andrea R. jain Branding yoga The cases of Iyengar Yoga, Siddha Yoga and Anusara Yoga
n October 1989, long-time yoga student, John Friend modern soteriological yoga system based on ideas and (b. 1959) travelled to India to study with yoga mas- practices primarily derived from tantra. The encounter Iters. First, he went to Pune for a one-month intensive profoundly transformed Friend, and Chidvilasananda in- postural yoga programme at the Ramamani Iyengar itiated him into Siddha Yoga (Williamson forthcoming). Memorial Yoga Institute, founded by a world-famous yoga proponent, B. K. S. Iyengar (b. 1918). Postural yoga (De Michelis 2005, Singleton 2010) refers to mod- Friend spent the next seven years deepening his ern biomechanical systems of yoga, which are based understanding of both Iyengar Yoga and Siddha Yoga. on sequences of asana or postures that are, through He gained two Iyengar Yoga teaching certificates and pranayama or ‘breathing exercises’, synchronized with taught Iyengar Yoga in Houston, Texas. Every sum- 1 the breath. Following Friend’s training in Iyengar Yoga, mer, he travelled to Siddha Yoga’s Shree Muktananda he travelled to Ganeshpuri, India where he met Chid- Ashram in upstate New York, where he would study 1954 vilasananda (b. ), the current guru of Siddha Yoga, for one to three months at a time. at the Gurudev Siddha Peeth ashram.2 Siddha Yoga is a Friend founded his own postural yoga system, Anusara Yoga, in 1997 in The Woodlands, a high- 1 Focusing on English-speaking milieus beginning in end Houston suburb. Anusara Yoga quickly became the 1950s, Elizabeth De Michelis categorizes modern one of the most popular yoga systems in the world. yoga into three types: Modern Postural Yoga, which In a 2010 interview with a New York Times jour- stresses physical exercises, and Modern Meditational nalist, Friend made the following statement about Yoga, which stresses concentration and meditation how Anusara Yoga compares to other yoga systems: (De Michelis 2005: 187). These types express little ‘[People know about physically-oriented yoga] but as concern for religious and philosophical doctrine, and instead they often stress that such aspects of yoga de- we grow they are going to learn about Anusara. Then pend on individual experience rather than doctrinal people can choose – either they are going to go to a deliberation (De Michelis 2005: 187–8). The third fast-food joint or a fine restaurant’ (Swartz 2010). For type, Modern Denominational Yoga, includes systems Friend, yoga, like food, is a consumable product, and that do express concern for religious and philosophic his brand, Anusara, signifies better product quality. al doctrine (De Michelis 2005: 189). According to Twenty-two years after his 1989 visit to India, De Michelis’ typology, Iyengar Yoga is an example Friend was invited to lead the grand finale of the 2011 of Modern Postural Yoga, whereas Siddha Yoga is an Wanderlust Festival.3 Bringing Wanderlust to a close, example of Modern Denominational Yoga. In this article, I am primarily concerned about what De Friend suggested that that year’s festival was particu- Michelis would categorize as Modern Postural Yoga larly ‘auspicious’ because it fell on the fiftieth anniver- and Modern Denominational Yoga, but I use the less sary of the death of Nityananda (d. 1961) (Buckner reificatory terms, postural yoga and soteriological yoga respectively. ashram is a South Asian monastic retreat centre for 2 Amongst disciples, Chidvilasananda is also affec- religious study and training, usually under the guid- tionately known as Gurumayi, which means ‘Guru ance of a guru. Mother’ in Marathi, or, in Sanskrit, ‘one who is filled 3 The Wanderlust Festival is a large-scale music and with the guru’ (Durgananda 1997: note 247). An yoga festival (see Wanderlust Festival 2011).
Approaching Religion • Vol. 2, No. 2 • December 2012 3 2011), a figure identified in Siddha Yoga as a former I argue that my evaluation of Iyengar Yoga, Siddha guru of the tradition. In this way, Friend publically Yoga, and Anusara Yoga illustrates how the model linked his mass-marketed postural yoga brand not of brand image management is effective for under- just with tantra, but to Siddha Yoga in particular.4 standing a broader phenomenon, that is, the contem- All of this raises questions regarding the ways porary global popularization of postural yoga. I trace that postural yoga is effectively mass marketed to the steps through which two first-generation yoga large audiences of consumers. How, after all, did an entrepreneurs, Iyengar and Muktananda (1908–82), Ohio-born former financial analyst who grew up in constructed yoga brands – Iyengar Yoga and Siddha the Houston suburbs become the founder of the most Yoga respectively. I then suggest that Friend is a sec- widely consumed, tantra-inspired postural yoga sys- ond-generation yoga entrepreneur who selected from tem in the world? Iyengar Yoga and Siddha Yoga and subsequently in- I ask and attempt to answer that question by con- troduced, elaborated, and fortified the Anusara Yoga textualizing Friend and Anusara Yoga within the brand. He associated his brand with his own persona, social milieu of contemporary consumer culture. It tantric ideas, and biomechanical wares, all of which turns out that the model of brand image management were attractive to large target audiences consisting – branding is systematic and pervasive in contempor of late-twentieth and early twenty-first century con- ary consumer culture – is effective for understanding sumers. I suggest that Anusara Yoga is particularly the popularization of yoga today.5 Throughout yoga’s illustrative of contemporary yoga branding not only history, proponents have established and acknowl- because of its success as a result of brand image man- edged authority primarily through lineages based on agement, but also because of ways in which it illus- transmission from guru to disciple; however, begin- trates gaffes in brand image management. ning in the late-twentieth century, yoga proponents also established and acknowledged authority by branding and marketing yoga in urban areas across Branding yoga the world. Numerous twentieth-century events and individuals In this paper, I evaluate the context in which yoga were significant portents of yoga branding. In many became subject to a sequential branding process: se- areas of the industrialized world, most notably urban lection, introduction, elaboration, and fortification.6 centres in India, North America and Western Europe, the increase in access to information about world- 4 Friend set this precedent as early as 1998 when he views and practices combined with the decreasing officially located himself and Anusara Yoga in the stigma around choosing from a plurality of world- Siddha Yoga lineage with the following epigraph to views and practices resulted in a competitive market- the Anusara Yoga Teacher Training Manual: ‘This place. Yoga proponents sought to disseminate yoga to manual on teaching hatha yoga is lovingly offered the general populace. In order to do that, yoga need- at the lotus feet of my yoga teacher, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, who taught me the most important ed to stand out in the marketplace amongst available element of teaching yoga—divine love’ (Friend 2009). products and services by being packaged in ways that 5 Dawn Dobni and George M. Zinkhan suggest that, made it seem valuable, accessible, and unique. although the definition of brand image is not stable, In response to early twentieth-century trans there is consensus concerning four essential elem national ideas and movements, including military ents of the concept: ‘brand image is the concept of a calisthenics (Sjoman 1996), modern medicine (Alter brand that is held by the consumer’; ‘brand image is 2004), and Western European and American physic largely a subjective and perceptual phenomenon that al culture (Singleton 2010), proponents constructed is formed through consumer interpretation, whether 7 reasoned or emotional’; ‘brand image is not inher- new postural yoga systems. Postural yoga emerged ent in the technical, functional or physical concerns of the product. Rather, it is affected and molded by tial process of selecting, introducing, elaborating, and marketing activities, by context variables, and by the fortifying a brand concept, which guides the brand characteristics of the perceiver’; and ‘where brand image over time (Park, Jaworski & Maclnnis 1986: image is concerned, the perception of reality is more 135–45). important than the reality itself’. (Dobni & Zinkhan 7 Prior to the twentieth century, posture practice was 1990: 118.) not central to any yoga tradition (see Alter 2004, De 6 I am drawing from C. Whan Park, Bernard J. Jawor- Michelis 2005, Singleton 2010). Hatha yoga, which ski, and Deborah J. Maclnnis’ normative framework developed as an adjunct to the South Asian Nath yoga of brand concept management consisting of a sequen- tradition’s practices, did involve a variety of postures
