Yoga Was Never Meant for Women. Really? 🤔

Rebuttal against the distortion of Hindu culture, the erasure of feminine wisdom, and the lazy narratives of modern misleading propaganda about Sanātana Dharma and Female Empowerment

Let’s first clarify one thing, What do you mean by “Yoga”?

Before we even get into the question of whether Indian women were ever “allowed” to do yoga, let me ask you something, what is yoga, according to you?

Because if your definition of yoga is limited to just āsana (stretchy pants, Instagram poses, and maybe a guided Shavāsana few days a week), then let me stop you right here.
In that case, your question makes no sense and my answer would be a vehement no. That kind of yoga which is performative, commodified, Westernised version is recent, commercial, and far removed from anything ancient.

But if your question is about the real yoga (the inner path of transformation defined in the Yoga Sūtra, Bhagavad Gītā, Upaniṣad, and the lived oral traditions of India i.e Bhārata), then the answer is a loud, sacred, unapologetic YES.

“Yogaḥ citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ” (Pātañjala Yoga Sūtra 1.2)
Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind-stuff.

“Saṅkalpa-prabhavān kāmān tyaktvā sarvān aśeṣataḥ | manasaivendriya-grāmaṁ viniyamya samantataḥ” (Bhagavad Gītā 6.24)
Renouncing all desires born of will, restraining the senses with the mind...

And if you're ready to understand why, then keep reading.

“Yoga was never meant for women?”

I’ve been asked this more times than I can count:
“Was yoga ever really meant for women?”

The frequency of the question tells me one thing, it’s not necessarily curiosity. It’s programming.

And every time someone drops this into a conversation, I take a long, deep breath, not to calm myself (I’m not the one hyperventilating), but to gather the ocean of context, clarity, and history necessary to respond. Because this isn’t just about yoga. It’s about Sanātana Dharma, India, and the decades-long effort to misrepresent both.

And before I dive in, I’ll ask you, what are you basing your opinion on?

Let me be blunt, this question doesn’t come from someone who has studied the Indian tradition thoroughly, it comes from someone who has consumed a watered-down, colonised version of it.

Because if you’d ever studied the texts, walked into our temples, sat in our homes, or observed our elders, you’d know:

Women were never excluded from yoga.

In fact, they lived it in ways today’s influencers can’t begin to grasp.

Let’s be honest, this narrative isn’t curious. It’s often times political

The idea that Hindu women were silenced, forbidden from spiritual study, or barred from yoga by Hindu men, is a western export. It’s part of a larger anti-Hindu, anti-India narrative that thrives in academia, media, and activism circles that rarely engage with authentic Indian Hindu sources.

This narrative isn’t new. But it's been repeated so many times that it now sounds like "fact." It fits a convenient template:

• “Hinduism is patriarchal.”

• “India oppressed its women.”

• “Yoga was a man’s domain.”

You’ll notice these same voices go silent when it comes to:

• Witch burnings in medieval Europe

• Institutional exclusion of women in Abrahamic faiths

• Forced veiling, honour killings, and gender apartheid

But Hinduism? It’s open season.

So let’s set the record straight, not with emotion, but with facts.

Because if your understanding of yoga comes from a yoga classes which you like have attended in the West, a Western ashram, or a postcolonial textbook, then perhaps, just perhaps, you haven’t really stepped foot into the civilisation that birthed this wisdom. A civilisation called Bhārata.

So NO, your average 21st-century Mumbai elite or New York or London yoga studio attendee does not get to speak on behalf of Hindu women from our villages, our temples, or our lineages. And definitely not for those of us who live and breathe this path, both by birth and by choice.

Let’s begin.

A simple answer

No, women were never excluded from yoga.
Yes, yoga was and always will be for all.

And Sanātana Dharma, the foundation from which yoga emerged, is not regressive. It is one of the only ancient cultures that actively empowered women in intellectual, philosophical, physical, and spiritual spaces.

