At the beginning of November, Missouri began a sales tax on yoga studios. The only state in the nation to do so, the move is controversial because many folks in the Show Me State’s yoga community believe yoga is not just exercise but, rather, a spiritual practice.
At the time this happened, St. Louis Post-Dispatch religion reporter Tim Townsend covered the controversy. And I don’t know who was responsible, but I still love one of the headlines that was used:
Yoga studios prepare for a downward dogfight with the state over sales taxes
Well, the Los Angeles Times picked up the story in this week’s “Missouri’s yoga enthusiasts go to the mat over sales tax.”
Written by the awesomely bylined P.J. Huffstutter, begins by looking at a particular studio in Missouri:
The tax, which took effect last month, has roiled the normally serene yoga world, whose supporters maintain that their pastime should be exempt from sales tax as a spiritual pursuit.
“Is this only stretching? No,” said Karen Jones, who opened the Marbles studio in 2003. “I think this is just another way for the state to get money.”
Many yoga practitioners say they are confused about how their ancient practice, which merges physical and mental disciplines with meditation, could possibly be equated with aerobic pole dancing or Tae Bo workouts.
But the state — one of the few in the country to tax yoga instruction — argues that it is not infringing on religious practices and only levying a legitimate tax on businesses.
The story goes on for some 1000 words. But there’s one word that isn’t mentioned once: Hindu. Imagine that.
Variations on “spirituality” are frequently used, however. Now maybe it’s because I follow the Hindu American Foundation, which sends out regular missives on the need for people to understand the connection between yoga and Hinduism — but how can you talk about this fierce religious battle without mentioning from which religion we get yoga?
Yoga is based on ancient Hindu texts and has a goal of spiritual enlightenment. There are fierce debates about whether yoga is a way to spread Hinduism or whether it can be enjoyed apart from its religious basis. And we’ve covered these battles before.
But I don’t see how you can have an article about whether yoga is a form of religious expression or not without mentioning anything about that religious expression. Speak with some Hindus who encourage yoga as a religious practice. Speak with some people who see it as a secular art. But it’s really not fair to give short shrift to the religious dimension in a story debating whether the practice is religious or not.
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Comments (14) |
December 20, 2009, at 4:42 pm
I disagree. It is only necessary to interview the people affected by the tax. If they bring up Hinduism, report it. If they don’t, the reporter is not obliged to go digging it out. I would give you the same answer if a tax were proposed on Sufi instruction and no-one mentioned Islam.
I once undertook yoga at home, out of a book. There was as much mention in the text of “Lord Jesus” as of “Lord Krishna.” It was clearly intended as a spiritual as well as a physical program, but not a Hindu program.
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December 20, 2009, at 4:49 pm
Hmmmm. Back when I was rowing in the 70’s our coach had us all doing the move illustrated above. He called it “the butt stretcher” and no one seemed to think it was especially pious.
There were a variety of believers on the crew, so I guess it could be taken as an ecumenical posture.
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December 20, 2009, at 5:05 pm
This area is tricky since yoga is taught in a secular fashion as stretching exercises and it’s also taught in a religious context. Therefore, of course, when yoga is mentioned the religious aspect should be tied to Hinduism as you said.
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December 20, 2009, at 5:58 pm
I think some yogaistas are trying to play it from both angles. If you want to round up a paying base to hold classes at reduced rent in a church basement, or YMCA, it’s a stretching exercise. If you’re looking for tax exempt status, it’s a religion. I actually think that HINDU should have been a prominent word in this article, and that how exemptions for religious organizations are arrived at in Missouri. Otherwise, readers don’t really know how to make sense of the situation.
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December 20, 2009, at 6:10 pm
Building on Jerry’s comment in (2), I have an English translation of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras that makes a compelling case for the proposition that yoga is not Hinduistic in its essence, but in its accidents. That is, solely by virtue of the fact that it developed in the context of a culture pervaded by Hinduism and uses Hinduistic language to express itself.
On the other hand, yoga is not a unity so there are probably many yogas (plural) whose practitioners see things in precisely the opposite way, which seems to merit mentioning the word Hinduism.
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December 20, 2009, at 9:59 pm
An important element is missing from this conversation - the imprecise manner in which yoga is being defined.
What is being discussed here is actually hatha yoga, one of at least five forms of yoga. Hatha yoga, in its pure form, is a meditative physical exercise, like Tai Chi, to cite another Asian discipline.
But there is also karma yoga, which means doing good works (Buddhists call it right livelihood); bhakti yoga, which is devotional worship generally associated with guru discipleship; jnana yoga, which refers to the intellectual pursuit of spiritual knowledge; and raja yoga, said to be the “king” of yogas because it encompasses all the other forms.
Hinduism teaches that there are different forms of yoga to suit different personalities.
Yoga is simply a Sanskrit word that means discipline, when loosely translated. Hatha yoga, as practiced in synagogue/church basements and fitness clubs, may be likened to Reggae music played in bars by stoned and dreadlocked white kids.
Should it be taxed? Should Scientology be taxed? What about after school day care centers run by churches and other religious institutions?
Depends on the setting and intent, to my mind, which is probably beyond the ability of government to discern. Not that this will stop them from trying to score a few additional tax dollars.
