The Diversity Gap in UK Yoga

Outsider Perspectives

Situating contemporary yoga within wider debates on health inequality and wellness cultures, Sally SJ Brown foregrounds outsider perspectives in UK yoga spaces, rather than established insiders, exposing the power relations shaping participation and belonging.

Yoga is a popular activity that can offer multiple health and wellbeing benefits. In the United Kingdom, it is even recommended to NHS patients as part of the social prescribing system. Although widely viewed as inclusive and accessible, yoga participation in high-income countries is socially uneven with significant under-representation of marginalised groups. The Diversity Gap in UK Yoga: Outsider Perspectives argues that this lack of diversity in yoga reflects not only practical issues, but also deeper cultural and structural dynamics preventing participation for those who might benefit from it most.

Drawing on rich qualitative rese