4 Approaching Religion • Vol. 2, No. 2 • December 2012 ‘as a hybridized product of colonial India’s dialogical he established the Divine Life Society in 1936, and encounter with the worldwide physical culture move- its culmination occurred in 1959 with his English- ment’ (Singleton 2010: 80). The methods of postural language book, Yogic Home Exercises: Easy Course of yoga were specific to the time and would not have Physical Culture for Modern Men and Women. been considered yoga prior to this period of Indian Some of Krishnamacharya and Sivananda’s stu- history (Singleton 2010: 177). In fact, postural yoga dents encouraged an association between physical was the ‘cultural successor’ of ‘established methods of fitness methods and aims with yoga in the popular stretching and relaxing’ which were already common imagination by constructing and mass marketing in parts of Western Europe and the United States postural yoga brands. With these developments, the (Singleton 2010: 154). Until widely influential yoga aims of postural yoga came to include popular mod- gurus, such as Krishnamacharya and Sivananda, be- ern conceptions of physical fitness, stress reduction, gan associating such methods with yoga, they were beauty, and overall wellbeing (De Michelis 2005, not yet associated with yoga outside of India, but Newcombe 2007, Singleton 2010). with female physical culture and gymnastics (Single- Krishnamacharya had arguably the most impact ton 2010: 154). on postural yoga’s entry into the global market- Training students in the ‘pan-Indian hub of physic place, since it was his students, most notably Iyengar, al culture revivalism’ in Mysore, India, from the 1930s K. Pattabhi Jois (1915–2009), and T. K. V. Desikachar to the 1950s, Krishnamacharya constructed an aero- (b. 1938), who most successfully constructed yoga bic yoga system whereby the practitioner performed brands and marketed those brands to the general postures in repetition and in sequence (Singleton populace in urban centres across the world during 2010: 176–7). Sivananda also taught a postural yoga the second half of the twentieth century. system in Rishikesh, India. Unlike Krishnamacharya, Some of Sivananda’s students were also influential he circumvented the traditional guru-disciple rela- in this regard. One German student, Boris Sacharow, tionship by distributing English-language pamphlets having never actually travelled to Rishikesh, became a on yoga throughout India and abroad (Strauss 2005: disciple through Sivananda’s English-language pam- 45). He formalized his yoga dissemination when phlets and eventually opened the first yoga school in Germany (Strauss 2005: 41–2). Another student, but only in preparation for ‘internal sexual practices’, Vishnudevananda (1927–93) established Interna- that is, the tantric manipulation of the subtle body tional Sivananda Yoga Vedanta centres and ashrams (Samuel 2008: 279, 336). In nineteenth-century India, in locations around the world as well as the Sivanan- the tantric manipulation of the subtle body began da Yoga Teachers’ Training Course, which serves to to be elided from popular yoga practice because of regulate Sivananda Yoga. the negative view of tantra and hatha yoga among Other mid-twentieth century yoga proponents orientalist scholars and Hindu reformers (Singleton constructed new soteriological yoga systems and 2010: 41–80). Unsurprisingly, the yoga systems that underwent the greatest degree of popularization were marketed them to the general populace. The 1960s those postural varieties that elided tantric elem provided ideal timing for the popularization of such ents completely, such as Iyengar Yoga and Bikram systems, since that decade witnessed the British- Yoga. Though hatha yoga is the traditional source of American counterculture, which called for a religios- postural yoga, equating them does not account for ity radically distinct from what were perceived as the the historical sources, which include British mili- oppressive, puritanical orthodoxies of the previous tary calisthenics (Sjoman 1996), modern medicine generation. And, although twentieth-century immi- (Alter 2004), and the physical culture of European gration from India to the United States and Western gymnasts, body-builders, martial experts, and con- tortionists (Singleton 2010). All of these influenced Europe had been rare due to legal restrictions, those figures responsible for constructing postural yoga, restrictions were largely lifted in the 1960s, leading to including Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (1888–1989) an influx of immigration from India, especially to the and Sivananda Saraswati (1887–1963) (Strauss 2005, United States, the United Kingdom, and France. Many Singleton 2010). Such an equation would also fail participants in the British-American counterculture to account for the variety of methods and aims that eagerly looked to yoga gurus and their wares for so- hatha yoga systems themselves have embraced since teriological insights and techniques. In turn, several their emergence in the tenth to eleventh centuries and which are not present in postural yoga, including Indian gurus – among them were Muktananda of supernatural and other temporal powers (see White Siddha Yoga, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (b. 1918–2008) 1996, White 2009). of Transcendental Meditation, and Bhaktivedanta
Approaching Religion • Vol. 2, No. 2 • December 2012 5 Prabhupada (1896–1977) of the International Soci- is that yoga signifies self-development. It is a tool ety for Krishna Consciousness – exploited these ro- that will enable consumers to become better people bust trends by marketing soteriological yoga systems through physical and psychological transformations to popular audiences. (De Michelis 2005, Newcombe 2007, Singleton 2010). Socio-economic shifts were also significant. The More than those of any other form of modern twentieth century featured a shift toward mass pro- yoga, postural yoga brands are widely consumed duction and mass consumption in urban areas across in popular culture. Dominant ways of conceptual- the world, and new groups of consumers increas- izing the body in contemporary consumer culture ingly exercised choice with regard to the products are important for understanding why postural yoga and services they purchased (Bocock 1993: 22). In underwent popularization (see, e.g., Jain 2012a). In the second half of the twentieth century, economies consumer culture, the inner and outer bodies are increasingly shifted from being industrial and based ‘conjoined’, meaning that body enhancement reflects on mass production to a more personalized model, self-development (Featherstone 1991: 171). Con- based on ‘customized products for individualistic sequently, the market for physical culture regimes, consumers’ (Russell 1993: 56). Consumer culture be- in which body enhancement requires rigorous self- came based on individualized products and services. control through diet and exercise (Albanese 2007, Mike Featherstone describes this consumer culture: Singleton 2010), has witnessed robust