Yoga’s Journey from Sacred Practice to Market Product
When most people encounter contemporary yoga advertising, they are met with a highly standardized image: a slim, affluent, often white woman practicing on a beach or in a minimalist studio, dressed in premium athletic wear and framed by aspirational messaging. Across digital platforms, yoga is frequently represented through curated poses, lifestyle branding, and visually driven content designed for mass consumption. This imagery reflects how the digital era and consumer culture have reframed yoga—from a complex South Asian spiritual discipline rooted in philosophy, meditation, and community—to a marketable fitness practice tied to aesthetics, wellness, and personal optimization.
These commercial representations foreground attributes such as body type, gender, health, and lifestyle status, while largely obscuring yoga’s cultural, historical, and spiritual origins. As a result, the dominant visual language of yoga has become increasingly narrow and exclusionary. The global yoga industry, now valued at more than $130 billion, is shaped significantly by Western consumer markets whose branding practices tend to center Euro-American beauty standards and profit-driven models. This corporatization does not arise from individual intent but from broader structural forces—capitalism, cultural appropriation, and longstanding colonial legacies—that influence how cultural practices are repackaged, marketed, and sold.
A fuller understanding of yoga requires looking beyond these contemporary portrayals to its historical development. The earliest forms of yoga are widely understood to have originated in the Indus Valley region—located in present-day Pakistan and Northwest India—where archaeological evidence suggests yogic traditions began over 5,000 years ago, making yoga one of the world’s oldest documented spiritual practices. Rooted in South Asian philosophical systems, yoga evolved within Vedic contexts and later intersected with Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions, each contributing to its methods and aims. According to the Gale Encyclopedia of Senior Health, the term “yoga” derives from the Sanskrit root yuj, meaning “to yoke,” “to join,” or “to unite,” reflecting its foundational purpose: the integration of mind, body, and spirit through ethical principles, meditation, breathwork, and physical postures.
Although yoga is not a religion, it is historically intertwined with several South Asian religious and philosophical traditions. Texts such as the Bhagavad Gita—a foundational Hindu scripture—describe yoga as a spiritual discipline concerned with ethical action, self-knowledge, and the pursuit of liberation. For centuries, yogic teachings were transmitted orally within cultural contexts shaped by Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain worldviews, resulting in a multifaceted system of ethics, meditation, and embodied practice. This grounding in diverse philosophical traditions highlights the depth of yoga as a holistic discipline, offering a stark contrast to the highly commercialized, image-driven versions prevalent in much of today’s wellness industry.
As these traditions developed, yoga gradually evolved from a set of practices associated with specific religious frameworks into a broader philosophical discipline with multiple lineages. A major milestone in this evolution was the compilation of Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras around the 4th–5th century C.E. Synthesizing earlier teachings, Patañjali drew on Hindu philosophical concepts as well as meditative and ascetic practices from Buddhist and Jain traditions. The Yoga Sūtras offered one of the first systematic frameworks for understanding yoga as a method of cultivating ethical conduct, mental discipline, and spiritual insight—distinct from, though historically connected to, formal religious practice.
Within this framework, Patañjali outlined the eight limbs of yoga: yama (ethical disciplines), niyama (personal observances), āsana (posture), prāṇāyāma (breath regulation), pratyāhāra (withdrawal of the senses), dhāraṇā(concentration), dhyāna (meditation), and samādhi (integrative contemplation). These limbs collectively describe a holistic path aimed at aligning one’s actions, thoughts, and inner life. Many scholars highlight that yoga’s central aim is the cultivation of clarity, balance, and self-awareness—reflecting the longstanding belief that mental discipline profoundly shapes human experience. In contrast, many contemporary Western interpretations of yoga emphasize primarily āsana, the physical postural component. This focus represents a broader trend in which one element of an integrated spiritual and philosophical system becomes isolated from its larger context. According to the International Journal of Spa and Wellness, “modifications made by instructors to the traditional practice in order to complement the cultural norms of the clients may pose challenges for clients in deriving the maximum benefits. Modifying the practice may also inhibit clients from completely exploring the correct techniques” (Dutt). This shift toward physically oriented classes often reflects market pressures within the fitness and wellness industries rather than intentional disregard. Nevertheless, it can limit practitioners’ exposure to yoga’s ethical, contemplative, and philosophical dimensions, contributing to an incomplete understanding of its depth and cultural origins.
