Yoga and the Gig Economy
Pandemic, Precarity and Yoga Teacher Labour
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.25489Keywords:
yoga teacher labour, british yoga, precarity, gender studies, capitalism, yoga, gig economy, gender, neoliberalism, pandemic, Covid-19Abstract
In this article, I explore the relationship between yoga and the gig economy, a phenomenon that was accentuated during the pandemic and has prevailed in the current cost-of-living crisis. In the first half of the article, I review existing literature in relation to yoga, women and work, and examine how flexibilization, precarization and gender intersect in the organization of labour, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the second half of the article, I draw on my observations from a conceptual reading of Instagram content, and social justice activity organized by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) Yoga Teachers branch, to sketch two retrospective positions that reflect how yoga teachers responded to flexible work during the pandemic. The positions are sketched in the conceptual portraits of the ‘yoga-preneur’ and ‘yoga-unionist’, with the caveat that there is nuance in these characterizations. Lastly, I dissolve the binary between these positions using Lorusso’s term ‘entreprecariat’, and contextualize this concept in reference to flexibilization, gender and the yoga profession.
References
Altglas, V. R. 2014. From Yoga to Kabbalah: Religious Exoticism and the Logics of Bricolage. New York: Oxford University Press. https://academic.oup.com/book/3538
Atkinson, J. 1984. 'Manpower Strategies for Flexible Organisations.' Personnel Management 16(8): 28-31.
Balizet, A. and W. Myers. 2016. 'Yoga, Postfeminism, and the Future.' In B. Berila, M. Klein and C. Jackson Roberts (eds), Yoga, The Body, and Embodied Social Change: An Intersectional Feminist Analysis . Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Betti, E. and E. Boris. 2023. 'Feminised work after Fordism.' In I. Ness (ed.), The Routledge Handbook of the Gig Economy. Abingdon: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003161875-11
Binkley, S. 2014. Happiness As Enterprise: An Essay On Neoliberal Life. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781438449852
Blakeley, G. 2020. The Corona Crash: How the Pandemic Will Change Capitalism. London: Verso.
Braidotti, R. 2020. '"We" Are In This Together, But We Are Not One and the Same.' Bioethical Inquiry: 465-69. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-020-10017-8
Braidotti, R. 2021. Posthuman Feminism. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Breman, J. and M. van der Linden. 2014. 'Informalizing the Economy: The Return of the Social Question at a Global Level.' Development and Change 45(5): 920-40. https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12115
Brown, W. 2015. Undoing The Demos: Neoliberalism's Stealth Revolution. New York: Zone Books. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt17kk9p8
Butler, J. 2009. 'Performativity, Precarity and Sexual Politics.' Revista de antropologia iberoamericana 4(3): I-XIII. https://doi.org/10.11156/aibr.040303e
Cartwright, T. et al. 2020. 'Yoga Practice in the UK: A Cross-sectional Survey of Motivation, Health Benefits and Behaviours.' BMJ 10. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031848
Clark, E. and L. A. Greene. 2022. Teaching Contemporary Yoga: Physical Philosophy and Critical Issues. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003181910
Di Placido, M. 2022. 'Focus, Flexibility, and Performativity: The Yogic Habitus and the Neoliberal Order.' Etnografia e Ricerca Qualitativa 2: 219-39.
---- 2021. 'The Yoga Studies Dispositif: The Discursive Study of Religion and the Birth and Development of a Discipline.' Method & Theory in the Study of Religion 33(5): 505-529. https://doi.org/10.1163/15700682-12341525
Di Placido, M., A. Strhan and S. Palmisano. 2022. 'Modern Postural Yoga and the Health-Spirituality-Neoliberalism Nexus.' Fieldwork in Religion 18(1): 8-36. https://doi.org/10.1558/firn.24253
Dinerstein, A. C. and F. H. Pitts. 2021. A World Beyond Work? Bingley: Emerald Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1108/9781787691438
Eide, E. 2016. 'Strategic Essentialism.' In A. Wong, M. Wickramasinghe, r. hoogland and N. A. Naples (eds), The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality Studies. Chichester: Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118663219.wbegss554
Erkmen, T. D. 2021. ‘Flexible Selves in Flexible Times? Yoga and Neoliberal Subjectivities in Istanbul’. Sociology 55(5): 1035–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038521998930
Fennell, A. 2023. 'Gig Economy Statistics UK.' https://standout-cv.com/gig-economy-statistics-uk (accessed 9 May 2023).
Finder. 2021. 'Yoga Statistics.' www.finder.com/uk/yoga-statistics (accessed 28 January 2023).
Flores Garrido, N. 2020. 'Precarity from a Feminist Perspective: A Note on Three Elements for the Political Struggle.' Review of Radical Political Economics 52(3): 582-90. https://doi.org/10.1177/0486613420906930
Foxen, A. P. 2020. Inhaling Spirit: Harmonialism, Orientalism, and the Western Roots of Modern Yoga. New York: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190082734.001.0001
Foxen, A. P. and C. Kuberry. 2021. Is This Yoga?: Concepts, Histories, and the Complexities of Modern Practice. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429422973
Fraser, N. 2013. Fortunes of Feminism: From State-Managed Capitalism to Neoliberal Crisis. London: Verso Books.
