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Spirituality and ‘Mystical Religion’ in Contemporary Society: A Case Study of

British Practitioners of the Iyengar Method of Yoga

Article  in  Journal of Contemporary Religion · October 2005

DOI: 10.1080/13537900500249806

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Spirituality and ‘Mystical Religion’ in Contemporary

Society: A Case Study of British Practitioners of the
Iyengar Method of Yoga
Suzanne Hasselle-Newcombe
Published online: 15 Dec 2010.

To cite this article: Suzanne Hasselle-Newcombe (2005) Spirituality and ‘Mystical Religion’ in Contemporary Society: A
Case Study of British Practitioners of the Iyengar Method of Yoga, Journal of Contemporary Religion, 20:3, 305-322, DOI:
10.1080/13537900500249806

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 Journal of Contemporary Religion,
Vol. 20, No. 3, 2005 pp. 305–321

Spirituality and ‘Mystical Religion’ in Contemporary

Society: A Case Study of British Practitioners
of the Iyengar Method of Yoga

SUZANNE HASSELLE-NEWCOMBE
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ABSTRACT This article addresses the under-researched, but very popular activity of yoga
in contemporary Britain and attempts a preliminary sociological exploration of the
religious and spiritual beliefs of yoga practitioners. A sample of dedicated practitioners of
the Iyengar method of yoga was chosen for a case study. It was found that the sample
practitioners are engaged in a technique that attracts a significant number of people
interested in a type of ‘spiritual exploration’ that can probably be best explained by the
concept of ‘mystical religion’, as introduced by Ernst Troeltsch and developed by Colin
Campbell. These findings provide new salience to the idea of ‘mystical religion’ and a
starting point for considering the role that a physical practice plays in contemporary
spirituality and religiosity.

Introduction
Approximately half a million people practise some form of yoga in Britain.1 These
numbers have grown slowly over the last century, with several periods of rapid
acceleration by celebrity example. Considering yoga’s general acceptance in
contemporary British culture and the numbers of people involved, it is surprising
that there has been little previous published research focusing on yoga in
academic literature. The trajectory of the practice of yoga in Britain from a
relatively obscure practice to a prosaic social phenomenon is worthy of attention.
In most British contexts, the practice of yoga is done (at least partially) in a
physical fitness situation. For example, the British Wheel of Yoga which acts as the
“governing body for yoga in the UK” is accredited by the UK Sports Council;
the 2002 Time Out guide to ‘Sport, Health and Fitness’ places yoga confidently in
the ‘Fitness’ section. The physical fitness context of yoga was created in part as a
deliberate government policy; yoga was widely taught in the College of Physical
Education in the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) and in other local
councils during the 1970s and in some instances during the 1960s (Harthan). For
others, yoga is practised largely as physical therapy—to correct injuries, illnesses,
and remedial conditions.2 In Britain, these activities are generally accepted to be of
a secular nature.
However, yoga—even this ‘physical’ yoga—has its roots within a system of
Indian soteriological philosophy and mystical technology that dates back to at
least 1,500 years. A ‘Yogin’ is described in the Bhagavad-Gita as one who performs
action “without interests in its fruit” and who has “yoked his mind to the self

ISSN 1353-7903 print/ISSN 1469-9419 on-line/05/030305-17 q 2005 Taylor & Francis

DOI: 10.1080/13537900500249806
 306 S. Hasselle-Newcombe

alone without any object of desire” (Ch. 6, v. 1– 2). Patañjali, the often-quoted
inspiration of modern physical yoga traditions, probably wrote the Yoga Sutra
between 100 B.C.E. and 500 C.E. (Flood 96). In this work, Patañjali describes a path
of self-discipline with the goal of “stopping the fluctuations in the mind”. The
practice of physical postures (asana) has a long history that is contemporaneous to
that of yoga’s philosophical development. The technique or technology of yoga
has long been practised alongside a variety of metaphysical positions. Even within
the Indian context, yoga need not be practised alongside the worship of any
Indian deities (although some choose to do so). Buddhists and Jains have also long
used the techniques of yoga while maintaining their own metaphysical beliefs
(Eliade, “Yoga and Modern Philosophy” 125). The soteriological philosophy of the
Yoga Sutras and the pantheon of Indian ideas regarding the nature of ultimate
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reality are elucidated and accepted to various degrees among the many ‘styles’ of
yoga taught today.
Given the mixed religious and philosophical background of yoga practices in
the Indian context, one cannot make many assumptions about the beliefs of yoga
practitioners in the modern British context. When the British practise yoga, is it
simply for health benefits or is it a meaningful spiritual activity? Could any one
activity fulfil both these functions? To what extent do yoga practitioners adopt
Indian religious worldviews? Could yoga be a new form of religion for a
pluralistic, secular culture? The research described in this article is an attempt to
uncover some of the metaphysical and religious orientations of contemporary
British yoga practitioners. While the research presented describes only one small
section of the British yoga-practising population, it is hoped that it might be of
comparative use for future research.