growth. Fur- thermore, biomedical discourse dominates the way In contrast to the designation of the 1950s as an people think and talk about their bodies (Turner era of grey conformism, a time of mass con- 1997: 35). Successful postural yoga entrepreneurs sumption, changes in production techniques, exploit such trends in the global fitness and health market segmentation and consumer demand for market by managing their brand images in ways that a wider range of products, are often regarded make them represent these dominant ways of con- as making possible greater choice (the manage- ceptualizing the body and self-development. ment of which itself becomes an art form). . . Many yoga proponents prescribe yoga, not as an (Featherstone 2007: 81). all-encompassing worldview or system of practice, but as one aspect of self-development, which can be Today, consumption depends on whether or not consumed in combination with other worldviews and products and services are linked to consumer desires practices. All of this serves to make yoga attractive to – according to Jean Baudrillard, consumers con- large target audiences of consumers who do not want struct a desired self-identity by consuming what they to go to an Indian ashram nor seek out a proselytiz- think signifies that self-identity (Baudrillard 2002) ing guru in order to ‘do yoga’ as it is colloquially put. – through the use of signs and symbols (Bocock Instead of relying on yoga transmission through the 1993: 3). Market researchers and advertising cam- traditional guru-disciple relationship in the isolated paign managers do this by establishing brand images context of an ashram, yoga entrepreneurs build large for everything from soap dishes to sporting goods organizations for mass marketing the products and (Bocock 1993: 22). services associated with their yoga brands. It was this historical period which witnessed an Today, most consumers shop for conveniently explosion of sundry yoga brands into the market- located yoga classes which are open to the general place. Entrepreneurs brand yoga in the same ways populace. More generally, consumers have ‘substan- that other products and services are branded, by tial and unpredictable decision-making power in the ‘giving it a name, term, design, symbol, or any other selection and use of cultural commodities’ (Willis feature that identifies one seller’s goods or services 1990: 137). Entrepreneurs, in turn, construct brands as distinct from those of other sellers’ (American that they think consumers will buy. Consumers, how- Marketing Association 2012). Branding requires ever, are not the only agents. Rather the construction marketers to uniquely package their products by of brands is based on a dialectical exchange between mythologizing them, a process that serves to ‘posi- the entrepreneurs who produce desires and needs for tion’ them in consumers’ minds (Einstein 2008: 12). goods and services and consumers who choose them Branding mythologizes yoga products and services, based on individual preferences (Holt 2002: 71–2). In ranging from mats and pants to styles and teachers, this way, cultural production is integrated into com- and thus they come to signify various meanings to modity production and consumption. The result is consumers. And one of the most common themes not a homogenous set of shared meanings and values
6 Approaching Religion • Vol. 2, No. 2 • December 2012 but rather a heterogeneous culture with various over- The meaning of yoga is conveyed, however, not lapping groups (Arnould & Thompson 2005: 868–9). only through what products and services yogis The concomitant commodifying processes result choose to purchase but also what they choose not to in ever-new yoga systems depending on marketing purchase.8 In other words, consumption can require strategies and popular demands. Change is not new an exchange of money and commodities, and the to the history of yoga (see, e.g., Samuel 2008, Single- amount of money spent on commodities largely de- ton 2010, White 2012). But what differs today is the pends on the brand choices of individual consumers, extent to which the media saturates consumer cul- however, consumption can also lack an exchange of tures, which brings consumers into near-constant money and commodities. Many contemporary yogis, contact with advertising and causes yoga products in fact, oppose the commodification of yoga by con- and services to change at a rate never seen before in suming free yoga services and rejecting certain yoga its history. products. Though packaged differently, popularized systems For example, the yoga practitioner can now opt of yoga offer similar ends: self-development through out of purchasing a yoga mat altogether, or attend do- physical and psychological transformation (De nation-based yoga classes.9 This phenomenon is be- Michelis 2005, Newcombe 2007, Singleton 2010). coming especially prevalent in New York City where Thus the only way for the consumer to differentiate organizations – most popular of which is Yoga to the one set of yoga products and services from another People – which provide donation-based yoga classes is to interpret the meaning the brand signifies. This or yoga classes that do not require a mat, are growing. is an important process for the consumer, since con- Yoga to the People opened its first studio in sumption is entwined with constructing a sense of 2006 with a donation-only structure. The website is identity (Giddens 1991, Bocock 1993, Baudrillard adorned with the following ‘mantra’: 2002). Consequently, yoga entrepreneurs must man- age their brand images in ways that make consumers There will be no correct clothes feel personally connected to them. There will be no proper payment In the economic circumstances of market capital- There will be no right answers ism, however, a personal connection with a product No glorified teachers is not usually enough to make it yours. Rather the No ego no script no pedestals consumption of yoga products and services almost No you’re not good enough or rich enough always requires the consumer to spend money. The This yoga is for everyone amount of spending depends largely on brand. A con- This sweating and breathing and becoming sumer can purchase a pair of yoga pants with an un- This knowing glowing feeling familiar brand at the popular retail store, Target, for Is for the big small weak and strong $19.99, or purchase a pair from Lululemon, a high- Able and crazy end yoga-apparel brand that on average costs $98 for Brothers sisters grandmothers yoga pants. On the retail website Amazon, the con- The mighty and meek sumer can choose from a variety of yoga mats with Bones that creak unfamiliar brands for under $20, or she can go to a Those who seek specialty shop and purchase a stylish Manduka brand This power is for everyone yoga mat, which will cost as much as $100. And all (Yoga to the People 2011b). that does not include the cost of yoga classes, which widely range from $5 to over $20 per class. And if a 8 A perusal of recent articles in popular yoga publica- consumer is really dedicated to investing money in tions, such as Yoga Journal, evidences that many con- yoga, for thousands of dollars she can purchase a spot temporary practitioners of postural yoga colloquially in a yoga retreat in locations throughout the United self-identify as yogis. In South Asian yoga traditions, States, Europe, or even in the Bahamas or Brazil, with the term was not in use until the twelfth- to thir- yoga teachers marketing their own popular brands, teenth-century emergence of the Nath Yogi tradition. such as Bikram Choudhury, whose brand is Bikram According to David Gordon White, ‘The Nath Yogīs Yoga, or John Friend, whose brand is Anusara Yoga. were and remain the sole South Asian order to self- identify as yogis’ (White 2012: 17). Spending on yoga is steadily increasing. In the Unit- 9 The first purpose-made yoga mat was manufactured ed States alone, spending doubled from $2.95 billion and sold by Hugger Mugger in the 1990s (Brooks to $5.7 billion from 2004 to 2008 (Macy 2008). 2003).
