Yoga is an authentic Indian cultural construct. Discuss in relation to Joseph Alters' ethnography of modern Yoga in India. The Indian construct of yoga has long been a hallmark of Indian culture. This icon of Indian culture has always been considered uniquely Indian and has in the past been considered a timeless tradition and immutable in form. However, in Yoga in Modern India, Joseph Alter challenges this view. Alter offers in-depth insight into ancient and modern yoga texts and challenges the vision of an unchanging yoga through its emergence into popular culture and its changing form and meaning. In this, yoga ceases to be only an Eastern construct due to its changing form and Western influence with an emphasis on the value of health, science and medicine. Yoga has moved beyond its roots of transcendence and magical powers, and now has a basis in studies of biology, physiology, and medicine (Alter 2004). In this, yoga is now far beyond the stereotypical analysis that yoga in India has retained its spirituality, while yoga in the West is based entirely on materialism. To address this black-and-white thinking, Yoga in Modern India focuses attention on “how Yoga has made sense over the past century” (Alter 2004: xiv). In this, Alter does not argue that yoga is an authentic Indian cultural construct. Instead, Alter offers in-depth insight into the creation of yoga knowledge in 20th-century texts and late-20th-century practice in India (Alter 2004). Yoga can therefore be understood as a transnational construct that emerged from multiple influences, such as colonialism and Hindu nationalism. Beyond that, the multiple influences on yoga practice also intersect, such as... middle of paper... ....r, despite Hindu groups' attempt at nationalism, yoga defies the definition of Hindu-only through his philosophy of practice (Alter 2004: 142-177). In this, yoga does not belong to any nationality. In conclusion, Yoga in Modern India serves to demonstrate that the practice of yoga is more than simply Eastern or Western, but is instead truly transnational. Alter exemplifies the fact that yoga is an ever-evolving practice and is both historically and politically constructed. Ultimately, yoga is more than an authentically Indian cultural construct. The history of yoga, its understanding of the body, its use in science, medicine and politics transcends borders and instead encompasses the knowledge, practice and belief of its many global followers and collaborators. Works Cited Alter, Joseph. 2004. Yoga in Modern India. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.