A Case Study: The Iyengar Method of Yoga

The Iyengar method of yoga (commonly called ‘Iyengar yoga’) is just one of the
many forms of yoga which are popular in Britain today. Iyengar yoga was one of
the first types of asana-centered yoga to have been propagated in Britain; founder
B. K. S. Iyengar first visited Britain in 1954 at the invitation of violinist Yehudi
Menuhin and taught a small number of his musician friends and acquaintances
(Agar Ward). It was also one of the first yoga traditions to be given government
sanction to be taught in local authority evening classes (Harthan). B. K. S.
Iyengar’s Light on Yoga was first published in 1965 and remains a definitive guide
to yoga postures across many schools. Iyengar yoga is popular throughout the
English-speaking world and in much of Europe. Publications on the Iyengar
method have been popular in Britain, helping to maintain the tradition’s visibility
and influence.
Elizabeth de Michelis, former director of the Dharam Hinduja Institute of Indic
Research (DHIIR) at Cambridge, estimates that Iyengar yoga, Astanga Vinyasa
yoga, and the British Wheel of Yoga together account for around 80% of all the
asana-centred yoga practitioners in contemporary Britain (de Michelis, History
190). Astanga Vinyasa yoga does not have a standardised teacher-training
programme and many of its practitioners refer to the Iyengar method for more
detailed work on individual postures, as their practice moves in a quick flow from
pose to pose. The British Wheel of Yoga is an organisation that accredits and trains
teachers to ‘guaranteed’ minimum standards, but their approach is eclectic.
 Spirituality and ‘Mystical Religion’: Iyengar Yoga 307

In 1995, the British Wheel and the Iyengar yoga organisations were in competition
to become the ‘governing body for yoga in Britain’ as accredited by Sport England
(the title was given to the British Wheel, in part because of its more inclusive
approach). There are currently between 700 – 800 qualified Iyengar teachers in
Britain, while there are 2,357 yoga teachers currently holding British Wheel
certification (Hatchard; Simmonds). However, due to the eclectic nature of the
British Wheel,3 Iyengar yoga probably represents the single largest number of
yoga teachers in Britain with a standardised teaching method.
The founder of the Iyengar method of yoga, B. K. S. Iyengar (born in 1918), still
does some teaching from the Ramamani Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, India
(although his son Prashant and daughter Geeta have done most of the teaching for
many years now). Standardised syllabuses of asana sequencing and techniques are
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distributed internationally from Pune. However, teacher accreditation is done

nationally; in Britain, this occurs through the Iyengar Yoga Association (UK);4
Iyengar teachers are expected to update continually their knowledge of the
techniques of teaching yoga asana from the latest directives from Pune. There are
several different levels of qualification offered signifying increasing levels of
proficiency in teaching more difficult asana and remedial work.
Therefore, considering its wide influence along with its relatively uniform
teaching, Iyengar yoga is a convenient and appropriate place to begin a
sociological investigation of yoga in contemporary Britain.

Characteristics of Iyengar Yoga

Generally speaking, Iyengar yoga as taught in Britain has very little in the way of
religious doctrine attached to it. A significant event in the popularisation of yoga
in Britain occurred with the teaching of yoga through the Inner London Education
Authority (ILEA). B. K. S. Iyengar worked with Peter Mackintosh, Chief Inspector
of PE, to design the requirements and curriculum (Harthan). It was a condition of
the ILEA that these classes be physical and not religious in nature. Most of the
metaphysical doctrine, even the ethical assumptions of Iyengar’s teaching, are
found in his publications and not taught overtly in classes. However, Iyengar
maintains that he is teaching Patañjali’s astanga (eight-limbed) yoga and
published his own translation of Patañjali’s Yoga Sutras in 1993, drawing from
the insights of his personal practice. Although Patañjali’s soteriological
assumptions underpin the asana teaching, any philosophy or theology is left up
to the individual to explore. Unlike some other modern yoga traditions, Iyengar
yoga teachers generally avoid making metaphysical comments. Iyengar teachers
are not supposed to tell their students what God to believe in (if any at all). Most
Iyengar teachers remain enigmatic on any explicit questions about spirituality and
yoga posed by their students, although some will speak from a personal point of
view. While Iyengar teachers can be dogmatic in enforcing the correct
performance of asana, they tend to avoid any suggestions of ‘correct belief’.
In some contexts, particularly at advanced level classes, invocations to Patañjali,
the semi-mythical founder of the technique of yoga, are chanted as a preliminary
to the asana practice. At the national convention, where most of this research was
conducted, invocations to the Indian gods Ganesha and Hanuman were also
performed by Geeta Iyengar. However, she performed these rituals with elaborate
explanations as to their meaning and significance, underscoring the relative
 308 S. Hasselle-Newcombe

unfamiliarity of British teachers to the ritual observances of the Iyengar family’s

faith (they are orthodox Vaishnavites). Although these rituals might be seen as
betraying a religious significance, they remain rather anomalous to the usual
experience of Iyengar yoga in class.
Iyengar acknowledges that some of his students practise asana without any
religious intention. However, he sees the atheist version of asana as a superficial
practice. In the foreword to his latest book, The Path to Holistic Health, Iyengar
writes (7):
During sixty years of teaching and practicing, I have observed that some
students pay attention only to the physical aspect of yoga. Their practice
is like a fast-flowing stream, tumbling and falling, which lacks depth and
direction. By attending to the mental and spiritual side, a sincere student
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of yoga becomes like a smoothly flowing river which helps integrate and
fertilize the land around it.
While Iyengar intends to teach a spiritual discipline, he recognises that not all of
his students practise what he teaches in that regard.
Iyengar yoga classes generally follow the form and structure as described by de
Michelis (History 251– 60). However, Iyengar-certified teachers differ from other
yoga traditions in several important areas. Classes generally focus upon one ‘type’
of asana—standing, sitting, back-bending or ‘restorative’ postures. Inversions
(headstand, shoulder-stand, and other upside-down postures) feature in every
Iyengar yoga class and standing poses are especially emphasised for beginners.
Instructions for the asana usually focus on how to align properly the body and use
the muscles—creating space, steadiness, and extension within the poses. Students
are encouraged to create a feeling of space and freedom within the experience of
what can be strong physical exertion.
Great attention is placed upon the sequencing of postures in the Iyengar
tradition; the postures should be performed in a particular order for maximum
mental and physical benefits. The physiological effects of the asana assist in this
process—in certain positions, the blood pressure drops, in others, the nervous
system is stimulated. By learning about alignment and sequencing, while paying
attention to the inner somatic experience, students are encouraged to develop an
increasing awareness of the physical body, breath, and mind.
It is the intention within Iyengar yoga that muscles will be taught new ways of
working that will heal past injuries and prevent future strain. Modifications to
particular poses using ‘props’ are a trademark of Iyengar yoga. Props are used to
gain alignment and to access the postures more deeply. The Iyengars are also very
interested in using yoga to address medical conditions and improve quality of life
for those in pain (Iyengar, Path to Holistic Health). Both B. K. S. Iyengar and his
daughter Geeta attribute their health, and even life, to the healing powers of asana
(G. Iyengar i-iii). Those with remedial or medical conditions might be given a
specific sequence to stimulate or rest particular areas of the body.
In Iyengar yoga, the emphasis is always on the direct experience of personal
asana practice—the nourishing of an increasing awareness and control of the body,
breath, and mind. The extent to which this is considered ‘more than physical’ is
largely up to the individual practitioner. As most people associate religion with
specific beliefs and ritual communities, the practice of Iyengar yoga would not fit
most people’s idea of religion. However, in both origins and modern orientation,
 Spirituality and ‘Mystical Religion’: Iyengar Yoga 309

