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What Is Critical Yoga Studies?: Gender, Health, and Cross-Cultur- Al Consumption of Yoga in Contemporary North America

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What Is Critical Yoga Studies?: Gender, Health, and Cross-Cultur- Al Consumption of Yoga in Contemporary North America WHAT IS CRITICAL YOGA STUDIES?: GENDER, HEALTH, AND CROSS-CULTUR- AL CONSUMPTION OF YOGA IN CONTEMPORARY NORTH AMERICA JUDITH MINTZ A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PAR- TIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN GENDER, FEMINIST, & WOMEN’S STUDIES YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO September 2018 © Judith Mintz, 2018 ABSTRACT This feminist ethnography of contemporary yoga communities in North America repre- sents my exploration of inequalities in the yoga world. Through conversations about how we ex- perience our bodies, our abilities, and social locations, I ask questions about inclusion and exclu- sion, body normativity, and authenticity. Yoga offers an intersectional lens through which to ex- amine and shift intersecting inequalities not only in the yoga studio, but in the health and fitness milieu as well. Key questions examine the factors that have led to the dominance of white, able bodied women in yoga. What makes yoga, yoga? How do we know what we are doing as yoga students is authentic, and what marks authenticity in a diverse climate of hybridity and transnational cul- tural exchange? This dissertation examines the ways in which contemporary yoga practitioners take up the issues of identity in yoga sites, particularly with regard to race, gender, embodiment, and class. It asks, how are ideological gender norms and embodiment produced and reproduced in North American yoga communities, and how do practitioners resist or conform to them? Multi-site ethnography is the central research method. The fieldwork consisted of partici- pant observation in yoga classes, one-on-one interviews with yoga teachers and students, a par- ticipatory action research group, and discourse analysis of social media conversations about yoga. As the dissertation takes up questions around race and authenticity in yoga, the Race and Yoga Conference in Oakland, California was an important site of investigation. Research results showed that yoga in North America is not a unified practice, despite much debate as to what is considered valid and authentic in terms of what people think is the real yoga. Yoga is not a monolithic entity, and many approaches to yoga can function for those com- "ii mitted to social justice. The thesis also concludes that accessibility in yoga is multivalent, be- cause people consider access to yoga in a variety of ways. Affordable yoga classes are great, but if people with disabilities can not get up the stairs to the studio, then they miss out. Intersectional feminism in yoga is one powerful way to address these issues. Keywords: Yoga, Health as Social Value, Accessibility, Body Image, Authenticity, Precarious Labour, Gender essentialism, Whiteness, Multi-site ethnography iii" DEDICATION In traditional yoga learning contexts and practices, a study, or sādhana is dedicated in honour of an important and influential teacher. Sometimes we chant an invocation as part of this dedication, or even say a prayer. The cornerstone of my yoga practice is to offer a mettā lovingkindness prayer, which I learned from my teachers at a Buddhist retreat centre on Salt Spring Island in the late 1990s. Mettā is a Buddhist practice to generate compassion, and it has been popularized by American Buddhist writers Jon Kabat Zinn and Sharon Salzberg. This, for me, is the cornerstone of my yoga practice in which we say, “May all beings be free from suffering. May all beings be safe, happy, and peaceful.” This dissertation is dedicated to every yoga practitioner and teacher who is working for accessibility and social justice through and in yoga. I also dedicate this dis- sertation to all beings for whom yoga has been a boon to their lives, but have encountered obsta- cles in their practice, whether they be pain, affordability, body image struggles, or isolation of any kind that makes them feel alone rather than unified in community or whole in themselves. It is my hope that this dissertation offers a ray of light towards the potential power of yoga to sup- port self-awareness, equity, compassion, and true well-being. iv" ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many thanks go to the women and men who shared their stories in this study. Without their thoughts and ideas about the culture of yoga in the West, this dissertation would not exist. To the inspiring yoga people who have been part of this study both virtually and in person all along, I bow. I am grateful to my steadfast and patient supervisor, Dr. Jacinthe Michaud, who stuck with me from the first time I approached her to be on my comprehensive exams committee back in 2012. Her no-nonsense, suitably rigorous approach kept me on track