Ramdev's Patanjali, AOL, RSS to help Indian missions mark Yoga Day in US

The move is aimed at countering the influence of western 'Yoga'

At a time when Yoga practitioners in India are exercised at the “cultural appropriation” of Yoga by the West, the Narendra Modi government has launched extensive preparations to mark the third International Day of Yoga (IDY) at a much grander scale than its previous two editions, particularly in major North American, European and Chinese cities.

The objective isn’t just to spread awareness about India’s civilizational ethos and strengthen the country’s soft diplomacy. A key element of this year’s celebrations is to put a check to the cultural appropriation of the ancient Indian practice by what is termed ‘western Yoga’.

The ‘western Yoga’,