Iyengar’s teachings are not secular either. Traditionally, the practice of asana
attempts to re-habituate a human body on physical, physiological, emotional, and
spiritual levels alongside a system of metaphysical beliefs, which places this
re-habituation in a soteriological context. In Britain, Iyengar yoga is generally
taught as a ‘technique of the body’ (Mauss) and, as mentioned, without explicit
discussion of any metaphysical concepts.

Methodology and Demographics of the Sample

Most modern yoga practitioners define themselves as such by virtue of their own,
private practice of asana and/or the attendance of a weekly group classes. I have
participated in weekly Iyengar yoga classes in England and the US and have
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followed a semi-regular ‘home practice’ for the past seven years.5 I began my
formal research in this milieu with a series of focus-group interviews. These
exploratory interviews were conducted with participants during a week-long
Iyengar yoga retreat in March 2002. From these interviews, it became clear that an
extensive questionnaire could provide something more comprehensive than
anecdotal reports. A pilot questionnaire was distributed to a class of ten
experienced Iyengar yoga practitioners and their comments were incorporated
into the later design. As there are no organisations with comprehensive
membership lists of all Iyengar yoga practitioners, a completely random sample of
practitioners was impossible.
Therefore, I chose to distribute the questionnaire at the Iyengar Yoga Jubilee
Convention held at Crystal Palace, London, 23 – 26 May 2002. At this event, Geeta
Iyengar, daughter of founder B. K. S. Iyengar, had her teaching début in the UK.
The convention provided a unique opportunity, because Iyengar yoga
practitioners from all over Britain gathered for several days; the registration list
included 750 participants. Those who made the effort to attend were probably
serious about their practice of Iyengar yoga. This was an intended sub-population,
as those with a serious, long-term practice of yoga are likely to be both more
affected by, and more self-reflective about, yoga’s role in their lives; they are thus a
valuable sample with which to begin research. This group is also likely to have the
motivation to complete an in-depth questionnaire on the subject of their practice.
The cost might have excluded some persons unable (or unwilling) to pay £140 for
either the two-day teacher event or the two-day general event or £260 for all four
days. Many qualified Iyengar teachers felt obliged to attend; the sample is
therefore likely to be skewed towards higher numbers of qualified Iyengar
teachers (46% of respondents were Iyengar-qualified yoga teachers, although only
15% of the respondents taught yoga full-time).
The limitations of such a sample population are immediately apparent—it is
impossible to generalise in a responsible way from this sample to the wider
population practising Iyengar yoga in Britain. Likewise, it would be highly rash to
conclude that the analysis of this research could be immediately transferable to the
practitioners of any other tradition of yoga in Britain. However, considering the
dearth of any research on the spiritual beliefs of contemporary yoga practitioners,
this survey has a valuable contribution to make in understanding modern
spirituality in contemporary Britain, despite its methodological limitations.
Through the analysis of the responses to the questionnaire, it is possible to suggest
 310 S. Hasselle-Newcombe

interesting trends that could be explored with further research. Only the results
directly related to questions of spirituality will be discussed here.
The questionnaire was returned by 188 of the 750 convention participants, a
response rate of 25%. The questions were largely multiple choice and Likert scales,
but space was included for qualitative comments. The questionnaire was 17 pages
long and took between 15 and 45 minutes to complete. The questionnaire covered
many aspects of yoga practice not directly relevant to spirituality, but related to
the many reasons why people begin and continue to practise yoga and their
perceptions of the practice’s effect. Those who completed the questionnaire did so
thoroughly and thoughtfully—including extensive responses to the qualitative
questions at the end. The meaning of ‘spirituality’ or any other term was not
directly addressed in the questionnaire; it was left to respondents to signify the
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extent to which the idea was relevant to them in the context of their yoga practice.
(Some of the questions used are illustrated in Table 1.)

Table 1. Some Examples of the Questions Asked.

Question 8: How important were the following possible motivations when you FIRST began yoga?
(Please circle a single number)
a. I simply “felt better” after the class
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Definitely Not Important Definitely Very Important

b. An alternative form of exercise

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Definitely Not Important Definitely Very Important

g. For “personal development”

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Definitely Not Important Definitely Very Important

j. To be able to sit for meditation

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Definitely Not Important Definitely Very Important

Question 23: When considering why you continue to practice yoga, how important are the following
aspects?
a. Physical exercise
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Definitely Not Important Definitely Very Important

d. Stretching / Flexibility
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Definitely Not Important Definitely Very Important

g. “Stress management”
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Definitely Not Important Definitely Very Important

s. An aspect that could be considered “spiritual”

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Definitely Not Important Definitely Very Important

Question 24: Do you feel yoga adds a sense of “meaning” to your life?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Definitely Not Definitely Yes
 Spirituality and ‘Mystical Religion’: Iyengar Yoga 311

