Try GOLD - Free
YOGA, AYURVEDA—INDIA CAN LEAD THE WISDOM ECONOMY
Mint Mumbai
|October 13, 2025
I was watching a video of a meditation studio in Manhattan when it struck me yet again. Twenty people, mostly American professionals, sitting cross-legged on expensive mats, were following breathing techniques that our grandparents and ancestors practised every morning.
The instructor in the video was a 20-something American man from California, explaining pranayama with the earnestness of someone who had discovered fire. The irony wasn't lost on me. Here was this ancient Indian wisdom, repackaged and sold back to the world at premium prices, while India watched from the sidelines.
This actually captures a larger paradox. Walk through any global city today and you'll find yoga studios at every corner, turmeric lattes in trendy cafes, and meditation apps generating revenue from techniques codified in Sanskrit from thousands of years ago. Yet, somehow, India neither owns this narrative nor captures proportional value from it.
We've become an unnamed source of a global cultural revolution we don't even lead.
What Korea and China got right
This story is from the October 13, 2025 edition of Mint Mumbai.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Mint Mumbai
Mint Mumbai
'FPIs, capex and earnings will drive markets up in Samvat 2082'
India is a market where exit is easy but entry is tough, says Nilesh Shah, MD of Kotak Mahindra AMC, the fifth-largest mutual fund based on quarterly assets under management (AUM) as of September-end.
4 mins
October 13, 2025
Mint Mumbai
Dissent aside, Tata Trusts keen to keep Tata Sons private
Tata Trusts remains committed to its decision to keep Tata Sons private, two Tata executives told Mint, hours after the Shapoorji Pallonji Group issued a public statement seeking a public share sale of the Tata Group holding company.
2 mins
October 13, 2025
Mint Mumbai
What the govt's capex growth does not reveal
The government's capital expenditure has surged sharply in the first five months (April-August) of FY26. It has already spent nearly 39% of the annual outlay of 11.2 trillion, a 43% year-on-year jump.
2 mins
October 13, 2025
Mint Mumbai
US seeks inventory model for e-comm
Negotiators cite 'level playing field', move may raise competition
2 mins
October 13, 2025
Mint Mumbai
EQT scraps Zelestra India sale, to pump in $600 mn
For scraps
2 mins
October 13, 2025
Mint Mumbai
INSIDE NADELLA'S AI RESET AT MICROSOFT
Earlier this month, Microsoft promoted Judson Althoff, its longtime sales boss, to chief executive of its commercial business, consolidating sales, marketing and operations across its products. The move was designed gence.
3 mins
October 13, 2025
Mint Mumbai
H-IB fee hike Trump's second blow to gems & jewellery firms
Losing sparkle
2 mins
October 13, 2025
Mint Mumbai
Slow drive for e-trucks as local sourcing rule bites
E-truck manufacturers wary of ambitious indigenization due to concerns over tepid demand
2 mins
October 13, 2025
Mint Mumbai
YOGA, AYURVEDA—INDIA CAN LEAD THE WISDOM ECONOMY
I was watching a video of a meditation studio in Manhattan when it struck me yet again. Twenty people, mostly American professionals, sitting cross-legged on expensive mats, were following breathing techniques that our grandparents and ancestors practised every morning.
2 mins
October 13, 2025
Mint Mumbai
Existing investors pour in $40 million into Dezerv
Wealth management platform Dezerv has raised ₹350 crore (about $40 million) in a new funding round from its existing investors, the company's top executive told Mint.
1 mins
October 13, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size