Contribution short abstract:

Yoga, as a neoliberal formation, needs decolonization in areas like inclusivity, cultural appropriation, and power dynamics. Institutions such as BDYoga, Yoga Alliance, and AYUSH, as regulatory bodies, play a critical role in this process. This paper analyzes their perspectives on transforming yoga.

Contribution long abstract:

This paper examines the role of institutional bodies in shaping yoga as both a commodified global practice and a potential site for cultural and systemic transformation. Focusing on the approaches of BDYoga (Germany), Yoga Alliance (international), and the AYUSH Ministry (India), it explores how these organizations navigate the tension between cultural heritage, neoliberal commodification, and efforts to decolonize yoga, and addressing calls to dismantle inequitable structures.

Contemporary yoga is often framed within neoliberal paradigms of individualism, emphasizing self-optimization (Godrej, 2017, p. 779-801), consumerism, and exclusivity, while reducing yoga to a commodified tool for personal achievement (Jain, 2005, p. 160). The institutions of the case study negotiate this as well as the claims for decolonization, inclusivity and empowerment.

The findings suggest that decolonizing yoga involves not only addressing systemic inequities but also redefining institutional roles in preserving yoga’s accessibility as a shared cultural resource. As Shameen Black (2021: 19) argues, decolonization is the active practice of contesting hierarchical configurations of power, going beyond merely critiquing colonial power structures to explore the diverse ways yoga has interacted with hierarchies and liberation movements globally. This paper calls for a critical reevaluation of how institutional regulation can reconcile cultural preservation with inclusivity and equitable representation in a globalized yoga landscape. Ultimately, it advocates for reimagining institutional roles to support yoga as a means of collective transformation and social change.