Yoga Communities in Aotearoa/New Zealand Examining Spirituality, Secularism, and Consumerism in the Wellington Yoga Industry
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Master’s Thesis: Yoga Communities in Aotearoa/New Zealand Examining Spirituality, Secularism, and Consumerism in the Wellington Yoga Industry By Ali Hale Tilley A thesis Submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington In fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts In Religious Studies Victoria University of Wellington 2017 Author Ali Hale Tilley Director of Sadhana Yoga Ltd. New Zealand Yoga Centre, 20 Stewart Street, Marton, 4710. Email: [email protected] www.sadhanayoganz.com ii Abstract This ethnographic study looks at the Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) yoga industry, examining the ways that spirituality, secularism, and consumerism influence modern yoga practices. This study argues that people in New Zealand choose yoga practices for different ethical, physical, and social reasons, reflecting their diverse sociocultural values. More specifically, data gathered during fieldwork shows that the Wellington yoga industry contains at least three community subcultures, which I refer to as: 1) moral communities, 2) corporate communities, and 3) brand communities. This means that at the level of local culture, the NZ yoga industry represents a wide range of yoga practices, which in turn reflect the diverse needs, consumer expectations, and imagined ideals of resident populations. Interdisciplinary literature from Religious Studies, Sociology, and Consumer Marketing Research help analyze the complex connections between spirituality as a set of embodied practices, secularisation of yoga as a reflection of corporate culture, and consumerism as a set of desired customer experiences. Yoga in NZ is currently under-researched, making this study a starting point for further inquiry. iii Acknowledgements I would like to express deep gratitude to Dr Rick Weiss, my supervisor, whose guidance and support helped shape this study. Dr Weiss was a great mentor and our meetings always gave me positive reassurance that this study had something important to say. I would also like to thank the Religious Studies department of Victoria University Wellington for providing an excellent office space and resources during this project. I greatly value the assistance of Aliki Kalliabetsos our faculty organiser, and the encouragement of Mal Frawley, my office colleague. Heartfelt appreciation goes to my parents Ann and John Tilley, two very special people, who sponsored my course costs and encouraged me throughout my studies. I would also like to extend wholehearted thanks to Lorraine Watson, who was a great mentor and inspiration. A special thanks too to my cousins Adrienne and Nikki who provided information of my Godmother/Aunt Pauline’s role as a yoga teacher in NZ during the 1960s and 70s. Special thanks to Milan Magan who gave me words of support, and helped to proofread and edit the final draft. I would also like to express deep gratitude to Ravanand Sawaswati (Guruji) who provided me with lodgings in Barsana as I prepared the MA proposal, but who passed into mahasamādhi on October 24, 2016 (Om Namo Narayana!). Also, thank you to Mrs Ruxmani Kasanji who showed kindness and compassion during my studies. Finally, I would like to acknowledge and pay respect to all the participants who took part in this study (see Appendix). These pages represent your voices, ideas, and images. Although I could not include excerpts from all the interviews, participants’ experiences and insights were an important part of shaping and informing this study. iv Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................ v List of Figures ..................................................................................................................................... vi Chapter One Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 Original hypothesis and outline of findings ........................................................................................ 4 Historical perspectives ........................................................................................................................ 7 Review of scholarly sources .............................................................................................................. 13 Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 17 Chapter Outline ................................................................................................................................. 22 Chapter Two Moral communities ............................................................................................... 25 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 25 Building moral communities ............................................................................................................. 27 Spiritual transformations .................................................................................................................. 31 Growing Social Activism .................................................................................................................... 38 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 41 Chapter Three Corporate Communities ....................................................................................... 43 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 43 Secularised yoga in corporate settings ............................................................................................. 46 The gendered spirit of Pākehā Kiwi culture ...................................................................................... 54 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 58 Chapter Four Brand communities ............................................................................................... 60 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 60 Branding the Guru ............................................................................................................................. 65 Building brand communities and exploring brand paradox ............................................................. 72 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 77 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 79 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 84 Appendix ............................................................................................................................................... 91 v List of Figures Figure 1: Wynne Foote: Auckland-based Teacher of Dancing and Physical Culture (1915) ................... 9 Figure 2: Physical culture classes for Auckland students (1926). ......................................................... 10 Figure 3: Article on Ruth Erikson from the New Zealand Women’s Weekly (1959) ............................. 12 Figure 4: Demographics of interview participants – Round One .......................................................... 18 Figure 5: Demographics of interview participants – Round Two .......................................................... 19 Figure 6: Community yoga at Parua Bay Hall (photo: Susan Prior NZ Yoga Scene Magazine) ............. 29 Figure 7: West Papua activists partaking in Morning Star yoga outside the Indonesian Embassy ...... 40 Figure 8: Corporate Yoga Class (photo: Ella-Francesca Donalson for NZ Yoga Scene Magazine) ........ 49 Figure 9: Power Living Yoga, Wellington............................................................................................... 61 Figure 10: Iyengar Yoga Studio, Wellington .......................................................................................... 61 Figure 11: Community Typologies ........................................................................................................ 80 Figure 12: Interview Schedule .............................................................................................................. 91 vi Chapter One Introduction ‘Modern yoga’ speaks volumes about local culture. That is, we can learn about local peoples’ worldviews by looking at their preferred modern yoga practices.1 This thesis presents an ethnography of modern yoga practices in Wellington, New Zealand (NZ). I aim to demonstrate the ways that a variety of yoga practices and settings reflect social and cultural diversity in the capital city, Wellington. Specifically,