On January 27, 2019, an American science magazine, Scientific American, received flack on social media from Indians all over the world because it renamed breathing techniques known as “pranayama” in India as cardiac coherence breathing instead.
The article titled Proper Breathing Brings Better Health went viral on Twitter for all the wrong reasons. As soon as it was posted, Indians began tweeting at the source saying that the breathing exercises prescribed in the article were really just an ancient yoga technique called pranayama.
What is pranayama?
The centuries-old Sanskrit word, pranayama, means breath control and is a household breathing technique in India for all sorts of ailments from stress to heart conditions.
The article acknowledges this history and states, Recommendations for how to modulate breathing and influence health and mind appeared centuries ago as well. Pranayama (breath retention) yoga was the first doctrine to build a theory around respiratory control, holding that controlled breathing was a way to increase longevity. However, the issue arose because it seemed to argue that it is only when the technique is validated by Western medicine and given Western names that its legitimacy is granted.
Heres how you do it: first, close your left nostril with your thumb and inhale from the other for five seconds. Then, close the right nostril and slowly exhale from the left one. This technique is one of the simplest and most popular methods known to Indians who want to stabilise their breathing, manage anxiety, and meditate.
Why did it anger people?
The article hurt Indian sentiments when it followed that excerpt with an explanation on breathing techniques in more modern times, as if these techniques were now redundant. The statement reeked of ignorance because yoga is a form of fitness in India even today. People, including politician Shashi Tharoor, criticised this blatant attempt to make pranayama more palatable for Western audiences.
Moreover, people felt that the article did not give due credit to a relaxation technique that was born in India and is known to effectively calm panic attacks and stabilise heart rates. Renuka Govind, a Twitter user, replied to Scientific American‘s tweet promoting the article and said, “Another case of Turmeric Latte. Pranayama of Yoga called as ‘Cardiac Coherence Breathing’. Next thing we know, it will be patented and sold back to us terming it as superior way of living. Just saying it existed in ancient cultures is not enough.”
Essentially, Indians were outraged that the article labelled pranayam “ancient” while simply repackaging its basic methods and principles for a western audience. Some even called it an instance of cultural appropriation and plagiarism.
Aparna Ramen, a graduate student pursuing a masters in public health in epidemiology, commented, Ive been doing pranayama for my health since I was 12. I really need the West to stop pretending it invented these things and packaging & selling it back to us in patronizing & racist ways that strip it of cultural identifiers. Its imperialism under a different name.
This article is another move in a long line of instances of caucasian people appropriating Indian culture. Cultural appropriation is when elements of a culture, such as Native American headdresses, are exploited as a part of a trend or as a fashion statement without any real understanding of the significance of those elements within the culture they are borrowed from. At times, some cultural practices are unacceptable when followed by a minority culture, but when they are appropriated by a the ideologically dominant group, they problematically gain social validation. For example, while black women are criticised for wearing their hair in dreadlocks, white models like Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner can wear their hair similarly and not only avoid criticism, but also be celebrated for their fashion choices.
Cultural appropriation has become a contentious topic as more and more cultures and societies interact with each other. We’re also more aware of instances of cultural appropriation now, whether it’s women wearing bindis to music festivals like Coachella where attendees don a more “exotic” look, or brands like Gucci making white models wear turbans as a fashion statement.
As the line between appreciation and appropriation of cultures is blurred and people seem to disagree on what constitutes an offensive representation of a culture, it has become extremely easy for people to voice their opinions on social media for either side of the debate.
Rhea Arora is a staff writer at Qrius