The weird and disturbing history of the cult of yoga

'Anything Stewart Home writes intrigues me... He turns things upside down and shakes them up' Lynne Tillman, author of Weird Fucks and Mothercare The practice of yoga promises peace, self-realisation and release, thanks to the power of its 'mystic' Indian origins. But what if this is just hype? In Fascist Yoga, Stewart Home sweeps away the half-truths to tell a new origin story of the world's first modern yogi – a Californian escapologist who added some Hindu fairy dust to gym and circus exercises. Ever since, the world of yoga has been full of grifters, occultists and white supremacists, all out to exploit and recruit via the medium of exercise. From cult leaders and brainwashed followers to TV celebrities and fake gurus, the story of yoga has involved some of the strangest currents of humanity. In this new exposé, Stewart Home shows that nothing is sacred. Stewart Home is a legend of counterculture. He is an artist, filmmaker, pamphleteer, art historian and activist, and the author of countless pulp fictions, including most recently Art School Orgy and She’s My Witch. He regularly performs to audiences across the world.

'Namaste, fascists! An original and entertaining analysis of the dubious origins of the Western middle class’s favourite postural exercise' - The Times The practice of yoga promises peace, self-realisation and release, thanks to the power of its 'mystic' Indian origins. But what if this is just hype? In Fascist Yoga, Stewart Home sweeps away the half-truths to tell a new origin story of the world's first modern yogi – a Californian escapologist who added some Hindu fairy dust to gym and circus exercises. Ever since, the world of yoga has been full of grifters, occultists and white supremacists, all out to exploit and recruit via the medium of exercise. From cult leaders to brainwashed followers, TV celebrities and fake gurus, the story of yoga has involved some of the strangest currents of humanity. Today, the COVID pandemic has activated elements within the modern yoga movement to espouse far-right conspiracies, and QAnon's fascist political programmes mirror some of yoga's key early proponents. In this new exposé, Stewart Home shows that nothing is sacred.