Approaching Religion • Vol. 2, No. 2 • December 2012 7 In certain ways, Yoga to the People is akin to com- oftentimes a status symbol. But yogis who reject the modified yoga brands. Consider the benefits Yoga mat argue that they are not necessary, that they in- to the People promises: yoga helps people ‘look and terfere with practice, and that they are simply com- feel great’; ‘yoga helps tone and sculpt muscles while modities without any profound meaning. One such gaining strength, flexibility and balance’; and ‘[in] a yogi argues, ‘The ecstasy of yoga can’t be contained world of stress, yoga helps people decompress and by a mat’ (Billard 2010b). Such yogis choose brands achieve a sense of inner peace, aiding in healing in- of yoga that do not require the mat, such as Laughing jury or disease’ (Yoga to the People 2011a). These are Lotus (Laughing Lotus 2012), which has studios in all benefits popularly associated with yoga. Yoga to New York and San Francisco, because those brands the People also sells yoga apparel, though the website are believed to better signify the meaning of yoga. states, ‘Our clothing was not produced with an em- These yoga practitioners are not the only ones phasis on “maximizing” profits. [The] emphasis is to who condemn the commodification of yoga. Some spread the word. . . to share the intention of YTTP – scholars do too, arguing that the commodification of which is to put the essence or spirit of yoga before the yoga is not compatible with its authentic form. Popu- business of yoga.’ (Yoga to the People 2011c.) larized forms of postural yoga are sometimes treated For the creator of Yoga to the People, Greg Gu- as a mere accretion that distracts from the purity of mucio, and those who consume the services associ- the true or original yoga tradition. Georg Feuerstein, ated with his brand, yoga’s meaning transcends its for example, considers ‘the popularization of yoga as commodities. Gumucio states, ‘I truly believe if more potentially destructive of the yogic heritage’, since it people were doing yoga, the world would be a bet- embodies ‘distortions’ of yoga. He adds that postural ter place’ (Billard 2010a). The anti-commodification yoga is inauthentic because ‘fitness and health’, some brand of Yoga to the People signifies that meaning. of the aims of postural yoga, ‘are simply not final The individual who chooses Yoga to the People still objectives of traditional yoga’, and suggests that con- acts as a consumer even if consumption does not temporary practitioners should focus on ‘The “lost” require the exchange of money. And the consumer teachings of yoga—that is, the authentic teachings chooses Gumucio’s brand as opposed to others be- as found in the traditional literature and as imbued cause of that brand’s success in capturing what yoga with life by living masters’ (Feuerstein 2003). More means to the consumer. broadly, Jeremy Carrette and Richard King argue Some postural yogis reject the yoga mat for its against the commodification of what were traditional perceived over-commodification (Billard 2010b). The religious wares: ‘What is being sold to us as radical, mat, for most postural yogis, is a necessity. It does not trendy and transformative spirituality in fact pro- just meet the utilitarian need to perform necessary duces little in the way of a significant change in one’s postures without slipping or to mark one’s territory in lifestyle or fundamental behaviour patterns (Carrette a crowded yoga class, but also signifies various mean- & King 2005: 5). ings. The mat signifies a ‘liminal space’ set apart from Yet, although the commodities of consumer cul- day-to-day life as one participates in a self-develop- ture are manifestations of it, it would be a mistake mental ritual of rigorous physical practice.10 It is also to reduce consumer culture to those commodities (Featherstone 1991; Bocock 1993; Tomlinson 1999: 10 Citing Arnold van Gennep on rites of passage, De 83). And a close evaluation of yoga brands in par- Michelis argues that a postural yoga class functions ticular suggests that, although the commodities of as a ‘healing ritual of secular religion’ (De Michelis popularized forms of yoga are manifestations of it, it 2005: 252; on rites of passage, see van Gennep 1965). would be a mistake to reduce yoga to its commodi- Also citing Victor Turner, De Michelis argues that the postural yoga class functions as a ‘liminal space’: ties. The yoga market, in accordance with consumer ‘Spatially, practitioners remove themselves from the culture in general (Featherstone 1991: 112; Bocock hustle and bustle of everyday life to attend the yoga 1993), destabilizes the basic utility of yoga commodi- class in a designated ‘neutral’ (and ideally somewhat ties and services and assigns to them new meanings. secluded) place’ (De Michelis 2005: 252; on ritual Yoga and commodification are not mutually exclu- liminality, see Turner 2008). The practitioner under- sive; rather they stand in a symbiotic relationship goes both physical and psychological transformations to one another. In short, yoga brands, whether they and healing before being reintroduced to ‘everyday life’ (De Michelis 2005: 252–7). I argue that, for those signify a particular teacher, style, or product, signify postural yogis who use yoga mats, the liminal space more than just the fulfillment of utilitarian needs, of the yoga class is, in part, demarcated by the mat. rather the fulfillment of what are perceived as self-
8 Approaching Religion • Vol. 2, No. 2 • December 2012 developmental needs become contained in the brand. permanent group of students. From this point on, he In order to illustrate how yoga brands signify vari would return every year to teach them. ous meanings, I suggest that the reader consider the In response to the robust trends in the global following example of how this occurs in another area fitness market, Iyengar selected from Krishnama of consumption, that of breakfast. Within a single charya’s teachings and elaborated upon those teach- household a variety of breakfast cereals fill the cabi- ings in order to create Iyengar Yoga as a physical net as a reflection of the various desires and needs of fitness brand. Iyengar prescribed a rigorous and individual members. In the refrigerator, one may find disciplined form of body maintenance, which uses a variety of options with regard to milk and fruit to fitness tools, such as belts, bricks, and ropes. It was layer atop the cereal. Each constructs a unique break- convincingly linked to biomedical understandings of fast option by picking each part to construct a whole the body and could be chosen as an aspect of self- suited to individual preferences. One constructs one’s development that was easily incorporated into per- breakfast based on what choices signify. A consum- sonalized regimens (De Michelis 2005: 197–8). er who values health may choose the Kashi organic As a consequence of many steps toward elabor