MEga Yoga: a Counter Narrative Embodied Experience

BACKGROUND: The wellness industry is a multibillion, neoliberal global industry capitalising on spiritual practices such as yoga to perpetuate conflicting heteropatriarchal values and ideals. This industry functions by emulating fashion and luxury marketing strategies. There is emerging academic scholarship sitting in-between critical luxury and consumer culture highlighting the ethical implications of these practices. This creative work expands on this scholarship by using embodied knowledge and participatory performance to raise awareness about participation within neoliberal spiritual practices and the wellness industry. CONTRIBUTION: This participatory performance is a more than human collaboration between a performance artist, a fashion and yoga researcher/instructor, an Artificial Intelligence’s data harvesting of the wellness industry’s values and ideals and a sound designer. The work consists of a critical yoga ‘class’ accompanied by an original, New-Age style soundtrack designed to function as an uncannily reflexive mantra. This creative work is the first to present sensory activation and embodiment as a tactic to actively reflect on these topics. It also offers new knowledge on the increasing commodification of spirituality through fashionable practices such as Western yoga. SIGNIFICANCE: This performance was presented at Next Wave (September 2024) as part of Bus Projects Engages public program. The application was selected from more than 300+ received in the open call, which made this process highly competitive. This creative work is funded by Bus Projects and assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.