The prioritization of physically oriented classes aligns with business models that favor accessible, high-throughput offerings requiring less time, training, and contextual education. Providing instruction on the ethical, contemplative, and textual foundations of yoga requires both specialized expertise and extended instruction time—factors that can increase operational costs and narrow the pool of potential participants. As a result, many studios focus on the components that are most easily marketable within fitness-oriented consumer cultures. This narrowing of practice has broader implications. When yoga is presented primarily as a workout, practitioners may not encounter its wider aims, which include mental regulation, self-study, ethical reflection, and spiritual inquiry. While some instructors incorporate brief meditative elements, these additions often remain detached from the larger philosophical framework that traditionally shapes the practice. Consequently, individuals may gain physical benefits yet remain unaware of yoga’s historical context or its potential as a comprehensive mind-body-spirit discipline. This pattern reflects structural influences within the commercial wellness industry rather than shortcomings of individual teachers or students, but it nonetheless contributes to an incomplete understanding of yoga’s depth and cultural origins.
Maintaining an understanding of yoga’s cultural and historical roots is essential when examining its contemporary global forms. In recent decades, numerous brands have incorporated yogic terminology, imagery, and symbolism into commercial products, often without fully engaging with the cultural or religious contexts from which these elements originate. Such practices can result in cultural appropriation, a phenomenon in which sacred or culturally specific concepts are repurposed for aesthetic or commercial appeal in ways that detach them from their original meaning and significance.
A noteworthy example occurred in 2020 when the activewear company Sweaty Betty responded to public criticism regarding several product names derived from Sanskrit terms. Items such as the “Simhasana Sweatshirt,” “Prana Yoga Bra,” and “Garudasana Yoga Pants” were renamed after customers and commentators pointed out that these terms—many connected to spiritual concepts, postures, or deities within South Asian traditions—were being used in ways misaligned with their cultural significance. This incident underscores how commercial use of culturally embedded vocabulary, when undertaken without appropriate research or consultation, can inadvertently diminish or misrepresent longstanding traditions.
Scholars of media and cultural studies have noted that such misuses occur within a broader historical context in which South Asian cultures have often been depicted through exoticized or simplified portrayals in Western media. These patterns, which extend from colonial-era representations to contemporary entertainment, can reinforce reductive stereotypes and overlook the diversity, agency, and intellectual histories of South Asian communities. Examples frequently discussed in academic literature include high-profile music videos and fashion campaigns that selectively adopt cultural elements—such as clothing, religious symbols, or festival imagery—primarily for visual impact, without acknowledging their deeper meanings or the communities to whom they belong.
These practices are not typically the result of individual malice but rather stem from systemic dynamics within global media industries, where aesthetic appeal and commercial viability often outweigh cultural accuracy or ethical considerations. When sacred or culturally specific aspects of yoga are commodified without context, the result can be a dilution of their significance and a missed opportunity to engage with yoga’s philosophical depth. More broadly, such patterns highlight the importance of cultural literacy, respectful representation, and collaborative engagement with the traditions that continue to shape yoga today.
A more informed engagement with yoga—one that acknowledges its historical, cultural, and philosophical foundations—offers a path toward restoring the depth and integrity of the tradition beyond its commercialized interpretations. Efforts often described as “decolonizing” yoga highlight the need to examine how modern media and consumer industries have reshaped public understanding, and to ensure that the practice’s deeper teachings remain accessible and accurately represented. Supporting culturally grounded instruction requires recognition from wellness companies, media producers, and educational institutions of the essential contributions of scholars, lineage-based practitioners, and South Asian communities. When these voices are meaningfully included, yoga can be taught and practiced in ways that honor its complexity while still evolving for contemporary audiences. Although reorienting existing systems presents challenges, the potential benefits are substantial: a richer individual practice, more respectful cross-cultural engagement, and a strengthened sense of collective connection. Returning to yoga’s philosophical and ethical foundations ultimately invites practitioners to experience it not only as physical exercise, but as a holistic framework for awareness, balance, and human well-being.