Hatha yoga is low hanging fruit for bureaucrats desperate for more funds because it lacks a powerful lobby and is somehow foreign despite its relatively wide popularity by Americans ignorant of its roots but very good at picking and choosing sweets from the global smorgasbord.
Perhaps this is yet another example of failing to see (in this case, on the part of hatha yoga teachers) the consequences of actually getting what you wish for.
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December 21, 2009, at 10:13 am
As others have noted, yoga can can be practiced as merely physical exercises or as a spiritual practice. If the yoga centers are teaching it in it’s traditional form as a spiritual excercise, I can’t see why it shouldn’t receive a religious exemption.
One similar, although not exactly the same, example I can think of is natural family planning. It can be used by anyone to either help increase the chances of having children or to help space them apart, but it’s often taught with a spiritual component. How are organizations that teach NFP taxed in Missouri and other states?
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December 21, 2009, at 10:52 am
I find it amazing at how deceived so many of you are. Each posture in Yoga has a specific religious intent.
This is also true of Tai Chi. Tai Chi is focused on energy flow (Chi) through your body.
Yoga = “to yoke” Look it up in the dictionary. Yoking to what? To false gods = demons. Yoga is a fundamental part of Hindu worship.
You can’t have it both ways. Either it is a religious practice, like it has always been considered up until the past 30 years, or it is not. If you want your tax exemption on religious grounds, then you need to state that you are a religion and stop deceiving people into believing they are “just stretching”. If you are not a religion, then you should be taxed like any other health club business.
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December 21, 2009, at 2:51 pm
Sorry, Scary, but it just ain’t so; meaning isn’t so cut-and-dried, nor so imposed from outside.
This is a curious case, and I’m not sure that bringing Hinduism into the mix makes it any more informative. It’s clear that the regulators were aware of hatha yoga as an aspect of Hindu practice, but it also seems clear that the religion doesn’t figure in this except as a place to borrow practice from. There is a specific mention of temples, presumably Hindu.
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December 21, 2009, at 6:49 pm
In my experience, an organization or entity has to apply for tax-exempt status. Is the state of Missouri wanting to revoke that status at various places? Or are other-wise taxed gyms thinking that if they teach yoga they don’t have to pay taxes on that particular course? Tax law doesn’t normally work that way.
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December 22, 2009, at 11:42 am
The only thing I could quite add to this discussion is that my wife and I are currently taking a child-birth class that meets in a yoga studio (yoga is not part of the class, though the teacher practices yoga, so it’s probably similar to someone teaching a class in her church’s fellowship hall).
Something I noticed last week during the class, as I was looking around, was that there was a definite religious “vibe” there. A statue of Buddha (I suppose Buddhism also works with yoga, being an outgrowth of Hinduism) sat near what appeared to be an altar, complete with a number of candles. Of course, the name of the studio (Sacred Garden) also gave a particularly religious connection.
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December 23, 2009, at 6:10 pm
Hatha yoga is only one of many yogas - all of which come from Hinduism. Yoga is part of Hindu spiritual practice and cannot be disengaged from it. It was never designed as exercise. In fact, trying to pass off yoga as exercise is making even some yoga teachers in the U.S. rethink this, as they believe the spiritual side of yoga is being lost. Yoga Journal over the past few years had had more spiritually based articles and the spirituality of yoga is coming out of the closet.
Likewise, here in VA, the state may attempt to license yoga training schools, and the yoga teachers are stressed out about it! (Quote me if you use that phrase). Their reason - yoga is “spiritual” not just physical. When push comes to shove, all of a sudden yoga teachers admit it’s spiritual.
Yoga was once an esoteric practice that was somewhat hidden. It only became more available when Westerners went to India in the 60s and some gurus saw a market for it. Then they brought it over to the U.S. as a vehicle for Hinduism. Yoga Journal acknowledged this in an article in 2000.
I have 2 articles on yoga so far on my website.
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December 23, 2009, at 6:25 pm
The hand position in this photo is a mudra. Mudras replicate the hand positions of various deities depicted in Hindu literature and statues. A mudra also is believed to affect the flow of prana, the “divine breath” or “divine energy” manipulated through pranayama, the breathing “excercises.” A mudra historically speaking also allegedly invokes the deity.
The mudra above looks like the jnana mudra, which allegedly represents knowledge, i.e., knowledge of the “true Self” or “to know Brahman as one’s Self.”
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January 6, 2010, at 11:21 am
If you have the root of Hinduism, then the stem is Hinduism, and the flower is Hinduism.
— Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, Hinduism Today
Yoga is from the teachings of Sanatana Dharma, popularly known as Hinduism in the West. I do not know about tax part but there are institutes back in India where they charge to teach Yoga.
What is troubling is the arrogance and ignorance in the West. Other beliefs like Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism accept Yoga as it is and practice without any complaints. But when it comes to some Christian groups, Yoga is good but they don’t want to recognize the fact that it is from Hinduism. As if that is not enough, they want to confuse people by introducing Yoga to their groups with different names. Here comes some Muslim groups who cannot resist to make their version of Yoga.
A person who is trying to conclude whether Yoga is Spiritual or Religious is one of those blind men who is trying to understand elephant.
Read the story at the following location and see where you will fit.
http://www.noogenesis.com/pineapple/blind_men_elephant.html
You can read more about this topic on my blog.
http://vasugokaraju.blogspot.com/2009/12/do-yoga-without-losing-your-dignity.html
Thank you,
Vasu
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