and accountable to the discipline of Gender, Feminist, and Women’s Studies. Drs. Amar Wahab and Maggie MacDonald graciously formed the other two thirds of my committee, creating an inspiring, encouraging, and complementary team that rounded out my dissertation development. Thank you to my copy edi- tor, Roseanne Harvey! Roseanne’s critical eye on the yoga world and expertise in publishing is a gift for which I am extremely grateful. I was fortunate to start my PhD with an Ontario Graduate Scholarship. The School of Gender and Women’s Studies Ethel Armstrong Doctoral Award, Jerilyn Manson Hing Bursary, and Karen Hadley Award not only supported me during my PhD, but also provided much needed validation for my work. Thanks also to Faculty of Graduate Studies and CUPE 3903 for various funding support for field research and toward completion. Many yoga teachers and academics struggle to balance their work with mothering. I also want to thank Dr Andrea O’Reilly, whose groundbreaking and affirming research into feminist and empowered mothering encouraged me that I could do this massive project. Andrea first ex- tended her warmth and encouragement when I was in my Masters, and I was her teaching as- "v sistant in Motherhood and Mothering for two years. My first conference presentation and book chapter was through Andrea’s organization, Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement, and for these scholarly opportunities I am most grateful. I am also grateful to my many academic peers who were on the ride alongside me throughout this PhD and two CUPE 3903 (our labour union) strikes. Thanks go to Danielle Cooper, one of my first GFWS cohort friends and teaching assistant buddy, who first suggested I can do an ethnography on yoga communities back in April 2012. Kaila Simoneau was the initial convenor in our Not-Going-it-Alone Writing Group, thanks go to her for being a writing buddy. Thank you to GWST folks and teaching colleagues who offered a shoulder or a laugh as we worked together or walked the picket line together. I have a handful of dear friends who also helped me get through this PhD in non-academic ways. I have so much gratitude that these peo- ple have been part of my life and research: Martha, Sri, Oren, Amara, Martine, Twyla, Andrea B. I am indebted to my family. I thank my mother, Joanne Mintz. Who else could I count as my Number One biggest fan? To my sweet children Shaina and Rachel, thank you for your pa- tience while your mom constantly did her work. I hope that I somehow was able to instil in them a love for learning, reading, movement, and independent work. Raising daughters has provided me with countless hours of joy, silliness, and structure which are the counterpoint to this academ- ic life. I am grateful to them both for tolerating my rants, and for growing with me as feminists through this PhD journey. And finally, my infinite gratitude goes to Stewart McIntosh, who showed me that it is possible to have your partner, lover, and best friend in the same person. Stewart’s support and patience has seen me through the toughest times in this process with gentle encouragement and presence of being. There is not enough chocolate in this world to thank you. vi" TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract…………………….……………………………………………………………..………ii Dedication…………………………………………………………………………….………iv Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………..v Table of Contents……….………………………………………………………………..………vii List of Tables………..……………………………………………………………………………..x List of Illustrations………….…………..…………………………………………….…………..xi Chapter One: INTRODUCTION: TOWARD A CRITICAL YOGA STUDIES…………..………….…………1 The Fieldwork Context: Three Juxtaposing Vignettes of Contemporary Yoga Experiences…………………………………………….…………………………………2 Thick Description 1: Iyengar Yoga………………….……………………………4 Thick Description 2: Sivananda Yoga……………………….……….…………..7 Thick Description 3: Composite Mainstream Yoga Class…….……….…..……11 Yoga History Primer………………………….………………………..………………..16 Chapter Outline of the Dissertation………………………..……..…………………….30 a) Yoga, Authenticity, and Race…………………………………………………….31 b) Political Economy of Health and Yoga: Mothers and Teachers…..…..…………33 c) The Body Project of Yoga: Health, Ideal Femininity, and Image Culture…….…35 d) Yoga and Social Justice: Toward a Feminist Ethics of Care…………………….38 Chapter Two: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS FOR UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURE OF YOGA COMMUNITIES IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY………………………………………40 Introduction: Why Inequality and Oppression? Because Capitalism………….….……..40 In Defence of Materialist Feminism………………………….…….……………………41 Theories of Whiteness : The Hunt for the Spiritual Fix………….………………………48 Feminist Political Economy: Women as Consumers of Health and Wellness Practices and Products………………………………………………………………….………………58 The Problem with Health……….…………………………………….…………….……61 (Re)making Yoga in Women’s Image: Two Yoga
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