Student Group Drops Yoga Classes, Citing 'Cultural Appropriation'

Free yoga classes offered to disabled and other students at the University of Ottawa have been canceled by a student group, citing "cultural appropriation," the Ottowa Sun reports. 

The Centre for Students with Disabilities emailed the teacher, Jennifer Scharf, in September to inform her the class was canceled. When she asked why, she was told, that the center agreed that "yoga is a really great idea, accessible and great for students," it was concerned "there are cultural issues of implication involved in the practice."

Yoga has been under "controversy" lately because it takes "sacred spiritual practices" from "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."

Scharf replied to the group that she was not only happy to provide the classes for free, but also take out any reference to the word "yoga," since she was simply teaching stretching exercises anyway.

In the end, even that was a no-go.

Scharf told the Sun the whole issue was raised by a "social justice warrior" with "fainting heart ideologies."

"People are just looking for a reason to be offended by anything they can find," Scharf said.

Acting student federation president Romeo Ahimakin told the Sun the decision did not come because of a complaint.

Though some Hindus have expressed concern their spiritual practice has been hijacked, not everyone feels that way.

"If you look at what the Western world has adapted it is just phenomenal," Dilip Waghray told CBC News. "Imagine how much good they're doing for themselves. They'll live a long and very happy life."

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