense of unconnected, uninvested, etc.)
posted by muddgirl at 6:44 AM on November 24, 2015
posted by muddgirl at 6:44 AM on November 24, 2015
This stuff can't be made up. We can't bend and stretch without invoking colonialism?
Sure we can. Call it bending and stretching, not yoga.
posted by Dysk at 6:45 AM on November 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
Sure we can. Call it bending and stretching, not yoga.
posted by Dysk at 6:45 AM on November 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
My daughter, as she ran out the door to catch the bus to school: "Why don't they just call it stretching class?"
posted by mecran01 at 6:46 AM on November 24, 2015
posted by mecran01 at 6:46 AM on November 24, 2015
Next to go? Zumba.
Slightly less snarkily, as an Indian person, if you're not doing it in brownface, or claiming to be at one with Vishnu, please feel free to continue your yoga classes.
Even better, do a thirty second google search on where yoga comes from, improve your appreciation of what brown people have come up with that impacts your daily life, AND THEN go to yoga class. But that's just if you want extra credit.
posted by synapse at 6:47 AM on November 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
Slightly less snarkily, as an Indian person, if you're not doing it in brownface, or claiming to be at one with Vishnu, please feel free to continue your yoga classes.
Even better, do a thirty second google search on where yoga comes from, improve your appreciation of what brown people have come up with that impacts your daily life, AND THEN go to yoga class. But that's just if you want extra credit.
posted by synapse at 6:47 AM on November 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
I read an interview with the instructor of the class and it mentioned that she suggested changing the name to "mindful stretching" and was still shot down. I suspect the cancellation has more to do with U of O's internal politics than actual concerns about cultural appropriation.
posted by peppermind at 6:48 AM on November 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by peppermind at 6:48 AM on November 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
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