cereal and skimmed milk. A consumer who values ating and fortifying his yoga brand, Iyengar suc- strength and heroism may choose the Kellogg’s cer ceeded in mass marketing it in the 1960s and 1970s. eal box featuring Spiderman. And the consumer who In arguably the most significant event in the process values convenience and social status may skip break- of elaborating Iyengar Yoga, Iyengar published his fast cereal altogether and instead stop at Starbucks for Light on Yoga (1966), which immediately underwent one of their familiar cups of coffee to carry with them mass marketing. The book quickly became the global into work. Consumers construct individual break- standard reference on postural yoga (De Michelis fasts suited to their preferences, and their choices, 2005: 198). It made postural yoga particularly acces- like all choices in consumer culture, mean more than sible because it included step-by-step instructions just the stuff – grains, marshmallows, or caffeine – of so that individuals could choose yoga as one part of the breakfast itself. their self-development regimens and incorporate it In the same way, choices in the area of yoga mean into their routines according to their personal needs more than just the stuff – teachers, spandex, retreats, and desires – students could choose from a variety mats, or studios – of the products and services them- of postures and other techniques – without having to selves. In the yoga market, the process of yoga brand- give up other lifestyle commitments. ing and the process of the economic exchange of yoga In the late 1960s and 1970s, a combination of commodities are distinct, even though they almost events allowed for a further consolidation of the always overlap. Yoga brands are saturated with mean- Iyengar Yoga brand. Yoga classes became available ing insofar as they signify what consumers deem at American YMCAs as Iyengar’s students began to valuable, and consumers choose brands based on teach it. For example, having hosted several yoga what they consider the most unique and accessible gurus, including Iyengar, for public seminars in Chi- path to get there. cago, Marilyn Englund began teaching her own yoga classes at Chicago area YMCAs in 1966 (Leviton 1990: 65). By 1971, she had 550 students per week First-generation yoga brands: Iyengar Yoga in twenty-seven classes (Leviton 1990: 65). Iyengar’s and Siddha Yoga London students began teaching in the physical edu- Two yoga brands, Iyengar Yoga and Siddha Yoga, are cation department of the Inner London Education illustrative of how first-generation yoga entrepre- Authority (ILEA) (Newcombe 2007: 42). Yoga classes neurs popularized postural and soteriological yoga became available at the Clapton Adult Education In- systems by introducing them into the late twentieth- stitute in London in 1967. Classes taught by Iyengar’s century global marketplace. students at American YMCAs and London institu- After studying yoga with Krishnamacharya, tions were thoroughly postural yoga classes that were Iyengar became a postural yoga instructor in Pune, deemed beneficial for a variety of consumers, regard- where he attracted several wealthy and influential less of various other commitments.11 celebrities as his clients. With their patronage, in the 1950s, he travelled to London, Switzerland, the 11 Consider, for example, the following argument by United States and Paris to teach postural yoga and, by ILEA officials: ‘Instructional classes in Hatha Yoga his third trip to London in 1960, he had established a need not and should not involve treatment of the
Approaching Religion • Vol. 2, No. 2 • December 2012 9 Most significantly, in 1975, Iyengar established feminine divine energy, shakti, believed to reside in the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in everyone. The Siddha Yoga guru transmits shakti- Pune. The Institute, which functioned as the centre pat to the disciple in an initiatory ritual involving a for teacher training, greatly augmented the number look, a touch, or Muktananda’s initiatory method-of- of yoga teachers receiving official training in Iyengar choice, a blow to the head with a wand of peacock Yoga. It functioned as the headquarters from which feathers.12 to disseminate Iyengar Yoga (De Michelis 2005: 200). Though Muktananda’s understanding of shakti- In this way, the Iyengar Yoga brand could be con- pat was akin to those found in traditional contexts, structed, marketed, and perpetuated across product his method of disseminating it was not. Muktananda lines. In short, it could be managed more effectively. first introduced Siddha Yoga to disciples at his ash- By 1990, a family of senior Iyengar Yoga teachers, ram, Shree Gurudev Ashram (later renamed, Guru the Mehtas, could report: ‘[Iyengar] has several mil- dev Siddha Peeth), which resembled a European or lion students all over the world following his method. American style retreat centre and hosted large num- There are Iyengar Institutes and centers in the US, the bers of disciples from around the world. Disciples UK, Europe, Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New visiting or living at the ashram could choose the Zealand, and South Africa, as well as India’ (Mehta, extent of their commitment, ranging from becom- Mehta & Mehta 1990: 9). Since then, Iyengar has ing a permanent monastic member of Muktananda’s established the following Iyengar Yoga Institutions: community where Siddha Yoga functioned as an all- the Light on Yoga Research Trust, which serves to encompassing worldview and system of practice to propagate Iyengar Yoga primarily through funding incorporating Siddha Yoga into one’s spiritual reper- research into the practice; the Iyengar Yogashraya, a toire as one part of an eclectic path towards a realiza- major Iyengar Yoga centre in Mumbai, India; and the tion of God or self. Youth’s Offerings to Guruji, which serves to propagate Based on Muktananda’s success in attracting dis- Iyengar Yoga primarily through publishing books ciples, one could judge him to be an astute entrepre- and producing other Iyengar Yoga products, such as neur. Aware that the global market for spiritual wares belts and bricks (Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga required marketers to calculate the costs to the brand Institute 2009a). Basically, Iyengar Yoga has under- for wares associated with unpopular ideas or prac- gone continuous, exponential growth. Today, there tices, Muktananda elaborated Siddha Yoga by pub- are thousands of Iyengar Yoga teachers and millions lically embracing the popular dimensions of tantra, of practitioners in over seventy countries across the such as bhakti or ‘devotion’ and meditation, rather world (Ramamani Iyengar Yoga Institute 2009b). than the esoteric dimensions, such as the ritual use Muktananda constructed a very different yoga of intoxicants or sex, that required the practitioner to brand than Iyengar Yoga. In 1960s India, Muktananda