And Other Narratives. Yoga As Objectified and Embodied
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”A l l yo ga i s yo ga” and other narratives. Yoga as objectified and embodied knowledge. Lauha Halonen University of Helsinki Faculty of Social Sciences Social and Cultural Anthropology Master’s Thesis November 2020 Tiedekunta/Osasto – Fakultet/Sektion – Faculty Laitos – Institution – Department Faculty of Social Sciences Department of Social Research Tekijä – Författare – Author Lauha Halonen Työn nimi – Arbetets titel – Title ”All yoga is yoga” and other narratives. Yoga as objectified and embodied knowledge Oppiaine – Läroämne – Subject Social and Cultural Anthropology Työn laji – Arbetets art – Level Aika – Datum – Month and year Sivumäärä – Sidoantal – Number of pages Master’s thesis November 2020 97 Tiivistelmä – Referat – Abstract This work stems from the various debates of the definition, authenticity and plurality of yoga traditions both among yoga practitioners and scholars. The work has two aims: to move away from these debates by constructing a new theoretical perspective, and to study yoga as a lived, non-ascetic practice in India because based on ethnography, because such ethnographic study has not been done properly. The material of this work is based on official field work in the city of Bangalore, in Karnātaka state, India, from the end of October 2005 towards the end of February 2006. This thesis then seeks to map the social reality of yoga as it existed in the mid 2000’s among the of middle-aged, middle-class Hindu practitioners. In this work, it is analyzed how they narrate yoga. Overview of yoga history is presented as a frame that both provides an intertextual library and guides interpretation as an authoritative voice of “past in the present”. Similarly, the traditional sources of authoritative knowledge in India, the Sanskritic textual canon and the institution of the guru are discussed. The yoga narratives gathered in Bangalore essentially informs the re-theorizing of yoga, shifting focus from tradition to knowledge. Knowledge is taken as the main analytical category of the discussion. The dialogic relationship of theory and practice is at the core this work which then translates into exploring yoga knowledge as two interconnected categories: objectified knowledge, that is theory and philosophy of yoga, and embodied knowledge, meaning not only the practiced techniques of yoga but essentially all yoga knowledge that is performed. Yoga classes and narratives are observed as knowledge performances. Lastly, practitioner narratives are analyzed by using the concepts of objectified and embodied knowledge, hierarchies of knowledge and participant roles in addition to exploring the narratives in their ethnographic context. As a result, the work concludes: each performance has the potential to integrate the theory and practice, and despite all the differences, all yoga is yoga. Avainsanat – Nyckelord – Keywords Yoga, knowledge, tradition, history, anthropology Yoga India Inscribed in 2016 (11.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity The philosophy behind the ancient Indian practice of yoga has influenced various aspects of how society in India functions, whether it be in relation to areas such as health and medicine or education and the arts. Based on unifying the mind with the body and soul to allow for greater mental, spiritual and physical wellbeing, the values of yoga form a major part of the community’s ethos. Yoga consists of a series of poses, meditation, controlled breathing, word chanting and other techniques designed to help individuals build self-realization, ease any suffering they may be experiencing and allow for a state of liberation. It is practised by the young and old without discriminating against gender, class or religion and has also become popular in other parts of the world. Traditionally, yoga was transmitted using the Guru-Shishya model (master-pupil) with yoga gurus as the main custodians of associated knowledge and skills. Nowadays, yoga ashrams or hermitages provide enthusiasts with additional opportunities to learn about the traditional practice, as well as schools, universities, community centres and social media. Ancient manuscripts and scriptures are also used in the teaching and practice of yoga, and a vast range of modern literature on the subject available. Primary • Mind • Physical education • Spiritual knowledge Secondary • Apprenticeship • Food customs • Health • Hygiene • Oral tradition • Philosophy • Religious practice • Respiratory systems • Sports activity • Traditional medicine Domains of the Convention • Knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe • Oral traditions and expressions • Performing arts • Social practices, rituals and festive events https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/yoga-01163 (12.10.2020) TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION _________________________________________________ 1 1.1 Research questions __________________________________________________ 1 1.1.1 The problem of defining yoga _______________________________________________ 4 1.1.2 The problem of learning yoga “properly” ______________________________________ 8 2 METHODS ______________________________________________________ 13 2.1 Fieldwork _________________________________________________________ 13 2.1.1 Bangalore – a conflicting field site for a yoga study _____________________________ 13 2.1.2 Fieldwork in Bangalore ___________________________________________________ 15 2.2 Data and informants ________________________________________________ 19 2.2.1 Processing and the validity of the data ________________________________________ 21 2.3 Ethical and critical reflection ________________________________________ 21 3 HISTORY OF YOGA AS A GRAND NARRATIVE _____________________ 25 3.1 History of yoga traditions ___________________________________________ 25 3.1.1 Typology of premodern and modern yoga _____________________________________ 26 3.1.2 History of “pre-modern” yoga: short introduction _______________________________ 30 3.1.3 Tradition and history _____________________________________________________ 35 3.2 Traditional authorative sources of knowledge ___________________________ 38 3.2.1 Textual authority of knowledge _____________________________________________ 38 3.2.2 Authority of the guru _____________________________________________________ 42 4 RETHEORIZING YOGA: FROM TRADITION TO KNOWLEDGE _______ 45 4.1 Knowledge as an analytic category ____________________________________ 46 4.1.1 Knowledge: objectified and embodied ________________________________________ 51 4.2 Hierarchy of knowledge: acquisition and performing knowledge ___________ 57 4.3 Performing knowledge ______________________________________________ 61 4.3.1 Ritual or performance ____________________________________________________ 61 4.3.2 Classroom yoga as (co-)performance _________________________________________ 64 4.3.3 From performance to decontextualization and entextualization ____________________ 68 5 Practitioner narratives and the social reality of contemporary yoga in Bangalore 71 5.1.1 Attending yoga classes in Bangalore _________________________________________ 72 5.1.2 Acquiring and enhancing yoga knowledge: the narrative of yoga as a process _________ 76 5.1.3 ’All yoga is yoga’ vs. narratives of assuming authority ___________________________ 84 5.1.4 Narrative of decontextualization: participation framework challenged _______________ 87 5.1.5 Narratives of discontinuities ________________________________________________ 88 5.1.6 Conclusion _____________________________________________________________ 91 6 ___________________________________________________________________ 92 7 BIBLIOGRAPHY _________________________________________________ 92 1 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research questions This work starts from the recognition that the growth and popularity of yoga world wide has resulted in a greater diversity in how, and to what depth, people understand yoga, which itself has a very long history that consists of a wide array of traditions and interpretations. Due to this multiplicity of understanding, this work grapples with the fact that, while speaking of yoga, we might use same words, but are sometimes talking about entirely different things. Nevertheless, such superficially similar terms can obscure important differences in understanding and practicing yoga. This problem of using a common vocabulary with different meanings becomes apparent, for example, when students hold conflicting expectations for yoga classes and in debates of what is actually meant by this term ’yoga’. Although, the meaning of yoga has never been fixed and there has always been a plurality of traditions with a large range of beliefs and practices, people still argue over the ”right” understanding of yoga1. The plurality can also be seen to invite these discussion. During my fieldwork among yoga practitioners in Bangalore, India, I often discussed yoga styles and their differences. I got almost always a fast response, namely, that ”all yoga is yoga!” This thesis thus moves away from the definitional question, “what is yoga,” and it instead explores the practice of yoga in contemporary, urban India from an ethnographic perspective. Following Michael Lambek (1993) I shift my theoretical focus from tradition to knowledge. By “knowledge,” I refer both to the theory and practice of yoga, as without knowledge one cannot perform yoga as it is the knowledge of yoga techniques and ideas that are put in action. I, therefore, observe knowledge as an analytical category, which can be divided into