I have been a passenger through the New Age movement since the 1970’s and have watched the US/global spread of meditation, yoga, and then faddish mindfulness, etc, along with its inexorable dilution, commercialization, etc…Although I would take this claim here as misleading I am more wary of critique that I was once. But these subjects have no real roots in the cultures to which they have spread. To a student of the eonic effect the reasons are obvious: they arrive not via the eonic series but via diffusion. That is why the traditions of India are robust, whatever the case with Hinduism/Buddhism. Hinduism has a now obscure history but it appears in primordial Shaivism as early as the Neolithic, and Buddhism is a clear shot out of the cannon of that Hindu milieu in the 900/600+ transition. These roots in eonic macroevolution created real meditators!
The world needs meditation because homo sapiens as a species has still undeveloped consciousness and nature seems to have prompted this species with the seeding of meditative traditions, now as if for the first time spreading globally with alacrity. The history is of course more complex but whatever the case the fate of Christianity should a warning to what may happen to these ancient traditions beset to be sure with their own confusions. It is interesting to consider the case of Tibet which was likely the destination of a sort of missionary effect of Buddhism. The result on its own terms seems to have been a strange success. But these are Mahayana tradions which complicates the diffusion result.
This example is a warning that the current secular/capitalist culture might simply waffle the whole legacy and create the mechanized consciousness that is the curse of Christianity in its Constantinian brand. This whole discussion can sidetrack (hatha) yoga, which is relatively recent and focus on raja yoga, which is the core practice from ancient times, with a Buddhist equivalent.
We have not discussed the complex issue of sufism or Asian buddhism, or the troubling modern history of Zen in fascist Japan.
An interesting set of essays on yoga at Counterpunch: https://www.counterpunch.org/search-results/?cx=000357264939014560440%3Aicshsy4bfu0&ie=UTF-8&q=yoga#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=yoga&gsc.page=1
1848+: The End(s) of History 