IT’S OUTRAGEOUS and ridiculous. How can anyone even think of patenting the 5000 -year old "Yoga", an integral part of the Indian tradition? Can the ancient wisdom be patented? Millions of Indians are asking these questions.

 

An application has been filed in the US for patenting "YOGA", a form of indigenous knowledge from India. And with the US Patent and Trademark Office issuing 150 yoga-related copyrights, 134 patents on yoga accessories, and 2,315 yoga trademarks, anyone teaching these patented asanas might have to pay a royalty to the American patent holder. This has outraged scores of people across the world and especially in India, as those who anticipate making profit by patenting yoga are exploiting information that is common knowledge in India.

 

Swami Ramdev, whom millions follow religiously and who has made yoga such a rage across the nation is livid. He has asked the Govt. of India to act swiftly and ensure that this Patent business is nullified. Swami Ramdev enjoys massive support as millions of people have got rid of stress, hypertension, blood pressure and other diseases by practising his brand of Yoga and breathing techniques free of cost by just watching his demonstration on various channels. Apparently those who have benefited from him have become his ardent supporters. 

 

The person in the eye of the storm, Bikram Chaudhury is a non resident Indian, who migrated to the US in 1973 at the invitation of President Richard Nixon. Based in California, he has built a business empire out of yoga .Yoga is a $10 billion industry in US and Chaudhary, with his more than 900 centres has garnered major part of the pie. Many celebrity icons including pop diva Madonna and Tennis star Serena Williams are among his clients. 

 

A few years back Open Source Yoga Unity, a San Francisco based Non-Profit group had filed a federal law suit attacking Chaudhury’s attempt to get his Yoga Posture patented. But, he was successful then and managed to obtain copyright to his style of yoga-for 26 poses and two breathing exercises. Chaudhury claimed that his form of yoga was unique as it entailed performing yoga in a steam room or ‘Bikram’s torture chamber’. As there was no significant protest over this verdict, emboldened, Chaudhury has set out for more and again the US Patent and Trademark Office has granted 150 yoga-related copyrights, 134 patents on yoga accessories, and 2,315 yoga trademarks to his credit. Under the new patent, those teaching yoga will have to pay a royalty to an American patent holder if he or she imparts the knowledge. Many believe that patenting such ancient knowledge like Yoga is absurd and uncalled for. The move is unjustified as Yoga belongs to the entire human race.

 

A combination of certain yoga postures, breathing exercises and chants reduce migraine attacks substantially. Yoga helps reduce the level of cortisol (stress Hormones), improves heart rate variability (HRV is associated with hypertension, hemorrhagic shock and septic shock).Yoga also improves levels of Serotonin, a brain chemical, which if low, causes headache.

 

Modern-day yoga is the product of Patanjali’s Yog Shastra that was written more than 5,000 years ago. The asanas (poses) in the form of twists and contortions practised have been described in Yog Shastra. The Yoga Scripture "Gherand Samhita" mentions that there are 84,00,000 asanas. The moot point is whether Chaudhury has created one in addition to all of these? Yoga emerges from the Yoga Sutra and over the years has been interpreted differently. Many famous Yoga masters have devised their own method of doing this. But these are all essentially based on "Sutras" only. So how can any one patent it? If this is allowed this time then Indian classical music, meditation, folk arts and paintings might be patented as well in the future.

 

The Indian Government had set up a task force to create a database of yoga techniques in order to stop others from patenting the centuries-old knowledge. The task force has begun cataloging yoga in the form of traditional knowledge, including Ayurvedic remedies and hundreds of yoga poses, to protect them from being pirated and copyrighted. An early action and response from this task force is much awaited by all concerned in preventing the patenting of yoga- India’s unique gift to the world.