Women were never excluded. They were the authors, teachers, and embodiments of Yoga

Women in the Vedas and Upaniṣads:-

Hinduism, or more accurately Sanātana Dharma, never excluded women from yoga or philosophical inquiry. The Rig Veda, one of the oldest known texts in the world (~1500 - 1200 BCE), includes hymns authored by Rishikās (female seers).

• Lopāmudrā - Wife of sage Agastya. She composed Rig Veda 1.179.1 - 6, where she expresses both desire and spiritual insight:

“Imā hy aghnyāḥ pra yayur mameyam / nārbhyaṁ nādhipaṁ vāvṛdhānāḥ”
“These noble ladies have approached me; I now hold dominion not as a child, nor as a subject…”

• Ghoṣā - Credited with Rig Veda 10.39 and 10.40. Her hymns discuss devotion to the Ashvins and express personal spiritual yearning.

• Gārgī Vāchaknavī - Featured in Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad (3.6 - 8), she challenges sage Yājñavalkya in open philosophical debate:

“Yājñavalkya, since everything in this world is woven back and forth on water, on what then is water woven?”

• Maitreyi - In Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 2.4.1 - 14, she engages Yājñavalkya in profound dialogue on immortality:

“Yena ahaṁ nāmṛtā syāṁ kim ahaṁ tena kuryām?”
“If I cannot become immortal through it, what use do I have for wealth?”

This is not symbolic representation. These women led spiritual thought, composed scripture, and stood equal to their male counterparts.

The four Yoga and how women have lived all of them

1. Bhakti Yoga - Yoga of Devotion

Meera Bai (1498 - 1547 CE), the Rajput princess turned mystic poet, sang:

“Payoji maine Rām-ratan dhan pāyo.”
“I have received the jewel of Rāma’s name.”

Her refusal to obey royal decorum and her ecstatic devotion to Krishna made her a threat to patriarchy and a perfect Bhakti Yogi.

Andal (8th century CE), the only female Āḻvār among the twelve Tamil saints, composed the Tiruppāvai, considered one of the finest Bhakti texts. She defied social norms by marrying her deity - Vishnu.

• Tiruppāvai, Verse 1: “Mārgazhi tingal…”

• Srimad Bhāgavatam 10.30 (on gopīs' devotional madness)

Today, Hindu women still lead Navarātri rituals, chant Lalitā Sahasranāma, and perform daily pūjā, not out of duty, but devotion.

2. Karma Yoga - Yoga of Right Action

The Bhagavad Gītā (3.19) says:

“Tasmād asaktaḥ satataṁ kāryaṁ karma samācara…”
“Therefore, perform your duty without attachment.”

Whether it was Rani Durgāvatī leading her army against the Mughals, or a householder preparing food as an offering, Hindu women exemplify Karma Yoga.

They cook without being thanked. They teach, serve, clean, raise generations not as subordinates, but as dharma-bearers.

3. Jñāna Yoga - Yoga of Knowledge

Jñāna Yoga demands scriptural study, discrimination (viveka), and inner inquiry (vichāra). The female sages of the Upaniṣads embody this.

Even today, grandmothers pass down Puranic stories, interpret dreams, study Nāḍi astrology, and chant Upaniṣadic mantras like:

“Ahaṁ Brahmāsmi” - I am Brahman. (Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.4.10)

4. Dhyāna Yoga - Yoga of Meditation

Women’s spiritual practice in India was rarely loud. It was silent, deep, steady. From antar-mouna (inner silence) to japa (mantra repetition), they anchored entire households through inner strength.

“Tadā draṣṭuḥ svarūpe’vasthānam” (Pātañjala Yoga Sūtra 1.3)
“Then the seer abides in their own true nature.”

A woman reciting 108 nāmas in her kitchen at dawn is more of a yoginī than many “certified” teachers today.