---- 2018. 'Understanding Capitalism, Nancy Fraser in Conversation with Ann Pettifor.' IPPR Progressive Review 25(2): 154-65. https://doi.org/10.1111/newe.12106
Fraser, N. and R. Jaeggi. 2018. Capitalism: A Conversation in Critical Theory. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Gershon, I. 2011. 'Neoliberal Agency.' Current Anthropology 52(4): 537-55. https://doi.org/10.1086/660866
Godrej, F. 2017. 'The Neoliberal Yogi and the Politics of Yoga.' Political Theory 45(6): 772-800. https://doi.org/10.1177/0090591716643604
Gupta, A., T. Tewary and B. N. Gopalakrishnan. 2022. Sustainability in The Gig Economy: Persp-ectives, Challenges and Opportunities in Industry 4.0. Singapore: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8406-7
Gutierrez-Rodriguez, E. 2014. 'The Precarity of Feminisation.' International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society 27(2): 191-202. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10767-013-9154-7
Harvey, D. 1989. The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change. Chichester: Wiley.
Hinz, A. et al. 2021. 'Practice or Performance? A Content Analysis of Yoga-Related Videos on Instagram.' Body Image 39: 175-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.08.002
Indeed. 2023. Yoga Instructor Salary in United Kingdom. https://uk.indeed.com/career/yoga-instructor/salaries (accessed 28 January 2023).
Inoue, M. 2007. 'Language and Gender in an Age of Neoliberalism.' Gender and Language 1(1): 79-91. https://doi.org/10.1558/genl.2007.1.1.79
IWGB Yoga Teachers Union. 2023a. 'Our Work.' https://yogateachersunion.co.uk/our-work (accessed 28 January 2023).
---- 2023b. 'Safety and Dignity at Work' https://yogateachersunion.co.uk/safety-and-dignity-at-work (accessed 28 January 2023).
Jaffe, S. 2021. Work Won't Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone. London: Hurst Publishers.
Jain, A. R. 2020. Peace Love Yoga: The Politics of Global Spirituality. New York: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190888626.001.0001
Kauer, K. 2016. 'Yoga Culture and Neoliberal Embodiment of Health.' In B. Berila, M. Klein and C. Jackson Roberts (eds), Yoga, The Body, and Embodied Social Change: An Intersectional Feminist Analysis. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Koro-Ljungberg, M. 2016. Data-Wants and Data Entanglements. Oxford: Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071802793
Lacasse, J., S. Santarossa and S. J. Woodruff. 2019. '#Yoga on Instagram: Understanding the Nature of Yoga in the Online Conversation and Community'. International Journal of Yoga 12(2): 153-57. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijoy.IJOY_50_18
Larsson, A. and R. Teigland. 2020. The Digital Transformation of Labor: Automation, The Gig Economy and Welfare. Abingdon: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429317866
Law, J. 2004. After Method: Mess in Social Science Research. Abingdon: Routledge.
Lea, J. 2020. 'Emotional and Atmospheric Labour in Contemporary Yoga Teaching.' www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuKorzsRNNs (accessed 29 January 2023).
Link, S. J. 2020. Forging Global Fordism: Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, and the Contest over the Industrial Order. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.23943/princeton/9780691177540.001.0001
Lorey, I. 2015. State of Insecurity: Government of the Precarious. London: Verso Books.
Lorusso, S. 2019. Entreprecariat: Everyone is an Entrepreneur, Nobody is Safe. Eindhoven: Onomatopee.
Lucia, A. J. 2020. White Utopias: The Religious Exoticism of Transformational Festivals. Oakland, CA: University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520976337
Maher, J. 2022. 'Pilates & Yoga Studios in the UK.' https://my.ibisworld.com/uk/en/industry-specialized/sp0.160/industry-at-a-glance#key-statistics-snapshot (accessed 9 May 2023).
Mangiarotti, E. 2022. 'The Politics of Tending to the Body: Women Doing Yoga in Genoa (Italy).' European Journal of Women's Studies 30(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/13505068221129063
Marx, K. 1976. Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Volume 1. London: Penguin.