These commercial representations foreground attributes such as body type, gender, health, and lifestyle status, while largely obscuring yoga’s cultural, historical, and spiritual origins. As a result, the dominant visual language of yoga has become increasingly narrow and exclusionary. The global yoga industry, now valued at more than $130 billion, is shaped significantly by Western consumer markets whose branding practices tend to center Euro-American beauty standards and profit-driven models. This corporatization does not arise from individual intent but from broader structural forces—capitalism, cultural appropriation, and longstanding colonial legacies—that influence how cultural practices are repackaged, marketed, and sold.
A fuller understanding of yoga requires looking beyond these contemporary portrayals to its historical development. The earliest forms of yoga are widely understood to have originated in the Indus Valley region—located in present-day Pakistan and Northwest India—where archaeological evidence suggests yogic traditions began over 5,000 years ago, making yoga one of the world’s oldest documented spiritual practices. Rooted in South Asian philosophical systems, yoga evolved within Vedic contexts and later intersected with Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions, each contributing to its methods and aims. According to the Gale Encyclopedia of Senior Health, the term “yoga” derives from the Sanskrit root yuj, meaning “to yoke,” “to join,” or “to unite,” reflecting its foundational purpose: the integration of mind, body, and spirit through ethical principles, meditation, breathwork, and physical postures.
Although yoga is not a religion, it is historically intertwined with several South Asian religious and philosophical traditions. Texts such as the Bhagavad Gita—a foundational Hindu scripture—describe yoga as a spiritual discipline concerned with ethical action, self-knowledge, and the pursuit of liberation. For centuries, yogic teachings were transmitted orally within cultural contexts shaped by Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain worldviews, resulting in a multifaceted system of ethics, meditation, and embodied practice. This grounding in diverse philosophical traditions highlights the depth of yoga as a holistic discipline, offering a stark contrast to the highly commercialized, image-driven versions prevalent in much of today’s wellness industry.
As these traditions developed, yoga gradually evolved from a set of practices associated with specific religious frameworks into a broader philosophical discipline with multiple lineages. A major milestone in this evolution was the compilation of Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras around the 4th–5th century C.E. Synthesizing earlier teachings, Patañjali drew on Hindu philosophical concepts as well as meditative and ascetic practices from Buddhist and Jain traditions. The Yoga Sūtras offered one of the first systematic frameworks for understanding yoga as a method of cultivating ethical conduct, mental discipline, and spiritual insight—distinct from, though historically connected to, formal religious practice.
Within this framework, Patañjali outlined the eight limbs of yoga: yama (ethical disciplines), niyama (personal observances), āsana (posture), prāṇāyāma (breath regulation), pratyāhāra (withdrawal of the senses), dhāraṇā(concentration), dhyāna (meditation), and samādhi (integrative contemplation). These limbs collectively describe a holistic path aimed at aligning one’s actions, thoughts, and inner life. Many scholars highlight that yoga’s central aim is the cultivation of clarity, balance, and self-awareness—reflecting the longstanding belief that mental discipline profoundly shapes human experience. In contrast, many contemporary Western interpretations of yoga emphasize primarily āsana, the physical postural component. This focus represents a broader trend in which one element of an integrated spiritual and philosophical system becomes isolated from its larger context. According to the International Journal of Spa and Wellness, “modifications made by instructors to the traditional practice in order to complement the cultural norms of the clients may pose challenges for clients in deriving the maximum benefits. Modifying the practice may also inhibit clients from completely exploring the correct techniques” (Dutt). This shift toward physically oriented classes often reflects market pressures within the fitness and wellness industries rather than intentional disregard. Nevertheless, it can limit practitioners’ exposure to yoga’s ethical, contemplative, and philosophical dimensions, contributing to an incomplete understanding of its depth and cultural origins.
