Suzanne Newcombe

Stretching for health and well-being: yoga and women in Britain, 1960–1980

In Britain, yoga became an increasingly popular group activity from the 1960s onwards in government-subsidised adult-education evening classes. Although yoga classes were open to everyone, women tended to make up 70 to 90 per cent of the student base of most classes as well as the majority of yoga teachers. This article briefly outlines how yoga became popular in Britain and then explores yogas particular appeal to women during this period. Yogas popularity can be partially accounted for by the way it simultaneously supported womens traditional identities of wife and mother, as well as a more independent identity promoted by second-wave feminism. Women typically attributed better physical health and emotional well-being to their practice of yoga and this was an important reason for their participation in the classes. Additionally, yoga served as an important support for women becoming more aware of feelings of alienation from traditional biomedical practitioners.

Global hybrids? 'Eastern traditions' of health and wellness in the West

Many traditions of health and well- being with ostensibly ‘Eastern’ origins have become both accessible and popular in ‘the West’. This chapter will first outline contemporary use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and then briefly put into context the rise of its popularity in ‘the West’. For the purposes of this chapter ‘the West’ will be assumed to consist of Europe, the United States and the Anglophone Commonwealth nations but the focus will be weighted towards Britain. The chapter will argue that while Westerners use CAM in various ways, for the majority this involves a significant overlap with biomedicine.2 There is, for some, an idealization of Eastern traditions of health and wellness as being ancient, pure and natural traditions which must – by definition – avoid the pitfalls of toxicity and side effects believed to be endemic to biomedicine, a perspective that will be described as a kind of Romantic Orientalism. This Romantic Orientalism is a significant feature of the use of Eastern traditions of health and wellness in the West. However, the actual practice and use of Eastern traditions might be better described by what William Sax has termed the ‘asymmetrical translations’ of non- Western health traditions, which embody a ubiquitous power imbalance in relationship to the more dominant ‘Western’ biomedical model (Sax, 2009).

“Trust Me, You Can’t Trust Them”: Stigmatised Knowledge in Cults and Conspiracies

This chapter will explore the sociology of conspiracy theory in areas of the contemporary cultic milieu, identifying rational social reasons for allegiance to a particular theory as often being more compelling for individuals than the apparent ‘empirical’ truth or falsity of the theory itself.

Magic and Yoga: The Role of Subcultures in Transcultural Exchange

From the perspective of modern yoga studies, magic and witchcraft have largely held the place of disinherited siblings. This chapter will explore how the development and contemporary practice of yoga in Britain overlaps and parallels the practice of magic. It will explore overlapping networks where those interested in the occult, esoteric, and non-institutional Christian religiosity and spirituality interacted, highlighting the role of Watkins Bookstore, Paul Brunton, and The Atlantis Bookstore. It will further explore the significance of literary agent Gerald Yorke who was influential in both the world of magic and that of yoga. The paper will conclude by examining the magical elements of contemporary yoga practice in terms of anti-aging, empowerment, and mythical inspirations. This paper argues that to better understand the historical development of yoga in the twentieth century or the transformative element of modern yoga practice, scholars need to take into account the continuing similarities and differences between the contemporary practice of yoga and magic