intentionally transgress normative ethical and purity selected from the teachings of his guru, Nityananda standards in order to become aware of the reality of (d. 1961), and philosophical and practical traditions non-duality.13 that pre-dated him, especially yoga, Vedanta, and Kashmir Shaivism, in his construction of a unique persona and set of tantric spiritual wares, which he 12 Paul E. Muller-Ortega describes the function of enveloped under the brand name, Siddha Yoga (e.g., that initiation: ‘When the essential, enlightened Caldwell 2001, Williamson 2005, Jain forthcoming). consciousness of the sadguru [true guru] enters Siddha Yoga signified God-realization through the the disciple, shaktipat occurs. And it is thought to destroy the root or foundational impurity of spir- kripa or ‘grace’ of the guru. itual ignorance. In this way, shaktipat ignites the fire Muktananda was known for his democratic, ex- that will culminate in the achievement of liberation periential approach to spirituality – God was within and enlightenment’ (Muller-Ortega 1997: 409). For ‘everyone’. In Siddha Yoga, God-realization comes in Muktananda, ‘the grace of the Guru’ is shaktipat the form of shaktipat diksha, an initiation through the (Muktananda 1994: 12). spontaneous awakening of the previously dormant 13 Sarah Caldwell suggests that Muktananda’s selective strategy is analogous to what David Gordon White calls the ‘dissembling strategy’ of Abhinavagupta, the philosophy of Yoga. They can be justified only as a medieval Kashmiri Shaiva responsible for recon- form of “Keep fit” or physical training’ (ILEA Further structing the Kula tradition. Abhinavagupta relegated and Higher Education Sub-Committee Papers 1968, the transgressive dimensions of the Kula tradition to quoted in Newcombe 2007: 41). secrecy in order to win over the ‘hearts and minds of
10 Approaching Religion • Vol. 2, No. 2 • December 2012 Muktananda claimed that Siddha Yoga was dis- religious goods in the marketplace, since they had tinct from traditional or ‘orthodox’ systems in its made an investment of energy, time, and money in democratic approach (Muktananda 1985: 189). Siddha Yoga.15 Muktananda elaborated the Siddha Yoga brand by Consumers’ commitment to Siddha Yoga, how- embracing the dominant normative ethical standards ever, cannot be reduced to consumer lock-in. The of late twentieth-century urban centres where demo- testimonies of Siddha Yoga practitioners suggest that, cratic religious ideals prevailed. Although Siddha more than anything else, long-term commitment to Yoga disciples relied on the grace of the guru, they Siddha Yoga was a result of what it provided in terms all were equally dependent in this way. Furthermore, of a remystification of the world. Spiritual seekers as- they all had equal access to teachings and practices, sociated the Siddha Yoga brand with Muktananda, were required to perform ethical actions, and were who was perceived as a siddha or ‘perfected master’, viewed as having God within them. and with shaktipat, which involved an experience of In the 1970s, Muktananda fortified the Siddha nothing less than God. Yoga brand by means of his ‘world tours’, which in- Muktananda took additional steps towards forti- volved three trips to numerous parts of the world but fying the Siddha Yoga brand by supporting Siddha with especially long periods in the United States in Yoga centres, which provided a sense of group identi- 1970, from 1974 to 1976, and from 1978 to 1981. The ty to individuals who did not have regular direct con- very method by which people learned Siddha Yoga tact with the guru himself. In 1975, he established the changed as, instead of relying exclusively on one- SYDA (Siddha Yoga Dham Associates) Foundation, on-one transmission at the Gurudev Siddha Peeth the organization responsible for the financial and or- ashram, Muktananda went out to urban centres in ganizational infrastructure of Siddha Yoga outside of search of disciples, actively marketing the Siddha India. Organizational developments included the in- Yoga brand. troduction of Siddha Yoga courses and teacher train- Muktananda further fortified the brand in 1974 ing programmes as well as establishing departments when he introduced ‘the Intensive’, a choreographed for the publication of Siddha Yoga books. All of this retreat where initiates received shaktipat. This made enabled the construction, marketing, and perpetu the bestowal of shaktipat upon hundreds – and to- ation of the Siddha Yoga brand across product lines. day, thousands – of people at a time efficient, cost-ef- Successful brand image management resulted in fective, and available for immediate consumption.14 thousands of people from urban areas across the world By commodifying shaktipat in this way, especially choosing Siddha Yoga. By the time of Muktananda’s with regard to admission charges for an Intensive, death in 1982, Siddha Yoga ashrams and centres were Muktananda ‘locked-in’ consumers, meaning he de- present in India, the United States, Europe, and Aus- creased the likelihood that they would pursue other tralia. In the last year of Muktananda’s life, however, there were major gaffes in the guru’s brand image the general Kashmiri populace’ (see White 1999: 255; management when he transgressed the normative Caldwell 2001: 25). ethical standards that Siddha Yoga embraced by en- 14 Initiates, however, have to pay for admission to an gaging in sexual rituals involving young women and Intensive where they receive shaktipat, thus making girls (see Caldwell 2001, Jain forthcoming). With ac- shaktipat inaccessible to those who cannot afford the cusations of improprieties, brand success declined. price of admission. Nevertheless, as articulated by Yet Muktananda’s successor, Chidvilasananda, and Muller-Ortega, making shaktipat readily accessible to her disciples have managed to keep the brand com- a global audience made Siddha Yoga unique: ‘Because peting in the global market for spiritual wares. Today, of shaktipat’s historical rarity and relative unavailabil- ity, the notion that Swami Muktananda should have there are Siddha Yoga ashrams or centres in thirty made shaktipat attainable on a wide scale around the countries worldwide (SYDA Foundation 2012), and world is quite noteworthy. After many centuries of Friend is only one amongst thousands of contempor barely being available even in India, its sudden and ary yoga consumers to choose Siddha Yoga. relatively easy accessibility marks an unprecedented and significant historical shift. It is only when we fathom the rarity of what Swami Muktananda pro- fessed to be offering to the world that we can begin 15 The greater the setup costs, the less likely consumers to appreciate the boldness and genius of his decision are to move to another, even better, ware, especially to bring shaktipat out of its millennial obscurity.’ when such a move requires additional costs (Zauber- (Muller-Ortega 1997: 410.) man 2003: 405–19).
