ANALYSIS OF MODERN YOGA: A GENDERED SOCIAL FIELD

Yoga has undergone a change in the Western world with its development in fitness culture and has become a part of the cultural industry. In this study, we analyzed yoga as a social field by using the action theory of Bourdieu to understand this changing structure of yoga. After the analysis of data obtained through individual interviews with 10 yoga practitioners and 10 yoga trainers, and three months participant observation, three themes were obtained: the habitus of yoga community, gendering doxas of the field of yoga, and prevailing capitals in yoga. The findings showed that yoga in Turkey has own habitus and body capital is a valued capital. Actors in the field reproduced the
gendered doxas and thus, the field become a gendered social field. As a result, modern yoga in Turkey is a field where gender stereotypes are reproduced and it has a close relationship with the capitalist consumption.