Although most of the relevant results from the questionnaire will be contained
within the body of the analysis, a few demographic features might be helpful:
about 84% of the respondents were women, a figure probably slightly higher
than that of the total Iyengar yoga-practising population. The age of respondents
ranged between 23 and 76 years, with an average age of 47 years (standard
deviation being 10 years). On average, respondents had practised yoga between
11 and 15 years (Iyengar yoga specifically, between 6 and 10 years), attend one
yoga class per week, and practise at home 3 –5 hours per week.
It is sometimes suggested that modern yoga practitioners mix traditions and
teachers. This was not the case for this specific group of practitioners: while 49% of
practitioners had tried another tradition of yoga at some point, only 5% continued
to practise an asana-centered approach to yoga besides Iyengar yoga. Therefore,
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one can be reasonably sure that the teachings of Iyengar yoga are fairly un-diluted
within the respondents’ conceptions of yoga and personal practice.

A Description of Respondents’ Spirituality

Ideas relating directly to health and ‘well-being’ were very important to why people
both began and continued to practise Iyengar yoga: 60% of respondents began their
practice as an alternative form of exercise. Hopes of improving or managing a specific
physical condition motivated 27% of practitioners to begin their yoga practice.
Additionally, 24% felt that the practice of yoga might address a specific emotional or
psychological condition. Once the practice was well established, maintaining
flexibility was a major reason to continue for 94% of practitioners. Yoga as exercise
was an important reason for 85% of respondents. Likewise, 80% of regular
practitioners felt their practice of yoga continued to be important in dealing with
stress in their lives. Therefore, it would appear that physical benefits to the yoga
practice became more important as the practice of yoga continued.
However, for the majority of this sample, the various motivations of practice go
beyond the physical. For many, the asana practice is a unique act of withdrawing
energy from work and family responsibilities. As such, it provides a distinctive
space for introversion and reflection. Some use the break from daily
responsibilities as an opportunity to find awareness of thoughts and feelings
that they had not had time to reflect upon before; 64% of practitioners responded
that their practice facilitated an awareness of feelings. A clear majority (68%)
noted that their asana practice provided a way of managing their feelings.
An overwhelming 90% affirmed that, as a result of doing yoga, they felt happier
about their lives. Thus for two-thirds of respondents, the effects of yoga were
clearly important at the emotional and physiological levels. How much these
feelings differ from those dedicated to other forms of exercise would be an
interesting avenue for further investigation.
Interestingly, 85% of yoga practitioners felt that their yoga practice added a
‘sense of meaning to life’. There were many qualitative elaborations on this theme;
some examples include:
It [yoga] underpins my life, grounds it, gives it a meaning and a
rootedness.
Gave me a sense of purpose. Gives a meaning to being alive; brings a
measure of sanity.
 312 S. Hasselle-Newcombe

It is the central core in some ways—a regular practice is something

secure . . . it is part of my identity.
An important related theme to the ‘meaning-through-asana-practice’ was a belief
that the practice of yoga helped one “withstand the blows of chance”. Elaborations
on this theme included the idea that yoga was “a refuge in troubled times” and
helps one “cope with the ups and downs of life”. Historically, while not directly
equivalent to spirituality, religion has provided “meaning and purpose” to life
(Durkheim).
However, only 48% of those responding to the questionnaire reported that they
began their practice with an idea of spiritual development. Almost half of the
practitioners affirmed that a ‘spiritual element’ is an important reason why they
continue to practise Iyengar yoga (47%). Long-term practitioners are no more
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likely to have a ‘spiritual’ interest in their practice than beginners. Therefore, it is

likely that those who feel that their yoga practice is spiritual had a pre-existing
orientation towards spirituality. Those who began their practice of Iyengar yoga in
the last five years (since yoga-in-gyms has become more prevalent) did not appear
to be any less likely to have thought of yoga as a spiritual practice. However, one
must remember that the practitioners surveyed were not casual health-club
participants and were considerably more interested in yoga than average, as
indicated by their attendance at this convention.
As a theoretical concept, the term ‘spirituality’ is notoriously slippery. There are
a number of contemporary discussions of the idea of spirituality in the context of
New Age communities (e.g. Ellwood; Hanegraaff; Heelas). However, due to the
complicated nature of the term ‘spirituality’ and the length of the survey, it was
decided to see primarily how much this term resonated with respondents rather
than seek to define it within this population.6 However, in the preliminary focus
groups, the meaning of ‘spirituality’ was explored and generally described in
opposition to organised religion as ‘something dogmatic and dead’.

Religiosity and Spirituality

However, it is possible to compare identification with the term ‘spirituality’
between the Iyengar practitioners and the general population. I was able to
incorporate questions 32, 33, 37, and 39 of the British Religious And Moral
Pluralism (RAMP) survey of 1998 in the questionnaire which was given to the
Yoga practitioners (Barker 32).7 As Table 2 shows, the yoga practitioners are very
unlikely to describe themselves as religious, but not spiritual: 1% compared to
11% of the general British population. Likewise, they are much less likely to
describe themselves as neither spiritual nor religious (16% of yoga practitioners
compared to 44% of the general population). Significantly, the yoga practitioners
were much more likely to describe themselves as having a spiritual life: 83%
compared to 45% of the general UK population.

Concepts of God
Additionally, in a question examining different concepts of ‘God’, the yoga
practitioners chose options which are less associated with religiosity and more
associated with spirituality, as compared to the general European population.
 Spirituality and ‘Mystical Religion’: Iyengar Yoga 313

Table 2. Identification with the Concepts of Religiosity and Spirituality.*

Do you have a
spiritual life?

