Luckily, and perhaps a bit ironically, we also have yoga research. Over the last several years, researchers have been showing the efficacy of yoga in improving outcomes for a wide range of conditions, from everyday stress to heart disease and post-traumatic stress. It has also been shown to help cancer patients, people with special needs, decrease behavioral issues in schools, and the list goes on.

For some, this growing body of evidence supporting the benefits of yoga isn’t enough to counterbalance the excessive branding and focus on physical appearance that pervades the popular perception of yoga. Some have even gone so far as to say that yoga may have “lost it’s soul.” These detractors take issue with the use of yoga as a purely physical exercise, rather than a piece of a larger spiritual practice and philosophy. In addition to being separated from its loftier roots, the word “yoga” is used synonymously with “asana”, furthering the misunderstanding for the many people who don’t realize the depth they are missing.

Yet, aren’t they still practicing yoga? People can’t know what they don’t know. What they can know is how they feel when they step on their mat and how they feel when they step off of it. Really, isn’t that all that matters? Isn’t that the very thing that brings a person back to their mat day after day, week after week? It may take months or years to understand anything about “yoga” or your practice beyond this, and there is nothing wrong with that. Asana, pranayama, meditation, and mantra are, in essence, experiential learning techniques. They are designed to be explored, and each of us has our own path and preferred way of experiencing this. 

Regardless of why or how someone does yoga, even if they are really only practicing asana, if they leave their mat feeling happier, lighter, and better able to face the world, what else really matters?

What are your thoughts on the ongoing question of modern yoga's authenticity?