Russian city bans yoga fearing ‘occultism’

London: Close on the heels of India leading worldwide International Yoga Day celebrations, yoga classes have been banned in a central Russian city by the authorities to check spread of ‘religious occultism’.

At the centre of the crackdown are two studios holding classes for Hatha Yoga — a set of asanas or postures involving deep breathing and tough physical exercises, which as per Hindu mythology, was first practiced by Lord Shiva.

Incidentally, Hatha Yoga is the most popular form of yoga globally, including in the US, and a Russian Bollywood actress named Indra Devi (born Eugenia Vassilievna) is widely credited to have popularised it in the West more than 100 years ago.

In the first major crackdown abroad, the authorities in the central Russian city of Nizhnevartovsk have now asked the two Hatha Yoga studies — Auro and Ingara — to stop holding yoga classes in the municipal facilities of the city, as per the Russian media reports. They were reportedly renting out stadia and public meeting halls for their classes.

Kommersant, a business daily, reported that the Nizhnevartovsk officials have barred use of municipal buildings for yoga classes and have issued orders to the two studios on this.

The Moscow Times reported that the order has been issued “to prevent the spread of new religious cults and movements.” The authorities have also issued a letter to the heads of departments for physical culture and education, stating that Hatha yoga was “inextricably linked to religious practices” and has “an occult character,” as per the Kommersant report. Yoga is said to be very popular in Russia.

Russia-born Devi had learnt Hatha Yoga from an Indian Guru and was later described as the “first lady of yoga”. She went on to teach the same to many in Europe and the US, before she died in 2002.