At the University of Ottawa, a free yoga class session was cancelled due to concerns over "cultural issues." There were apparently fears that the yoga class might be interpreted as insult to the Indian culture, where the practice originally began. This move has sparked a lively debate on social media platforms.

Like Us on Facebook

Yoga instructor Jen Scharf was reportedly shocked after she was told that her yoga class will be on hiatus. She admitted that the decision went beyond the line as adoption of the practice corresponds to "cultural appropriation" in the West.

The 31-year-old teacher, who started the class in 2008, said "What started out as a good thing has unfortunately become polluted by someone else's agenda... I think that this has been a long time coming, that effectively political correctness is the new face of bullying. There are unhappy people everywhere, and they see happy people - misery loves company, right?"

The class was paid for the Ottawa University's Student Federation. In an email, a student representative explained that "Yoga has been under a lot of controversy lately... Many of these cultures are cultures that have experienced oppression, cultural genocide and diasporas due to colonialism and western supremacy, and we need to be mindful of this and how we express ourselves and while practicing yoga."

Romeo Ahimakin, the acting Student Federation president, responded in an email that the council suspended the class to find a way to ensure that "students are aware of where the spiritual and culural aspects come from, so that these sessions are done in a respectful manner."

Several Hindu groups say that the profane adoptation of yoga has brought people billion of dollars worldwide, but it remains an essential part of the religion.

The matter has been furiosly debated on the Internet.

Toronto lawyer and Yoga instructor Latha Sukumar said "I don't believe yoga is a cultural practice. I believe it's a universal one.. To call it cultural appropriation is to sort of subvert the term for some political purpose."

Following the online chatter, Scharf said people should not jump into conclusions defending that "these are kids, and they don't maybe know any better. We need to have compassion for them."

On the other hand, other things were also forbidden by the council, including wearing Mexican sombreros and fake moustaches as this can be a form of racism and also using Native American feather headdresses from the Glastonbury music festival.

TagsYoga, mexican sobreros, North American feather headdress, culutural appropriation, cultural issues, political issues, western supremacy, University of Ottawa Student Federation, University of Ottawa Yoga