Do you consider yourself

a religious person? No Yes Total

UK 44 13 57
Not Religious Yoga 16 33 49
UK 11 32 43
Religious Yoga 1 50 51
UK 55 45 100
Total Yoga 17 83 100
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* UK figures, given as percents, are taken from Table 6 and the format is based on Table 3 in
Barker. To maintain parallels with the published RAMP figures, all those who chose the
neutral number 4 for either question were excluded from the calculation; this amounted to a
third of the total European RAMP respondents and 13% of the yoga practitioners. For the
rationale behind this decision, see Barker 33 – 5.

The idea of a God “with whom I can have a personal relationship” was more
associated with the idea of religiosity in the European population; 45% of those
who considered themselves “religious but not spiritual” agreed with this
statement, compared to 9% of those who considered themselves “spiritual but not
religious”. The relatively low (18%) affiliation to this concept of God among the
yoga practitioners reinforces the description of this group as being more “spiritual
than religious” and happier with the description of having a “spiritual life” than
the general population. Likewise, the more ‘spiritual’ idea of God as an
“impersonal spirit or life force” was only chosen by 15% of the European
population (rising to 28% among those who described themselves as spiritual and
not religious). That 35% of yoga practitioners found this concept “closest to your
own belief” may say something about the content of ‘spirituality’ among this
population (Barker 38– 9).

Table 3. Concepts of God.

Q32: “Which of these statements comes nearest to your own belief?” (%)
RAMP (Europe) Yoga

I believe in a God with

whom I can have a personal
relationship 33 18
I believe in an impersonal spirit
or life force 15 36
I believe that God is something
within each person rather than something
out there 29 35
I don’t believe in any kind of
God, spirit or life force 12 2
I really don’t know what I believe 10 9
Total 99 100
 314 S. Hasselle-Newcombe

Religious Affiliation
The question of religious affiliation is particularly revealing for the nature of these
yoga practitioners’ beliefs. Less than 2% of respondents identified themselves
solely with Hinduism. Rather, Iyengar practitioners’ religious and philosophical
ideas tend to be drawn from a variety of sources. Most Iyengar practitioners are
thus not participating in a neo-Hindu project per se.
The largest single number of respondents felt affiliated to “no religion”. This
choice for the Iyengar yoga practitioners appears to be significantly less popular
than among the general UK population (where 46% choose no religious
affiliations). Significantly, this selection was not always as secular as it appeared: a
number of respondents wrote in comments relating to the choice of “no religion”.
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For example, one respondent wrote “No religion—but I feel I am interested in the
best of them all”. Another wrote, “No religion—but I respect all religions—I wish
there were just ONE”. Other practitioners communicated affiliation to Secular
Humanism or secular-based ethics more generally. It is important, however, not to
read too much into these intriguing responses—most of the “No religions” did not
choose to comment further. Undoubtedly, a number of practitioners do consider
their practice simply a series of physical exercises.

Table 4. Religious Affiliation.

Q37: “Would you consider yourself affiliated with any of the following religious
traditions/movements?” (circle any that apply)
General Population of Great Britain*
Iyengar Yoga Practitioners (National Centre for Social Research 1998: 175–7)

Frequency Percent Frequency Percent

No Religion 60 32% No Religion 367 45.80%

Multiple 29 15% Multiple n/a n/a
Buddhist 24 13% Buddhist 1 0.10%
Church of England 21 11% Church of England 233 29.10%
Catholic 16 9% Catholic 69 8.60%
Church of Scotland 2 1% Church of Scotland 30 3.70%
Protestant (not CoE) 14 7% Protestant (not CoE) 82 10.10%
Other 8 4% Other 5 0.60%
Hindu 3 2% Hindu 3 0.40%
Jewish 2 1% Jewish 3 0.40%
Muslim 6 0.70%
Sikh 2 0.20%
Don’t Know 1 0.10%
Non-responses 9 5% Non-responses 2 0.20%
Totals 188 100% 804 100.00%

* The 2001 census questions or results had not been released at the time of this research;
therefore my questionnaire was modelled on the 1998 National Centre for Social Research
(NCSR) figures, the most up-to-date at the time. The 1998 NCSR question asked for a
specific Christian affiliation rather than just “Christian”, as opposed to Buddhist, Hindu,
Jewish, Muslim or Sikh as in the 2001 Census. 71% of respondents in the 2001 census survey
identified themselves as generally Christian. This compares to 51% in the 1998 NCSR
survey and 28% of the Iyengar yoga practitioners. Asking for specific denomination
affiliation may discourage those who identify as “Christian by default” to identify
themselves as Christian.
 Spirituality and ‘Mystical Religion’: Iyengar Yoga 315

