American yoga teacher sues Indian subcontinent for copyright infringement

A San Francisco yoga teacher, Shyla Wonderstone, is spearheading a class-action suit against India for illegal copy of her yoga practice.

“My client has been using Downward Facing Dog in her studio for decades,” Shyla’s lawyer Brian Fava said. “Doesn’t it seem odd that her signature move would ‘magically’ pop up in another part of the world?”

During a humanitarian mission in India, Shyla noticed there were people everywhere practicing something called “yog”, and all using moves from her studio. “I was appalled,” Shyla recounted. “I grew up in a family surrounded by yoga culture. Yogi bear, yogi berra, I ate yogurt every morning growing up. I even played as Dhalsim on Street Fighter.”

“Plain and simple, this is cultural appropriation,” Brian said, ”a classic case of East stealing from the West.”

“It’s outrageous,” Shyla’s co-teacher exclaimed, “I’ve been teaching for almost half a decade and the blatant theft of Shyla’s Downward Dog and my Chair pose is disheartening. These moves have been in our hearts for generations.”

We reached out to India for a response to these allegations but were transferred to a call center.

Originally published at medium.com on May 6, 2018.

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