Jesse Winter, Centretown News
Jen Leech says her studio tries to be respectful of yoga’s traditional roots.The recent uproar over a cancelled University of Ottawa yoga class due to alleged “cultural appropriation” has only fuelled interest in the India-rooted meditative exercise practice, says the manager of Centretown’s Rama Lotus Yoga Centre.
“The whole purpose of the physical aspects of yoga are to sit comfortably in mediation, which leads to being present and compassionate – two aspects taught by the spiritual part of the practice,” Jen Leech says. “There is no separation because when you start one or the other, you will eventually end up with both. The physical practice helps us to get to a place where we are comfortable with ourselves.”
The Students Federation of the University of Ottawa came under fire recently after it cancelled yoga classes run through the Centre for Students with Disabilities, citing “cultural appropriation” — the idea that the meditative practice has been unfairly uprooted from its Indian origins.
Jen Scharf has been teaching the U of O yoga class for the last seven years.
The Ottawa Citizen reported that when she checked in with the centre in September, they told her it had been cancelled because some students and volunteers were uncomfortable with the “cultural issues” involved. The idea that the yoga class was a form of cultural appropriation has grabbed headlines around the world.
Since then, Scharf says, she is taking the ordeal in stride. She says it’s ironic that her class was accused of cultural appropriation when she is a conscientious student of yoga, learning as much as she can about the practice.
“People are excited about the issue. I think people are just coming to their own conclusions and sort of learning about their intellectual betterment,” she says. “The thing with (cultural appropriation) is that it is contextual and it only makes sense to certain people in certain ways. It’s hard to speak on an issue when a definition does not have a consensus.”
The class focused on the physical benefits of yoga, but some have argued it could be considered cultural appropriation because it is an ancient spiritual practice from India. Cultural appropriation is when a group takes a cultural element from another group without fully acknowledging the origins or meaning behind it.
Emails to Romeo Ahimakin, acting president of the U of O students’ federation, went unreturned. However, the federation released a statement on its website about the controversy.
“First, the attendance of the yoga classes was declining, this program has been running for the past 8 years without any re-evaluation and we wanted to ensure that students’ money and resources were being used in a responsible and efficient way to better promote the centre,” said the statement. “Second, there were some real concerns about how yoga was not meeting the mandate of the centre, and serving the needs of students with disabilities namely, students with physical disabilities and mobility issues.”
“As the primary goal in the mandate of the CSD is to ensure that activities put on for the service users are accessible, it is our responsibility to address the issues and act upon them,” it read.
Vesa Basha, a fourth-year biomedical science student at U of O, says the issues surrounding the cancelled class is mainly seen as a joke on campus.
“I’m really surprised, and everyone I’ve talked to is really surprised,” she says, noting that she does practice yoga and meditation.
“Yoga is not new…and I don’t think (cultural appropriation in this case) is an issue. In a multi-cultural society like Canada, I have friends from all different cultures – I’m Albanian – and we all brought something new to the experience.”
She adds: “It seems that everyone is now watching what they are wearing or saying because it might offend someone, but Canada is strong because it is multicultural. If we say, ‘You stick to your ancestors, and I’ll stick to mine,’ it really limits us.”
Yoga is an effective stress management tool, Leech adds. She also says that in her practice, she makes sure to teach about the tradition of yoga, mitigating concerns about cultural appropriation.
“I make sure that my students have a deep appreciation for where yoga comes from, that they understand the tradition, and that my practice is as much on line with that as possible,” she says. “It’s a great stress management tool we have to use to manage physical and mental health.”