A significant 16% of the yoga practitioners refused to affiliate with a single

religious faith—instead circling two, three or more. Many indicated shared
sympathies with disparate faith systems, for instance, Hinduism, Catholicism,
and Buddhism or Hinduism and Protestantism. Some of the multiple affiliations
can be accounted for by being raised in one religion and adopting or being
influenced by another religion later in life. However, I was able to account for this
possibility and for the majority of respondents, this does not appear to be the
case.8 These yoga practitioners were actively exploring and were interested in
several religious traditions within the context of a dedicated practice of asana. In
this way, many of the practitioners appear to be interested in exploring religious
traditions generally, without feeling a need to commit to any particular religion.
The most significant single tradition that the yoga practitioners felt “affiliated
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with” was Buddhism. Buddhism was marked as the sole religious affiliation by
13% of the survey respondents. This compares to less than 1% of the general
British population. Some Buddhists are drawn to practising Iyengar yoga to
facilitate comfortable sitting for long periods of time during meditation practice.
The practices are thus kept in a strict hierarchical relationship: yoga asana
supports Buddhist metaphysical beliefs. However, many intermingle the
relationship more idiosyncratically.
Most of the Buddhists found yoga completely complementary to their
metaphysical beliefs, even though yogic philosophy traditionally asserts an
unchanging essence in the universe, while Buddhism refutes the existence of such
a thing. One Buddhist wrote, “Buddhist and Hindu morality are similar. Although
Buddhism is non-theistic and Hinduism multi-theistic, both attend to the
universal soul and have the aim to leave the wheel of life after incarnation.
Physically yoga helps meditation posture and quiet mind.” Another simply wrote,
“Buddhism and yoga fit brilliantly”. None of the Buddhist respondents elaborated
any great difficulties with their ideology and the practice of Iyengar yoga.
Within the long history of yoga, it is clear that the same yogic techniques were
used as means which lead to many different metaphysical ends. However, it is
likely that what unites yoga and Buddhism in modern Britain is an emphasis on
personal experience. For both traditions, the final goal is very distant (if not
unrealisable) in ordinary modern lives. However, both traditions offer methods of
inner contemplation and the potential for individual ‘religious’ or ‘spiritual
experience’.
Interest in creating a personal, religious experience is also reflected by the fact
that 37% of respondents noted that they were currently practising some form of
meditation which is not related to Iyengar yoga.9 Many people are drawn to a
type of simple meditation practice, watching the breath (instead of the more
complicated pranayama breathing exercises), reciting a mantra or contemplating
compassion. These meditative practices are often drawn from Buddhist or other
Hindu traditions, but among this sample, they tend to be used apart from a firm
commitment to the original metaphysical framework. It is non-doctrinal practices
and techniques, not a ‘belief’, to which these modern yoga practitioners appear to
be attaching their loyalties.
Before moving to further analysis of respondents’ beliefs, it is worth noting that
religious syncretism did not sit easily with all the respondents. One Protestant
noted, “I am particularly incensed at the idolatry that accompanies Iyengar yoga.
I feel this is an affront to Christian belief. Moreover, any form of idolatry is not
 316 S. Hasselle-Newcombe

healthy, whether you are religious or not.” However, the dissonance created by
yoga and the practitioner’s faith did not appear to have forced a choice between
Christianity and yoga (at least at the point when the survey was conducted).
Other practitioners had creative solutions to their feelings of religious
dissonance. One Catholic wrote that:
There are a few “difficulties” for me with the invocation but otherwise
I don’t think there are “conflicts”—every belief system has its
contemplative/meditative practices—also physical disciplines/duties
to prepare the way. Instead of the invocation to Patañjali I sometimes
pray to Mary Mother of God.
While dedicated practitioners were usually aware of key concepts within Iyengar
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yoga’s Indian roots, they did not feel constrained by these ideas.
To summarise, many practitioners of Iyengar yoga were very interested in the
physical and psychological benefits of the practice. The importance of these
reasons appears to increase over time. However, in addition to this, the Iyengar
yoga practitioners surveyed were generally more interested in spirituality and
less interested in traditional religion than the average British resident. It is also
likely that this interest in spirituality is extrinsic to Iyengar yoga as it is taught in
Britain; most practitioners who felt their practice was spiritual began with an idea
of spirituality. These practitioners were not participating in a neo-Hindu
theological project. Generally, the practitioners felt free to explore many religions,
without feeling a need to convert or decide on a single faith. The practitioners also
appeared to be particularly interested in techniques that have the potential to
facilitate spiritual experience, i.e. the regular practice of yoga asana, and for 37% a
separate meditation practice.

Troeltsch’s ‘Mystical Religion’ and the Practice of Yoga

It must be emphasised that the extent to which practice of Iyengar yoga was
conceived of as ‘spiritual’ in nature is full of individual variations. It is clear that
some practitioners have no spiritual aspirations, while others are considerably
interested in matters relating to spirituality. The sample at which I targeted my
survey represents some of the most devoted practitioners of Iyengar yoga in
Britain. It is very likely that this sub-population has a more spiritual orientation
than the British Iyengar yoga population when considered as a whole.
However, the characteristics summarised above have intriguing parallels with a
particular description of modern spirituality first theorised by Ernst Troeltsch at
the beginning of the twentieth century. According to Troeltsch, ‘mystical religion’
primarily involves an experience of ‘imminence’ and is inward looking and
‘individualistic’ in approach (794). Troeltsch saw mystical religion particularly
associated with the German educated classes (794) and, although it has a long
history within the Christian church, it has been particularly fuelled in recent times
by the nineteenth-century Romantic Movement (793). It must be emphasised that
Troeltsch’s ‘mystical religion’ does not stress visions or ecstatic religious
experiences. ‘Mystical religion’ for Troeltsch has more to do with the mundane,
but very personal experiences of holiness and spirituality.
British sociologist Colin Campbell has further developed Troeltsch’s idea in his
1978 article “The Secret Religion of the Educated Classes”. In this article,
 Spirituality and ‘Mystical Religion’: Iyengar Yoga 317