McCartney, P. and A. Wittich. 2020. 'Changing Face of the Yoga Industry, Its Dharmic Roots and Its Message to Women: An Analysis of Yoga Journal Magazine Covers, 1975-2020.' Journal of Dharma Studies 3(1): 31-44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42240-020-00071-1
McRobbie, A. 2007. 'Top Girls?: Young Women and the Post-feminist Sexual Contract.' Cultural Studies 21(4-5): 718-37. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502380701279044
---- 2011. 'Reflections On Feminism, Immaterial Labour And The Post-Fordist Regime.' New Formations 70(70): 60-76. https://doi.org/10.3898/newf.70.04.2010
Mohanty, C. M. 2013. 'Transnational Feminist Crossings: On Neoliberalism and Radical Critique.' Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 38(4): 967-91. https://doi.org/10.1086/669576
Morrow, R. A. and D. D. Brown. 1994. Non-Empirical Methods: Reflexive Procedures. 3 vols. Oxford: Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452243696
Nervin, K. 2008. 'Empowerment and Using the Body in Modern Postural Yoga.' In Yoga in The Modern World: Contemporary Perspectives. London: Routledge.
Ness, I. (ed.) 2023. The Routledge Handbook of The Gig Economy. Abingdon: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003161875
Newcombe, S. 2019. Yoga in Britain: Stretching Spirituality and Educating Yogis. Sheffield: Equinox Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1558/isbn.9781781796610
Newlands, G. 2023. 'The Algorithmic Surveillance of Gig Workers: Mechanisms and Consequences.' In I. Ness (ed.), The Routledge Handbook of the Gig Economy. Abingdon: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003161875-6
Nicholson, L. 2013. 'Feminism in "Waves": Useful Metaphor or Not?' In C. McCann and S. Kim (eds), Feminist Theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives: 49-55. New York: Routledge.
Rosen, A. 2019. 'Balance, Yoga, Neoliberalism.' Signs and Society 7(3): 289-313. https://doi.org/10.1086/703088
Schnabele, V. 2013. 'The Useful Body: The Yogic Answer to Appearance Management in the Post-Fordist Workplace.' In B. Hauser (eds), Yoga Traveling: 135-53. Heidelberg: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00315-3_6
Shvetsova, O. 2022. 'Gig Economy: Trends and Perspectives. How to Define Advantages and Disadvantages of Gig Economy?' In Sustainability in The Gig Economy: Perspectives, Challenges and Opportunities in Industry 4.0. Singapore: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8406-7_2
Siegmann, K. A. and F. Schiphorst. 2016. 'Understanding the Globalizing Precariat: From Informal Sector to Precarious Work.' Progress in Development Studies 16(2): 111-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464993415623118
Singleton, M. and J. Byrne (eds). 2008. Yoga in the Modern World: Contemporary Perspectives. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203894996.
Smith, B. R. 2007. 'Body, Mind and Spirit? Towards an Analysis of the Practice of Yoga.' Body & Society 13(2): 25-46. https://doi.org/10.1177/1357034x07077771
Spivak, G. 1996. 'Subaltern Studies: Deconstructing Historiography?' In D. Landry and G. MacLean, The Spivak Reader: 203-37. London: Routledge
Standing, G. 1999. 'Global Feminization through Flexible Labor: A Theme Revisited.' World Dev-elopment 27(3): 583-602. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0305-750x(98)00151-x
Tekleab, A., K. M. Kuhn and T. L. Galloway. 2019. Work in the Gig Economy. Bingley: Emerald Publishing.
Thompson, J. D. and J. Weldon. 2022. Content Production for Digital Media: An Introduction. Singapore: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9686-2
Tridimas, B. (2023). 'UK Yogis and Nannies Look to Sex Workers in Fight for Rights.' https://www.context.news/socioeconomic-inclusion/uk-yogis-and-nannies-look-to-sex-workers-in-fight-for-rights (accessed 9 May 2023)
Urciuoli, B. (2008) 'Skills and Selves in the New Workplace.' American Ethnologist 35(2): 211-28. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-1425.2008.00031.x
Van Parijs, P. 1991. 'Why Surfers Should be Fed: The Liberal Case for an Unconditional Basic Income.' Philosophy & Public Affairs 20(2): 101-31. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315257563-16
Wellness Creative Co. 2022. 'Yoga Industry Growth, Market Trends & Analysis.' www.wellnesscreatives.com/yoga-industry-trends (accessed 28 January 2023).
Wildcroft, T. 2020. Post-lineage Yoga From Guru to #MeToo. Sheffield: Equinox. https://doi.org/10.1558/isbn.9781781799413
Willmott, B. (2017). 'The Growing Gig Economy.' www.cipd.org/uk/views-and-insights/thought-leadership/cipd-voice/archive/growing-gig-economy (accessed 9 May 2023)
Wood, A. J. et al. 2019. 'Good Gig, Bad Gig: Autonomy and Algorithmic Control in the Global Gig Economy.' Work, Employment and Society 33(1): 56-75. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017018785616
Woodcock, J. and M. Graham. 2020. The Gig Economy: A Critical Introduction. Chichester: Wiley.
Zahn, R. and N. Busby. 2023. 'Trade Unions, Women's Labour, and the Gig Economy.' In I. Ness (ed.), The Routledge Handbook of the Gig Economy. Abingdon: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003161875-12
Zizek, S. The Courage of Hopelessness: Chronicles of a Year of Acting Dangerously. London: Penguin.