Approaching Religion • Vol. 2, No. 2 • December 2012 11 A second-generation yoga brand: Anusara Yoga tem. More than anything else, Friend embraced the On the one hand, Iyengar and Muktananda, first- rigorous physical fitness dimensions of Iyengar Yoga generation yoga entrepreneurs, selected from the and the non-dualistic tantric philosophy of Siddha non-branded yoga systems of Krishnamacharya and Yoga. After realizing the conflict between Siddha Nityananda respectively in order to construct new Yoga philosophy and Iyengar Yoga, which main- yoga brands that would be mass marketed to the gen- tained the dualistic philosophy of the Yoga Sutra and eral populace. On the other hand, Friend, a second- emphasized physical fitness with what Friend per- generation yoga entrepreneur, selected from previ- ceived to be the loss of spirituality (Williamson forth- ously existent yoga brands, Iyengar Yoga and Siddha coming), Friend set out to construct his own form of Yoga, in order to construct the Anusara Yoga brand. tantra-inspired postural yoga, which would resolve Having selected and introduced his yoga brand in the perceived incompatibilities between Siddha Yoga the 1990s, he elaborated and fortified it throughout and Iyengar Yoga. the early 2000s. Successful brand image management When Friend introduced Anusara Yoga in 1997, resulted in hundreds of thousands of people from ur- the brand represented a mix of postural yoga, a ban areas across the world choosing Anusara Yoga in tantric, non-dualist philosophy, and a life-affirming what was now a diversified global yoga market. and light-hearted approach that is premised on the Before introducing his yoga brand, Friend had idea ‘that everything in this world is an embodiment had a laudable yoga career. He studied with the of Supreme Consciousness, which at its essence pul- most famous living postural yoga teacher, Iyengar, sates with goodness and the highest bliss’ (Anusara, and spent four years on the Board of Directors of Inc. 2009a). Based on his years of studying Iyengar the Iyengar Yoga National Association. In 1995, he Yoga, Friend adopted certain biomechanical prin returned to the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga ciples but, based on his years studying Siddha Yoga, Institute for another one-month intensive yoga pro- he gave them a non-dualist tantric spin, arguing that gramme. He also studied with other world famous their aim was ‘to bring the body into alignment with teachers, including Desikachar, Patabhi Jois, and the Optimal Blueprint’ (Friend 2009a: 39). In addi- Indra Devi (1899–2002). None of them affected him tion to the Anusara philosophy, the selection of books as powerfully as Chidvilasananda, the guru of Siddha available through Anusara Yoga’s website, which fea- Yoga (Williamson forthcoming). Friend maintained tures a variety of books on tantric philosophy as well ties to Siddha Yoga – he spent almost every sum- as books on biomechanics (Anusara, Inc. 2009b), mer from 1992 to 2004 living and teaching in the evidences Friend’s selection from both Iyengar’s pos- Hatha Yoga Department at the Siddha Yoga Shree tural yoga and Siddha Yoga’s soteriological yoga. Muktananda Ashram in South Fallsburg, New York All of Friend’s selective and elaborative strategies (Friend 2009b).16 resulted in one of the most successful yoga brands in All of Friend’s hours of study under various yoga the world. Friend convinced hundreds of thousands proponents significantly influenced his selection pro- of consumers to choose his yoga brand over others, cess as he constructed his own idiosyncratic yoga sys- and the demand for his products quickly went glob- al. What made Friend’s yoga brand stand out most was that it signified the idea that goodness is present 16 Further solidifying his ties to Siddha Yoga, Friend in everyone in a life-affirming way. According to accepted an invitation from Chidvilasananda to join Friend, ‘Tantra is not only the most elegant and so- the Siddha Yoga Professors and Scholars Department. phisticated system, but it’s the one that aligns with my Through his involvement in that department, Friend heart because it sees that the very essence of life is joy befriended many scholars of Siddha Yoga, includ- ing Douglas Brooks, Paul Muller-Ortega, William or love and that there’s a goodness to life’ (William- Mahony, and Sally Kempton (then Swami Durga- son forthcoming). According to Lola Williamson, nanda), thus forming a network that would continue who conducted several interviews with Friend and to influence his thinking about and dissemination his students, ‘positively affirming his students with of yoga (Williamson forthcoming). These scholars lightness and humour quickly became the hallmark would eventually collaborate on the edited volume, of Friend’s teaching style’ (Williamson forthcoming). Meditation Revolution, which offers a history and the- In 1998, Friend took an important step toward ology of Siddha Yoga (Brooks et al. 1997). In August 2004, Friend taught his last yoga programme at the fortifying his brand when he developed instructions Siddha Yoga ashram after which Gurumayi closed the for how to teach Anusara Yoga and published them ashram to visitors (Williamson forthcoming). as the Anusara Teacher Training Manual (2009).
12 Approaching Religion • Vol. 2, No. 2 • December 2012 With over a thousand licensed teachers worldwide, Anusara Yoga brand by publically embracing the exo Anusara became one of the most common yoga sys- teric dimensions of tantra, such as postures, breath- tems in the global yoga market. ing exercises, and devotion, rather than the esoteric In addition to consumers who attended yoga stu- dimensions that required the practitioner to deliber- dios where teachers taught Anusara Yoga, hundreds ately transgress normative ethical standards. In ac- and sometimes thousands of people gathered to- cordance with the Siddha Yoga gurus, Friend never gether at yoga workshops, conferences, and festivals publicly prescribed transgressive techniques. Rather, to hear Friend disseminate his teachings on yoga as he prescribed the strict ethical guidelines as articu- fitness and spirituality. Friend offered workshops all lated for all Anusara Yoga consumers on the Anusara over the United States and the world at destinations website (Anusara, Inc. 2009c). as far as Taipei, Tokyo, Copenhagen, and Munich. Because it successfully signified the meaning of Friend’s steps toward fortifying the Anusara Yoga yoga for many consumers, Anusara Yoga was pro- brand effectively locked-in consumers. Committed ducing millions of dollars a year in revenue. In 2012, students spent thousands of dollars on yoga classes, Friend was in the middle of one of his world tours, teacher-training workshops, and travelling costs, which were an important means of consolidating his not to mention other Anusara Yoga products, rang- yoga brand. This tour was entitled Igniting the Center ing from products in the Anusara yoga clothing line and began in Encinitas, California, a yoga epicentre, to Anusara Yoga mats and water bottles (Anusara, in honour of the new headquarters for Anusara Inc. 2009d). Friend even collaborated with the cor- Yoga, called simply, ‘The Center’, which Friend was porate fitness clothing apparel giant, Adidas, and the building there. But just as Friend enjoyed a place corporate yoga accessories giant, Manduka. in the limelight in the yoga world for his success as Consumers’ commitment to Anusara Yoga, how- the founder of a growing yoga organization and for ever, cannot be reduced to the phenomenon of con- what was perceived as his virtuous character, he and sumer lock-in. Anusara Yoga, in short, consists of his yoga brand became mired in scandals (see Jain more than just its commodities. Based on numerous 2012b). He was accused of transgressing the ethical interviews with Anusara Yoga practitioners, William- guidelines that Anusara Yoga prescribed when he son (forthcoming) suggests that Anusara Yoga pro- made what were perceived as unethical sexual and vided a strong sense of community and meaning for financial decisions. individuals who rejected traditional institutionalized The accusations can be summarized as follows: religions. Friend offered a form of religiosity that was Friend led a Wiccan coven and had sex with female accessible to a wide audience, since its life-affirming, members; Friend had numerous sexual relation- light-hearted approach, like other successful con- ships with married Anusara employees and teachers; sumer goods, was not all-encompassing and instead Friend violated federal regulations regarding em- could be integrated as one part of a larger worldview ployee benefits by suddenly freezing Anusara, Inc.’s or lifestyle.17 Furthermore, Friend appealed to those pension fund; and finally, Friend put his employees consumers who desired a form of yoga that involved at legal risk by arranging for them to accept packages positive affirmation while simultaneously avoiding of marijuana meant for his personal use (Yoga Dork doing so with the loss of an emphasis on physical fit- 2012b).18 ness, which was in popular demand amongst yoga Suspicion that the accusations were true grew consumers. as people learned that four of Anusara Yoga’s most Anusara Yoga was also successful because, in a senior teachers – Christina Sell, Darren Rhodes, way similar to Muktananda, Friend elaborated the Elena Brower, and Amy Ippoliti – had recently re- signed one by one, citing ‘professional differences’ (Yoga Dork 2012b). Soon after the accusations went 17 ‘The term “lifestyle” ’, according to Featherstone, ‘is public, more of Anusara’s most loyal consumers aban- currently in vogue . . . within the contemporary con- doned Anusara Yoga. Two additional senior teach- sumer culture it connotes individuality, self-expres- ers, Noah Maze and Bernadette Birney, resigned, sion, and a stylistic self-consciousness. One’s body, and Maze stepped down from his position on an clothes, speech, leisure pastimes, eating and drinking interim committee that Friend established to ensure preferences, home, car, choice of holidays, etc. are to be regarded as indicators of the individuality of taste and sense of style of the owner/consumer.’ (Feather- 18 The accusations were re-posted by blogger Yoga Dork stone 2007: 81.) in early February from an anonymous site.
