THIS COST includes cost of group classes, private sessions; groove pant, tank tops, no-slip yoga socks, breathable long-sleeve T-shirt, sports bras; custom-designed paisley yoga mat, eco-friendly yoga mat bag, absorbent yoga towel, water bottle with a built-in carbon filter, meditation cushion stuffed with buckwheat hulls or natural kapok; meditation course; straps for extra support and proper alignment, yoga bolster, bamboo yoga blocks, Mexican-style yoga blankets; workshops for yogic breathing techniques, hand gestures to strengthen the heart, toning and strengthening digestion, yoga for upper extremities; yoga enrichment with DVDs, apps, magazines and books; organic teas; scented eye pillow filled with natural flaxseed; conference and retreats; kirtans and concert; Thai massage; and cream made from Arnica montana mountain plant; etc.

Hindu leaders are critical of this unnecessary upscaling of yoga which, they say, does not need any trendy gear, high-end equipment or exotic yoga retreats.

According to IBIS World Market Research, yoga-generated revenues are estimated to hit $3.3 billion this year. About 16 million Americans, including many celebrities, are said to practice yoga.

Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, argued that in view of explosive growth and popularity of yoga, mercantile greed had prompted many of those involved in yoga trade to reformulate it to satisfy the popular trends of their clientele. Thus, yoga had now come to be just seen as ‘modern postural yoga’, while actually it was a mental and physical discipline through which the human soul (jivatman) united with universal soul (parmatman).

Zed pointed out that Patanjali, who codified yoga (whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE) in Yoga-sutra, described it as a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical. Some sages had described yoga as the silencing of all mental transformations, which lead to the total realization of the Supreme Self. Some had used yoga attempting to gain liberation by removing all sensory barriers.