The forgotten sciences - Āyurveda, menstruation, and the sacred feminine

Āyurveda, the sister science of Yoga:- The original feminine wisdom of the body

Long before the West “discovered” gut health or womb cleansing, Āyurveda had already offered a complete, holistic roadmap for women’s health.

Two of its most powerful and still practiced rituals are:

1. Uttarā Basti

An internal administration of medicated oil through the vaginal canal to the uterus, especially prescribed for:

• Uterine disorders

• Hormonal imbalances

• Fertility issues

• Post-menstrual and post-partum cleansing

Reference: Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdayam, Uttara Tantra (Chapter 35)
“Yonigata vāta pittāsra... snehopagaḥ sneha yuktā uttara bastiḥ”
(Diseases of the reproductive tract caused by vāta and pitta can be managed by snehana therapies like Uttarā Basti.)

It’s not esoteric. It’s clinical Āyurvedic gynaecology. And yes, I’ve personally practised it. So did my mother, her mother, and her mother before her.

2. Yoni Dhāra / Yoni Steaming

This involves infusing herbs like neem, tulsi, rose, or shatavari in hot water, allowing the herbal steam to gently cleanse the vaginal canal.

In the West, it’s now repackaged as "v-steaming." But for us? It was a monthly ritual, done before or after menses, after childbirth, or during menopause transition.

Textual Basis: Bhāvaprakāśa Nighaṇṭu, Strī Roga Chikitsā

The colonial gaze labelled these practices as primitive. Now, they are being rebranded as “feminist body reclamation.”

See the irony?

Menstruation was not dirty. It was powerful.

Let’s address one of the biggest lies told about Hindu culture, that menstruating women were “considered impure” and “excluded from rituals.”

The real reason for rest and abstaining from temple rituals was energetic, not shame based.

According to Āyurveda and Haṭha Yoga:

• Apāna Vāyu, the downward-moving prāṇa, is dominant during menstruation.

• Intense āsana, breathwork, or puja can disturb this flow, causing vata imbalance or uterine disorders.

Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā 1.61:
“Strīṇāṁ rājasvalānāṁ ca na sādhanam ārabhet”
(Women during menstruation should not perform yogic practices.)

Rest was not repression. It was reverence.

Even today, in rural India, women rest during menses, are served food, and engage in rituals of womb honouring, away from judgment, in circles of care.

Colonisation along with Victorian morality and Mughal influence distorted this into a narrative of impurity.

Temple restrictions:- Energy fields. Not gender bias

Now let’s take the liberal favourite: “But women aren’t allowed in some temples.”

Sure. But men aren’t allowed in some temples either. Let’s unpack:-

1. Sabarimala Temple

• Lord Ayyappa is a naiṣṭhika brahmachārī (lifelong celibate).

• The temple enforces a vow-based energy field, discouraging entry of menstruating-age women (not because they’re “unclean,” but because their energy could clash with the deity’s field).

Śrī Ayyappa Mahātmyam explains this vow as a part of his penance after defeating Mahīshi.

2. Kamakhya Temple, Assam

• Closed during Ambubachi Mela, when the goddess is believed to menstruate.

• Men are prohibited during this time.

3. Attukal Bhagavathy Temple, Kerala

• Home to the largest gathering of women in the world. Men are not permitted to participate in the Pongala offering.

4. Chengannur Mahādeva Temple

• Celebrates the menstruation of goddess Bhadrakālī with rituals.

• Men are restricted from parts of the temple during this time.

These are Tantric temples where deity energy is carefully maintained. Entry restrictions are about vibrational compatibility, not patriarchy.

Tantra Sara, Chapter 2:
“Yathā devatā-tattvaṁ, tathā sthala-saṁskāraḥ kriyate...”
(As per the essence of the deity, so is the sanctification of the temple site.)

