53. Where did All the Women Come from?
Yoga Studies in Five Minutes - Theodora Wildcroft
Suzanne Newcombe [+]
Open University and Inform, King's College London
Suzanne Newcombe is a senior lecturer in religious studies at the Open University and
director of the educational charity Inform based at King’s College London. She recently
published the Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies (2021), co-edited with Karen O’Brien-Kop.
Description
Gendered forms of physical culture in European cultures meant that the physical aspects of yoga teaching looked similar to the kinds of exercise which were socially acceptable for middle-class women. By the mid-20th century, many women were attracted to yoga as a source of greater connections outside of their home, psychological freedom and greater economic autonomy.