Improving Moral Posture
Female Pioneers of Hatha Yoga in 1950s Germany
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.25894Keywords:
yoga and religion, (Neo) Hatha Yoga, Yesudian, Yogananada, Christian Culture, New ThoughtAbstract
A common narrative in the discourse on modern transnational yoga concerns its secularization, i.e. the assumption that posture-based yoga can be separated from its soteriological background. This aspect is particularly pronounced in yoga manuals which, from the 1950s onwards, address a largely female audience. This article highlights a slightly different historical move: the promotion of yoga in line with a faith-based mindset. It presents a case study of two German sisters, who from 1952 onwards instructed an early generation of yoga teachers, referencing harmonious gymnastics, the Christian Indian Yesudian and the American legacy of Yogananda. I argue that in this sociohistorical context yoga practice was seen as a multi-religious method to increase and revive ethical rules and behaviour—regardless of the functional secular tone favoured in yoga manuals. This particular way of framing posture practice and its curative power was highly influenced by the aftermath of the war, and hence differed from what might be called New Age religion or today’s popular self-identification as ‘spiritual, but not religious’. The paper thus contributes to the entangled history of modern yoga and illustrates the impact of women for initiating the spread of respective posture practice. It adds theoretically to reconsidering religious narratives for positioning and rationalizing posture-based yoga.
References
Alter, Joseph S. 2004. Yoga in Modern India: The Body Between Science and Philosophy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400843435
Amaladass, Anand. 2018. 'Christian Responses to Yoga in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century.' In Karl Baier et al. (eds), Yoga in Transformation: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives: 487-503. Gottingen: V&R unipress. https://doi.org/10.14220/9783737008624.485
Anon. 1956. 'Bericht von der Jahreshauptversammlung.' Der Vegetarier 7(11): 9-11.
Anon. 1960. 'Mitteilungen aus den SRF-Zentren.' Gemeinschaft der Selbst-Verwirklichung: Jahresheft 1960: 53.
Baier, Karl. 1998. Yoga auf dem Weg nach Westen. Beitrage zur Rezeptionsgeschichte. Wurzburg: Konigshausen & Neumann.
---- 2009. Meditation und Moderne: Zur Genese eines Kernbereichs moderner Spiritualitat in der Wechselwirkung zwischen Westeuropa, Nordamerika und Asien. 2 Vols. Wurzburg: Konigshausen & Neumann.
---- 2018. 'Yoga within Viennese Occultism: Carl Keller and Co.' In Karl Baier et al. (eds), Yoga in Transformation: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives: 387-438. Gottingen: V&R unipress.
Bartos, Hannah K. 2021. Modern Transnational Yoga: The Transmission of Posture Practice. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781000367942
Binder, Hartmut. 2009. Gustav Meyrink: ein Leben im Bann der Magie. Prague: Vitalis.
Black, Monica. 2020. A Demon-Haunted Land: Witches, Wonder Doctors, and the Ghosts of the Past in Post-WWII Germany. New York: Metropolitan Books.
Borchard, Anne. 1992. '40 Jahre Yoga Schule Hannover.' Deutsches Yoga-Forum 1992(5): 28-31.
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1987. 'La dissolution du religieux.' In Pierre Bourdieu, Choses dites, 117-23. Paris: Edition de Minuit.
Burger, Maya 2023. 'From India to Hungary to Switzerland: Selvarajan Yesudian's Contribution to Yoga.' In Claire L. Blaser et al. (eds), Interweaving Histories--Iteneraries between Switzerland and India (1900-1950): 193-265. Basel: Schwabe.
De Michelis, Elizabeth. 2004. A History of Modern Yoga: Patanjali and Western Esotericism. London: Continuum.
Dechanet, Jean-Marie. 1960. Christian Yoga. New York: Harper.
Deslippe, Philip. 2018. 'The Swami Circuit: Mapping the Terrain of Early American Yoga.' Journal of Yoga Studies 1: 5-44. https://doi.org/10.34000/JoYS.2018.V1.002
---- 2019. 'The Hidden Sage: William Walker Atkinson and his Legacy.' The Dawn 12(5): 63-70.
Devi, Indra. 1953. Forever Young, Forever Healthy. Eaglewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Distelbarth, Margret. 2003. 'Geschichte des BDY.' Deutsches Yoga-Forum 2003(3): 28-31.
Foxen, Anya 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
---- 2022. Paramahamsa Yogananda. Oxford Bibliographies. https://doi.org/10.1093/obo/9780195399318-0261.
Franz, Barbara. 2013. 'Begegnungen mit Swami Venkatesananda.' Deutsches Yoga-Forum 2013(6): 19-21.
Fuchs, Christian. 1990. Yoga in Deutschland: Rezeption, Organisation, Typologie. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.
---- 2006. Yoga in Deutschland. In Michael Bergunder (ed.), Westliche Formen des Hinduismus in Deutschland: eine Ubersicht: 163-86. Halle: Verlag der Franckeschen Stiftung.