Approaching Religion • Vol. 2, No. 2 • December 2012 13 Anusara’s survival from the onslaught of the scandals cent restructuring) general manager of Anusara. But (Yoga Dork 2012b). On her website, Birney added that doesn’t mean the infallible attributes often asso- to the scandals, claiming that Friend had ‘decided to ciated with the term guru have not been attributed “heal” his students with “sex therapy” ’ (Birney 2012). to him. Until the scandals of 2012, Friend had been With the threat of Friend’s gaffes permanently considered the paragon of virtue within the Anusara damaging the Anusara Yoga brand image, Friend community. confirmed that he had had sexual relationships with But even if Friend functioned as a guru for the married employees and teachers and that Anusara, Anusara community, his relationship to the Anusara Inc. had violated federal regulations regarding em- brand is no different from the relationship of other ployee pension funds (Lewis 2012). Friend also wrote popular persons to particular brands. Although, as the following to Anusara Yoga teachers: an entrepreneur, Friend constructed a brand and marketed it successfully, he may have also destroyed The central issue now is that the wonderful it – given the recent nature of the scandals, this is yet image and reputation of Anusara yoga has been to be determined. At the very least, he damaged the severely stained in the minds of some, since my Anusara Yoga brand image, which illustrates a key personal behavior has been perceived to be out dimension of yoga brand image management: the of integrity with Anusara ethics . . . the dis- type of yoga one does and what it signifies is not the harmony between my personal image and the only thing that determines steps toward consumer values of our school needs to be reconciled, if lock-in. What one’s teacher represents also matters. Anusara is to properly heal . . . we are exploring In other words, yoga brands are often identified with scenarios in which the company is restructured persons as well as styles or values. In this way, yoga to give teachers more voice and representation entrepreneurs’ relationships to their brands are simi- not only in areas of brand, ethics and curricu- lar to the relationships of other popular persons to lum, but also in the governance and direction of particular brands – think of Steve Jobs and the Apple the company itself. (Yoga Dork 2012a.) brand. In the same way that Jobs was believed to have abilities beyond mundane marketing skills, Friend He added, ‘We must all remember that any missteps was considered to have special insight into the nature by me do not invalidate any of the greatness of the of yoga and its path to self-development. Anusara yoga method’ (Yoga Dork 2012a). Friend and his colleagues are desperately attempt- ing to save Anusara Yoga’s brand image. In order to Conclusion re-invigorate a declining brand image, Friend an- In the late twentieth century, as economies in urban nounced the appointment of Michal Lichtman as areas across the world increasingly shifted toward the CEO of the new ‘teacher-run, nonprofit organization production and consumption of customized prod- – the Anusara Yoga School’, adding that Friend him- ucts based on individual consumers’ desires and self would remain only ‘founder, student, and teacher needs, yoga became subject to branding processes. of Anusara yoga’ (Yoga Dork 2012c). Yoga brands signified the dominant physical and Some journalistic accounts of the scandals as- psychological self-developmental desires and needs sumed that such changes would make a difference to of contemporary consumers. Anusara Yoga’s success in the global market. Stewart Two first-generation yoga entrepreneurs, Iyengar J. Lawrence suggests in The Huffington Post that the and Muktananda, constructed the early yoga brands: Anusara Yoga situation reflects the reality for the en- Iyengar Yoga and Siddha Yoga respectively. Iyengar tire yoga industry, whose future is grim due to the selected from the unbranded yoga system of Krishna- dominance of ‘charismatic, guru-based governing macharya and mass marketed a postural yoga brand structures’ rather than ‘more modern and democrat- that represented physical fitness and wellbeing. ic’ ones (Lawrence 2012). Muktananda selected from the unbranded yoga sys- Friend was not, however, the Anusara Yoga guru. tem of his guru, Nityananda, Vedanta, and Kashmir Even though Friend used the term kula (Sanskrit for Shaivism, and mass marketed a soteriological yoga ‘family’) to refer to the Anusara Yoga community brand that provided a remystification of the world – a term traditionally applied to disciples gathered and what was perceived as a virtuous guru figure. around a guru – Friend rejects the label, preferring Friend, a second-generation yoga entrepreneur, instead to call himself the founder and (until the re- selected from Iyengar Yoga and Siddha Yoga and
14 Approaching Religion • Vol. 2, No. 2 • December 2012 subsequently introduced, elaborated, and fortified php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71&Ite the Anusara Yoga brand. By successfully construct- mid=188> (accessed 7.3.2012). ing a brand that signified health, the affirmation of —2009d. ‘Online Store’. Anusara: Yoga, Shri, Community. life, light-heartedness, and community, he succeeded Approaching Religion • Vol. 2, No. 2 • December 2012 15 Featherstone, Mike 1991. ‘The Body in Consumer Cul Journal’s 2008 Yoga in America Survey. 16 Approaching Religion • Vol. 2, No. 2 • December 2012 White, David Gordon 1996. The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. —1999. ‘Tantric Sects and Tantric Sex: The Flow of Secret Tantric Gnosis’. In: Elliot R. Wolfson (ed.), Rending the Veil: Concealment and Secrecy in the History of Religions. New York: Seven Bridges Press. —2009. Sinister Yogis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. —2012. ‘Introduction’. In: David Gordon White (ed.), Yoga in Practice. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Williamson, Lola 2005. ‘The Perfectability of Perfection: Siddha Yoga as a Global Movement’. In: Thomas A. Forsthoefel & Cynthia Ann Humes (eds), Gurus in America. State University of New York Press. —Forthcoming. ‘Stretching toward the Sacred: John Friend and Anusara Yoga’. In: Ellen Goldberg & Mark Singleton (eds), Modern Yoga Gurus. New York: Ox- ford University Press. Willis, Paul 1990. Common Culture. Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Yoga Dork 2012a. ‘Letter from John Friend to Anusara Yoga Teachers’. Approaching Religion • Vol. 2, No. 2 • December 2012 17