25% Yoga in Britain DISCOUNT AVA Stretching Spirituality and Educating Yogis ILABLE Suzanne Newcombe Yoga in Britain reveals how yoga came to be an accepted, mainstream activity in the twentieth century. During this period, yoga transformed from an esoteric concept into a something that would be taught to thousands of middle-class women in adult-education classes. For the post-war welfare state, yoga was understood as having potential public benefit in promoting physical health and well-being. The yoga classes that developed in this context established certification structures and secular, replicable class forms. This setting is crucial in understanding the methods and expectations found in globally popular forms of yoga. Moreover, yoga has not developed in a linear manner. Old and new forms co-exist, adapting to suit the specific needs of particular populations. In twenty-first-century Britain, yoga cannot be collapsed into a form of neoliberal commercialism or cultural appropriation, although these influences on yoga in Britain are also evident. Using extensive archival evidence and oral history interviews, the book reveals the diversity of individuals involved in the popularisation of yoga. In Britain, as throughout the world, yoga continues to be understood and practised in very distinct ways by different people. Suzanne Newcombe is a Lecturer in Religious Studies at the Open University and a Research Fellow at Inform, a charity based at King’s College London. She researches yoga and Ayurveda from a sociological and social-historical perspective. Contents Prologue: Rethinking Yoga 2019 324pp 234 x 156mm Illus. 1. The Literary Elite: Booksellers and Publishers hb ISBN 9781781796597 2. The Self-Taught Yogis, Adult Education and the Wheel of Yoga £75.00 / $100.00 £56.25 / $75.00 3. Charismatic Gurus in Adult Education pb ISBN 9781781796603 4. Middle Class Women Join Evening Classes £24.95 / $36.00 £18.71 / $27.00 5. Yoga in Popular Music and ‘Counter Culture’ (the 60s and 70s) eBook ISBN 9781781796610 6. Yoga on the Telly 7. Yoga as Therapy 8. Diversity of Practice and Practitioners Download our Religion mobile app Postscript: Yoga in Britain after the 1980s and take advantage of discounts on Bibliography and Index books and journal subscriptions, free downloads, and special offers Place an order online at equinoxpub.com to receive a 25% discount. Enter the code RELIGION at the checkout when prompted and your order will be discounted.