The prioritization of physically oriented classes aligns with business models that favor accessible, high-throughput offerings requiring less time, training, and contextual education. Providing instruction on the ethical, contemplative, and textual foundations of yoga requires both specialized expertise and extended instruction time—factors that can increase operational costs and narrow the pool of potential participants. As a result, many studios focus on the components that are most easily marketable within fitness-oriented consumer cultures. This narrowing of practice has broader implications. When yoga is presented primarily as a workout, practitioners may not encounter its wider aims, which include mental regulation, self-study, ethical reflection, and spiritual inquiry. While some instructors incorporate brief meditative elements, these additions often remain detached from the larger philosophical framework that traditionally shapes the practice. Consequently, individuals may gain physical benefits yet remain unaware of yoga’s historical context or its potential as a comprehensive mind-body-spirit discipline. This pattern reflects structural influences within the commercial wellness industry rather than shortcomings of individual teachers or students, but it nonetheless contributes to an incomplete understanding of yoga’s depth and cultural origins.
Maintaining an understanding of yoga’s cultural and historical roots is essential when examining its contemporary global forms. In recent decades, numerous brands have incorporated yogic terminology, imagery, and symbolism into commercial products, often without fully engaging with the cultural or religious contexts from which these elements originate. Such practices can result in cultural appropriation, a phenomenon in which sacred or culturally specific concepts are repurposed for aesthetic or commercial appeal in ways that detach them from their original meaning and significance.
A noteworthy example occurred in 2020 when the activewear company Sweaty Betty responded to public criticism regarding several product names derived from Sanskrit terms. Items such as the “Simhasana Sweatshirt,” “Prana Yoga Bra,” and “Garudasana Yoga Pants” were renamed after customers and commentators pointed out that these terms—many connected to spiritual concepts, postures, or deities within South Asian traditions—were being used in ways misaligned with their cultural significance. This incident underscores how commercial use of culturally embedded vocabulary, when undertaken without appropriate research or consultation, can inadvertently diminish or misrepresent longstanding traditions.
Scholars of media and cultural studies have noted that such misuses occur within a broader historical context in which South Asian cultures have often been depicted through exoticized or simplified portrayals in Western media. These patterns, which extend from colonial-era representations to contemporary entertainment, can reinforce reductive stereotypes and overlook the diversity, agency, and intellectual histories of South Asian communities. Examples frequently discussed in academic literature include high-profile music videos and fashion campaigns that selectively adopt cultural elements—such as clothing, religious symbols, or festival imagery—primarily for visual impact, without acknowledging their deeper meanings or the communities to whom they belong.
These practices are not typically the result of individual malice but rather stem from systemic dynamics within global media industries, where aesthetic appeal and commercial viability often outweigh cultural accuracy or ethical considerations. When sacred or culturally specific aspects of yoga are commodified without context, the result can be a dilution of their significance and a missed opportunity to engage with yoga’s philosophical depth. More broadly, such patterns highlight the importance of cultural literacy, respectful representation, and collaborative engagement with the traditions that continue to shape yoga today.
A more informed engagement with yoga—one that acknowledges its historical, cultural, and philosophical foundations—offers a path toward restoring the depth and integrity of the tradition beyond its commercialized interpretations. Efforts often described as “decolonizing” yoga highlight the need to examine how modern media and consumer industries have reshaped public understanding, and to ensure that the practice’s deeper teachings remain accessible and accurately represented. Supporting culturally grounded instruction requires recognition from wellness companies, media producers, and educational institutions of the essential contributions of scholars, lineage-based practitioners, and South Asian communities. When these voices are meaningfully included, yoga can be taught and practiced in ways that honor its complexity while still evolving for contemporary audiences. Although reorienting existing systems presents challenges, the potential benefits are substantial: a richer individual practice, more respectful cross-cultural engagement, and a strengthened sense of collective connection. Returning to yoga’s philosophical and ethical foundations ultimately invites practitioners to experience it not only as physical exercise, but as a holistic framework for awareness, balance, and human well-being.