The fierce feminine in Tantra:- The Daśa Mahāvidyās

In Tantra, the feminine isn’t ornamental. She’s ferocious, liberating, and non-negotiable. The Daśa Mahāvidyās are ten wisdom goddesses, each embodying a powerful aspect of the sacred feminine. Kālī represents time and ego death. Tārā is the compassionate protector. Tripurasundarī is divine beauty and inner union. Bhuvaneśvarī is the cosmic womb. Chhinnamastā beheads the ego. Bhairavī burns with inner fire. Dhūmāvatī is the crone of disillusionment. Bagalāmukhī freezes chaos. Mātangī is radical voice and wisdom. Kamalā is abundance without dependency.

These aren’t goddesses who wait for approval. They break norms, dwell in cremation grounds, and demand deep surrender, not superficial worship. Honoured especially during Gupta Navarātri (June - July), these forms remind us that the Divine Feminine isn’t always gentle, but always essential.

Why Navarātri happens twice a year

Most people know the autumn Navarātri, but few realise there’s a second one in spring. Vasant Navarātri (March - April) aligns with natural renewal and Rāma Navamī. Śarad Navarātri (Sept - Oct) celebrates goddess Durgā’s victory over Mahīṣāsura. Each phase of nine nights honours Durgā (destruction of ego), Lakṣmī (awakening of prosperity), and Saraswatī (illumination of wisdom). The tenth, Vijaya Daśamī, marks the triumph of dharma.

As the Devī Māhātmya says, “To the goddess who dwells in all beings as strength, I bow again and again.”
This isn’t folklore. It’s civilisational memory, a twice-yearly energetic reset where we pause and remember: we don’t just worship the feminine. We are of Her.

Hindu women weren’t “given” space.
They took it with fire in their eyes and dharma in their heart.

Let’s talk about Real Oppression

It’s ironic. While Hindu women practised yoni steaming and were seen as embodiments of Śakti,
- European women were being burned alive as witches.
- Women in Abrahamic cultures were being veiled, silenced, and excluded from sacred spaces.

The practice of purdah (face covering) wasn’t indigenous to Hindu culture. It entered certain regions after Turkic and Mughal invasions over 700years ago, especially where communities needed to protect women from outside harm.

Sati too, wasn’t a core Hindu practice. It gained prominence during periods of war, when widowed women were not safe from assault and slavery by invaders. It was a tragic societal response to a brutal time, not a cultural ritual of Hinduism.

Colonisation, education, and the Hindu Woman’s Comeback

The past 800 years marked by Mughal invasions and West colonisation eroded much of India’s native wisdom systems. Indian women suffered systemic suppression, not because of Hinduism, but because of what was done to it and the impact it left in Hindu families.

And post - 1947, we inherited a government that preferred continuing the coloniser’s narrative rather than reclaiming our own. This new formed post independence government continued in new political forms. Our stories, our matrilineal practices, our ancestral sciences got severely sidelined.

And yet, Hindu women are rising.

I come from a family where the women are more qualified than the men. And none of that would’ve been possible without fathers, husbands, and sons who supported us. That’s the real Hindu household, not the one in biased textbooks.

Sanātana Dharma empowered us. It still does.
It’s time to reclaim it without shame, without apology, and without needing Western validation.

Indian Hindu Women are not here to beg for space - We built it

To the anti-Hindu voices painting us as backward or disempowered (like we are requiring to be saved):-
We see your selective outrage.
We see your silence when Hindu women rise, question, debate, and reclaim.

And we’re not asking for your approval.
We’re here to correct, reclaim, and rebuild.

In conclusion,

Women were never excluded from yoga.
We were the teachers, the warriors, the sages, the healers.
From the womb to the battlefield, from the Upaniṣads to Ayurveda, Sanātana Dharma has always honoured the feminine, even when history tried to erase it.

So the next time someone says, “Was yoga really for women?”
I don’t want to argue. But with a warm smile I say to you:
“We were always here. You just weren’t taught truth about us.”

Namaste!

Madhura x