In 2004 there were estimated to be 2.5 million yoga practitioners in Britain alone, and numbers are still rising today. Previous published research has considered the history and science of yoga, but rarely the ways in which it has been shared. This book aims to change that. From the very advent of group classes, yoga teachers have dictated the movement, and experience, of their students. But threaded through yoga's history is a more democratic, more individualised way of sharing practice with others. With the recent #MeTooinYoga movement, and the growing popularity of accessible yoga, yoga teachers are increasingly turning to this hidden history for answers. In a diverse profession strongly resistant to official regulation, it is vital for scholars and policy makers alike to understand the risks and rewards of this development. This book presents a ground-breaking model for scholars to understand the contemporary teaching and practice of yoga. As more and more people enjoy the practice, this book asks: in communities based more on peer-networks than hierarchal leadership structures, how are the highest ethical standards negotiated? How does practice relate to life off the mat? What does best practice look like, in 'postlineage' yoga?

Theodora Wildcroft is an associate researcher in the Department of Religious Studies at the Open University.

Theodora Wildcroft