Abstract
Modern yoga is an activity that is intertwined with notions of transformation, personal growth and the enhancement of the mind, body and spirit. Intrigued by the growing number of men doing yoga in rural New Zealand and also by significant gaps in the academic literature relating to New Zealand men’s yoga experiences, this research aims to shed light on how yoga is experienced by New Zealand male yoga teachers; men that live in the neoliberal present, an era and an ideology that embraces individual freedom, personal responsibility and consumerism.
Using a research framework of narrative inquiry and evocative autoethnography, the study shares the yoga experiences of nine New Zealand male yoga teachers aged between 45 and 70. The stories are presented as unique narrative vignettes that follow the men down their paths with yoga. Through evocative autoethnography I share my experiences with yoga and I share how my yoga experiences are intertwined with a desire to create states of transcendence and union. In addition, I explore how yoga is intertwined with a desire to live simply. The yoga stories provide a lens into the different ways modern yoga is performed and experienced. These ways include helping men to overcome anxiety and depression and to repair broken bodies; yoga as a vehicle for the men to become the best versions of themselves; yoga as a form of healthy ageing; and the performance of yoga as a challenge to hegemonic masculinity. This study gives insights into the diverse ways modern yoga is understood and practiced. Furthermore, it explores how yoga is a mechanism for New Zealand men to care for themselves, to care for others and to care for the Earth. The study highlighted the evolving nature of masculinities and modern yoga in New Zealand society.