Goldberg, Elliot. 2016. The Path of Modern Yoga: The History of an Embodied Spiritual Practice. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions.
Grossbolting, Thomas. 2013. Der verlorene Himmel: Glaube in Deutschland seit 1945. Gottingen: V & R. https://doi.org/10.13109/9783666300400
Haich, Elisabeth. 1954. Einweihung: Mystisch-biographischer Roman. Zurich: Origo.
Hanegraaff, Wouter J. 1996. New Age Religion and Western Culture. Leiden: Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004378933
Hauser, Beatrix. 2013. 'Touching the Limits, Assessing Pain: On Language Performativity, Health, and Well-Being in Yoga Classes.' In Beatrix Hauser (ed.), Yoga Traveling: Bodily Practice in Transcultural Perspective: 109-34. Heidelberg: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00315-3_5
---- 2021. 'The Health Imaginary of Postural Yoga.' Anthropology & Medicine 28(3): 297-319. https://doi.org/10.1080/13648470.2021.1949962
---- Forthcoming. Wie Yoga weiblich wurde: Zum Verstandnis von Korperpraktiken und Selbstverbesserung vor 1970.
Imy, Kate. 2016. 'Fascist Yogis: Martial Bodies and Imperial Impotence.' Journal of British Studies 66(4): 320-43. https://doi.org/10.1017/jbr.2016.1
Isbert, Otto-Albrecht. 1955. Yoga und der Weg des Westens: Der geistige Pfad des modernen Menschen. Stuttgart: Gunther.
---- 1957. 'Indien und wir--die deutsch-indische Begegnung.' Zeitschrift fur Geopolitik in Gemeinschaft und Politik 28(8): 5-59.
Jain, Andrea R. 2014. 'Who Is to Say Modern Yoga Practitioners Have It All Wrong? On Hindu Origins and Yogaphobia.' Journal of the American Academy of Religion 82(2): 427-71. https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lft099
Kirchner, Friedrich. 1886. Diatetik des Geistes: Eine Anleitung zur Selbsterziehung. Berlin: Brachvogel & Boas.
Knoblauch, Hubert. 2009. Populare Religion: Auf dem Weg in eine spirituelle Gesellschaft. Frankfurt/Main: Campus.
Koch, Anne. 2013. 'Yoga as Production Site of Social and Human Capital: Transcultural Flows from a Cultural Economic Perspective.' In Beatrix Hauser (ed.), Yoga Traveling: Bodily Practice in Transcultural Perspective: 225-48. Heidelberg: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00315-3_10
Kraler, Magdalena. 2022. 'Yoga Breath: The Reinvention of Prana and Pranayama in Early Modern Yoga.' PhD thesis submitted to the University of Vienna. https://utheses.univie.ac.at/detail/63089/# (accessed 9 March 2023) https://doi.org/10.1093/obo/9780195399318-0285
Kurig-Kroeker, Ingeborg. 1985. 'Wir gratulieren.' Der Vegetarier 36(1): 23-4.
Kuvalayananda, S'rimat (J. G. Gune). 1933. Asanas: Part One. Popular Yoga: Volume One. Lonavla: Kaivalyadhama.
Lockington, William J. 1924. Durch Korperbildung zur Geisteskraft: Ein System der Korperertuchtigung zur Hebung und Stahlung der geistigen Tatkraft. Innsbruck: Tyrolia.
McConnell, Marion. 2016. Letters from the Yoga Masters: Teachings Revealed Through Correspondence from Paramahansa Yogananda, Ramana Maharshi, Swami Sivananda, and others. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Mayer, Jean-Francois. 1993. Les nouvelles voies spirituelles: enquete sur la religiosite parallele en Suisse. Lausanne: L'age D'Homme.
Merz, Martin. 2000. 'Ich weiss, dass alles unglaublich tont ...': Zur Geschichte des Yoga in der Schweiz 1900-1960. Basel: unpublished thesis submitted to the Universitat Basel.
Mildenberger, Michael. 1973. 'Hinduismus--Buddhismus--Islam in Deutschland.' Information der EZW 53: 1-28.
Neumann, David J. 2019. Finding God through Yoga: Paramahansa Yogananda and Modern American Religion in a Global Age. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. https://doi.org/10.5149/northcarolina/9781469648637.001.0001
Newcombe, Suzanne. 2014. 'The Institutionalization of the Yoga Tradition: "Gurus" B. K. S. Iyengar and Yogini Sunita in Britain.' In Mark Singleton and Ellen Goldberg (eds), Gurus of Modern Yoga: 147-67. New York: Oxford University Press. https://academic.oup.com/book/7461/chapter-abstract/152375413?redirectedFrom=fulltext
---- 2019. Yoga in Britain. Stretching Spirituality and Educating Yogis. Sheffield: Equinox.
---- 2020. 'Yoga in Europe.' In Knut A. Jacobsen and Ferdinando Sardella (eds), Handbook of Hinduism in Europe: 555-87. Leiden: Brill.