Campbell broadens the context from Troeltsch’s focus on Germany to outline

a type of religion which appeals to post-industrial societies more generally.
Campbell reiterates ‘mystical religion’ as based upon the idea of immanence and
an insistence upon direct, personal religious experience, but he also expands and
effectively operationalises the concept. The key characteristics of Campbell’s
‘mystical religion’ are: 1) an emphasis on direct, inward, and present religious
experience; 2) an ultimate goal of union (or reunion) with God or the divine.
(Related to this union is the idea of a progression of the soul’s relationship to the
divine); 3) an opposition to the materialism and ‘selfishness’ of ‘the world’; 4)
religious syncretism, especially the combination of religious and philosophical
ideas and an acceptance of religious relativity. Additionally, Campbell reiterates
Troeltsch’s suggestion that this is the secret religion of the educated classes.
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The religion is ‘secret’ in the sense that it does not have any institutional forms, is
highly individualistic, and is very unlikely to be considered a ‘religion’ by those
whose beliefs and behaviours would be described by the theory.
This mystical religion is not prescriptive in nature. Rather, it is meant to
describe certain tendencies of belief among a certain section of society. Mystical
religion is described by Troeltsch as a “radical religious individualism”. Those
who could be considered as participating in this mystical religion are extremely
unlikely to belong to any social organisation representing their beliefs. Those who
can be described as participating in this mystical religion tend to pick and mix
ideas from various religious and philosophical systems that correspond to their
own ‘spiritual’ experiences. In describing the ideal-typical nature of mystical
religion for a social group, the description must not be considered prescriptive for
any particular individual.
Why would this individualistic, experiential, syncretistic type of religion appeal
particularly to the educated classes? In his study of secularisation of 1967, Peter
Berger argues that the co-existence of many religions within a single society puts
into question the plausibility of traditional religious definitions of reality “in the
minds of ordinary people with no knowledge of or even interest in theology”
(156). Berger further notes that the existence of religious pluralism creates a
situation in which religious belief is a free, subjective choice and in this context,
religious realities are increasingly located within individuals’ consciousnesses
(167). Therefore, mystical religion, with its emphasis on personal experience and
lack of meta-empirical dogma, could (still) appeal to this segment of society.
If this is true of ‘ordinary people’, those with a modern university education are
even more likely to be acutely aware of the cultural and historical relativity of
religions. Universities are places where people of many different religious and
social backgrounds mix, juxtaposing belief systems in a both a profound and
mundane way. The experience of interacting with those who hold differing beliefs
in this environment can intensify the experience of religion as an individualised
choice rather than an absolute truth. It is this class of highly educated individuals
that Ernst Troeltsch and Colin Campbell argue are particularly interested in
‘mystical religion’, a form of religiosity with more emphasis on psychological
rather than social cohesion.
Before proceeding further, it would be helpful to establish that Iyengar
practitioners are part of these educated classes. According to the 1998 British
Social Attitudes survey, only 8.6% of the general population have completed a
University degree. Considering the explosion in those studying in higher
 318 S. Hasselle-Newcombe

education in the last decade, this is very likely an under-estimate. However, even
when considering that educated people are more likely to be interested in
completing a survey, the number of the Iyengar practitioners with university
degrees is far above the British average. 64% of those responding to the
questionnaire had at least an undergraduate degree. Those who had completed
post-graduate academic qualifications made up 30% of the total. The argument
that Iyengar practitioners (at least those responding to the questionnaire) are more
educated than the general British population is very strong.
Troeltsch also emphasises that ‘mystical religion’ only appeals to those classes
that are well above the “crude struggle for existence”, who can “seek spiritual
refinement for its own sake” (816). Therefore, one would expect those with a
tendency towards ‘mystical religion’ to be of a ‘leisure class’, i.e. those with some
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time and money to spare. The population surveyed at the Jubilee Convention was
likely to exclude those who were unable to pay the £140 fee for the weekend and it
is notoriously difficult to get accurate estimates of household income. However, it
is significant that 21% of respondents estimated their household incomes at over
£50,000 per year; less than 18% of respondents had household incomes of less than
£20,000 per year.10 It is clear that most of the survey respondents have life-styles
well above the “crude struggle for existence”.
How well does Troeltsch’s ‘mystical religion’ apply to these practitioners?
Firstly, there is an emphasis upon “direct, inward, and present religious
experience”. The essence of the Iyengar method is a conscious experience of the
practitioner’s own body, breath, and mind. Iyengar himself believes that the body
is the gateway to the soul—through the practice of asana and pranayama, one can
glimpse the infinite which resides in every being (Yoga Vrksa 3). This ‘soul’ can be
found when the mind and body are at rest and the breath is steady and even. The
steadiness and relaxation can be glimpsed in the most strenuous of asana; the
postures both distract the mind from irrelevant thoughts and train the mind to
concentrate on the present moment. Thus the practice of Iyengar yoga has a
normative religious intention, albeit a form of religiosity not generally encouraged
by traditional, institutionalised religions. Additionally, the emphasis of the
Iyengar method of yoga is definitely on personal experience.
The second characteristic of Campbell’s mystical religion is the ultimate goal of
union (or reunion) with God or the divine. The union with the divine, unchanging
essence is popularly understood as the goal of yoga. Iyengar translates the term
yoga as “union of body, mind and soul, and with God” (Light on the Yoga Sutra
xvii). However, in Patañjali’s ‘classical yoga’, the goal of yoga is to isolate the
soul from the material and mental habits of being, without reference to a deity
(Flood 231– 6). Normatively, Iyengar presents the idea of ‘union with the divine’ in
his writing in a way that aligns well with Troeltsch’s ‘mystical religion’. Only a
small minority of practitioners aspire to reach ‘Samadhi’ (the traditional goal of
Patañjali’s yoga system) in this or a future life. However, it is likely that a number
of the 35% of respondents who felt God was something “within each person”
rather than “something out there” would consider that they were (in some way)
re-uniting with this god within during their practice of yoga.
With regard to the assertion that mystical religion offers an opposition to
materialism and ‘the selfishness of the world’, Iyengar yoga offers a practice that
many see as separate from ‘mainstream materialism’. When asked “What do you
think is the value of yoga to contemporary ‘Western’ society?”, many respondents
 Spirituality and ‘Mystical Religion’: Iyengar Yoga 319

elaborated with comments on ideas of materialism and the shallowness of

‘ordinary’ life. Some of the many responses included:
Life in the West is so fast-paced and materialistic. Yoga can add meaning
to one’s otherwise shallow, meaningless life.
[Yoga is an] Antidote to current consumer values.
It offers an alternative to our materialistic view of life, in which physical,
mental, emotional and spiritual aspects are sadly missing on the whole
from our culture.
[Yoga is] A contradiction to the rat race.
I would not wish to speculate to what extent yoga could be considered in any
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objective sense an alternative to materialistic values. However, that these

