ABSTRACT
Globalization is often thought to impose cultural preferences and practices in one direction only: from the wealthy, powerful nations of the West-in particular the United States-to the developing nations of the Global South. Thus, for example, people in the Englishspeaking Caribbean worry about basketball replacing cricket (which is, ironically, a product of colonial influence), and Islamist leaders worry about the influence of Hollywood sexual mores on their populations. However, there are numerous examples that show cultural influences circulating in multiple directions. This chapter will explore yoga as a powerful cultural practice that has made the journey from India to most parts of the globe, in particular to North America. Focusing on “power yoga” and its antecedent, Ashtanga yoga, this case study will trace the transformation of yoga from a spiritual practice in ancient India to a fitness practice in modern North America.