Newhall, Mary Anne Santos. 2017. Mary Wigman. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203701867
Parsons, William B. (ed.), 2018. Being Spiritual but not Religious: Past, Present, Future(s). New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315107431
Pulsfort, Ernst. 2011. Eine deutsch-indische Geschichte. Anna Huberta Roggendorf und die 'Society of the Helpers of Mary'. Berlin: Selbstverlag.
Ramacharaka, Yogi [Atkinson, William]. 1905. Die Philosophie der Yogi. Berlin: Psychologischer Verlag.
---- 1910. Die Kunst des Atmens der Hindu-Yogi. Berlin: Psychologischer Verlag.
Rindlisbacher, Stefan. 2022. Lebensreform in der Schweiz (1850-1950): Vegetarisch essen, nackt baden und im Grunen wohnen. Berlin: Peter Lang. https://doi.org/10.3726/b19110
Sacharow, Boris Yogiraj. 1950. Indische Korperertuchtigung (Hatha-Yoga). Heft 1. Aalen: Ebertin.
---- 1951. Indische Korperertuchtigung (Hatha-Yoga). Heft 2. Aalen: Ebertin.
---- 1954. Das grosse Geheimnis: Die verborgene Seite der Yoga-Ubungen. Munich: Drei Eichen.
---- 1958. Das Offnen des Dritten Auges. Methode und Praxis. Munich: Barth.
Schmidt, Gertrud. 1952. Die moderne Ernahrung: Unter besonderer Berucksichtigung der Forschungen von Dr. Bircher-Benner und Professor Dr. Kollath. Munich: Drei Eichen.
---- 1953. 'Unsere Kinder.' Schriftenreihe der Vegetarier-Union Deutschland e.V. 4: 1-8.
---- 1956. 'Unsere Aufgabe.' Der Vegetarier 7(1): 4.
Schmidt, Walter, 1967. Yoga in Deutschland: Verbreitung, Motive, Hintergrunde. Stuttgart: Kreuz-Verlag.
Schmitt, Johann Ludwig 1928. Atem--Haltung--Bewegung. Augsburg: Dom-Verlag M. Seitz.
Schnabele, Verena. 2013. 'The Useful Body: The Yogic Answer to Appearance Management in the Post-Fordist Workplace.' In Beatrix Hauser (ed.), Yoga Traveling: Bodily Practice in Transcultural Perspective: 125-53. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00315-3_6
Singleton, Mark. 2010. Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sivananda, Swami. 1953. Hatha Yoga: Yoga-Ubungen fur Mann und Frau. Budingen-Gettenbach: Lebensweiser.
Strauss, Sarah. 2005. Positioning Yoga: Balancing Acts Across Cultures. Oxford: Berg.
Tietke, Mathias. 2011. Yoga im Nationalsozialismus: Konzepte, Kontraste, Konsequenzen. Kiel: Ludwig.
---- 2014. Yoga in der DDR: geachtet, geduldet, gefordert. Kiel: Ludwig.
Treitel, Corinna. 2004. A Science for the Soul: Occultism and the Genesis of the German Modern. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Vicedom, Georg. 1962. 'Das Abendland unter dem geistigen Einfluss Asiens.' In Kurt Hutten and Siegfried von Kortzfleisch (eds), Asien missioniert im Abendland: 13-50. Stuttgart: Kreuz Verlag.
Von Ostrowski, Laura. 2018. 'Boris Sacharow: Germany's First Hathayoga Teacher.' www.theluminescent.org/2018/03/boris-sacharow-germanys-first-hathayoga.html.
Wedemeyer-Kolwe, Bernd. 2004. ,Der neue Mensch': Korperkultur im Kaiserreich und in der Weimarer Republik. Wurzburg: Konigshausen & Neumann.
Wigman, Mary. 1935. Deutsche Tanzkunst. Dresden: Reissner.
Yeats-Brown, Francis. 1938. Ist Yoga fur Dich? Berlin: Hyperion.
Yesudian, Selva Raja [Selvarajan] and Elisabeth [Erzsebet] Haich. 1949. Sport und Yoga. Thielle: Verlag Fankhauser.
---- 1953. Yoga and Health. London: Allen & Unwin.
---- 1956. Yoga Uniting East and West. New York: Harper & Brothers.
Yogananda, Paramahansa. 1959. Autobiography of a Yogi. Los Angeles: SRF.
Zbinden, Reto 2008. 'Selvarajan Yesudian und ein halbes Jahrhundert Yogageschichte in der Schweiz.' In Reto Zbinden (ed.), Yoga Journal Jubilaums-Textbuch: 525-44. Karlsruhe: Edition Sawitri.
Zimmermann, Werner. 1939. Krafte des Atems. Buckow: Lautenbach.
---- 1950. Zu freien Ufern: Erlebnis und Ergebnis meiner Weltreise. Munich: Drei Eichen.
---- 1951. Befreites Turnen: Praktische Anleitungen auf Grundlage der Gymnastik Thun-Hohenstein. Zielbrucke-Thielle: Fankhauser.