practitioners feel that their yoga practice offers an alternative to the ‘materialism’
and ‘selfishness’ of the secular world makes parallels to the concept of ‘mystical
religion’ more interesting.
Finally, there is the characteristic of religious and philosophical syncretism.
What exactly religious syncretism is is not transparent. Unfortunately, questions
specifically designed to address this issue were not incorporated in the
questionnaire. Therefore, to a certain extent, it is impossible to know whether
respondents held incommensurable beliefs simultaneously or whether they were
creating a single new meaning system out of disparate parts. Yet the responses to
the questionnaire provide a clear description of a general interest in exploring
many different religious traditions, without the need to settle on one only.
Individuals are also able to combine allegiance to secular philosophical systems,
for example, Secular Humanism, with the technique of yoga. Perhaps the situation
of religious syncretism in this context can best be described by reference to Wouter
Hanegraaff’s suggestion of applying the word to “all situations which (from an
observer’s perspective) are characterized by widespread attempts at creating a
new synthesis in opposition to an assumption of consensus in belief” (396 –7).
To what extent the yoga practitioners’ attempt at synthesis is coherent will vary
from individual to individual.
It is important to remember that ‘mystical religion’ as a concept is not
prescriptive. The manifestations of ‘mystical religion’ will look like highly
individualistic, syncretistic choices for finding meaning and spirituality in life.
Some of those involved with yoga are active participants in the so-called “spiritual
marketplace” (Bowman). Others are primarily interested in a singular practice
that provides physical and psychological benefits. However, there does appear to
be a pattern towards syncretism in this sample of yoga practitioners.

Conclusion
I have argued that those with a serious practice of Iyengar yoga tend to revolve
around the description of ‘mystical religion’ offered by Campbell and Troeltsch. It
is clear that many dedicated practitioners of yoga are finding an increased sense of
meaning and purpose to their lives through this physically focused practice. Some
are dedicated to a particular faith, but the majority are interested in spiritual and
religious matters more generally. In particular, the concept of spirituality
resonates more strongly with the yoga practitioners than with the general
 320 S. Hasselle-Newcombe

population. Also, the yoga practitioners tend to be well educated and financially
stable enough to have the time and mental energy necessary to consider religiosity
in a comparative manner.
Current discussions about the nature of religion in contemporary society often
centre on the term ‘spirituality’. While the concept of spirituality has popular and
descriptive relevance, it is notoriously difficult to define. Perhaps the concept of
‘mystical religion’ is worthy of reconsideration as a description of some significant
segments of religion in contemporary society. As elaborated by Campbell, the
concept of ‘mystical religion’ can be used more easily as a heuristic tool than that
of ‘spirituality’. It is possible that individuals interested in their own individual
spiritual development (in line with Troeltsch’s and Campbell’s theories) will be
found to be particularly associated with other meditative and physical techniques
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that have the potential of facilitating personal religious experience, for example,
Martial Arts, Tai Chi or secular meditation.

Suzanne Hasselle-Newcombe conducted the research for this article as part of an MSc
degree in “Religion in Contemporary Society” in the Department of Sociology at the
London School of Economic and Political Science, University of London. She is currently
engaged in research for a PhD thesis in the Faculty of History at the University of
Cambridge, which focuses on the social history of yoga and ayurveda in
Britain. CORRESPONDENCE: Downing College, Regent Street, Cambridge, CB2 1DQ.

NOTES
1. The British Wheel of Yoga, the governing body for yoga as recognised by the UK Sports Council,
estimates the number of yoga practitioners to be between 450,000 and 500,000. This figure was
based upon “an estimate of the number of teachers, number of classes taken and number of
students in each class” (Simmonds). I was not able to ascertain any more detailed information as to
how these figures were obtained and therefore they should be taken as a rough estimate at best.
2. Some medical researchers have addressed the efficacy of modern yoga’s health. For example, see
Williams and Jayasinghe.
3. In addition to running its own ‘non-denominational’ teacher-training programme, the British
Wheel also accredits training programmes by Viniyoga Britain, the Satyananda Yoga Centre (Bihar
Yoga), The Mandala Yoga Ashram, and Yoga of the Heart (Simmonds).
4. For more information on Iyengar yoga in Britain, see http://www.iyengaryoga.org.uk
5. In Britain, my participant observation has mostly been in London and Bristol; in the US, I have
attended classes in Amherst, MA, Lawrence, KS, and New York City.
6. In retrospect, a question modelled on the 1999 Gallup telephone survey, asking “What does the
word spirituality mean to you?” and counting categories of the open-ended responses, could have
been included (Gallup 184 –5).
7. I must express my gratitude to Eileen Barker in allowing me to use the same questions which were
included in the RAMP survey in advance of their publication. RAMP was conducted in 11 European
countries during 1998; the British survey, lasting just over an hour, was done by the British Market
Research Bureau, involving a representative sample of 1,466 respondents over the age of 18.
8. Question 40 asked: “Are you currently exploring/studying any religious tradition(s)?”—Yes/No;
40a “If yes, please describe”; Question 41 asked: “Were you raised in a religious tradition?”—
Yes/No/Sort-of and Question 41a asked: “If yes or sort-of, please describe”.
9. A recent reader survey in Yoga Journal magazine (a widely circulated yoga magazine, published in
the US) reported that 79% of its readers meditate. The tendency to mix techniques of personal
religious experience might thus be more widespread in the general yoga-practising community
than among the Iyengar practitioners (Arnold).
10. The ‘average income’ for an individual Britain in 2002 was £21,372 per year (Office of National
Statistics 157). Of course, this average figure masks many regional, ethnic, gender, and other
differences. In addition, one should not infer from this figure that those with low incomes are not
 Spirituality and ‘Mystical Religion’: Iyengar Yoga 321

practising Iyengar yoga. The innate bias of taking a survey sample and an event costing most
participants at least £150 must also be remembered.

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