Inside The Crunchy to Alt-Right Pipeline and Beyond
If there’s one thing that can be hard for folks outside to grasp is how cult-like spirituality and practices that have ties to spirituality can be. As a teacher, I have spent a decade wondering where I fit in within the larger world of yoga, and not just because my body and teaching style differs from what is most commonly seen in magazines, on social media, and on yoga studio websites. I’ve often wondered why it is so many of the people who teach or practice yoga insist on denying things like vaccines, who believe that everything can be cured with a little essential oil (oils have value in supplementing other healing modalities), and how it is they don’t constantly grapple with the hurt and pain happening around the world, instead engaging in spiritual bypassing that is simply white supremacy by another name.
The answer is conspirituality.
I suspect that the opening paragraph will raise some hackles. I invite you to sit with that, though, and get curious about why. Chances are it’s not because it’s something you personally hold dear. Rather, it’s something you were taught or something that was modeled for you and you’ve subscribed to it without giving it too much thought. But today’s recommended read will challenge you to think about those things and decide where and how you might better implement rituals and practices into your life that have real meaning for you—rather than profit for someone else.
Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Health Threat by Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, and Julian Walker
Beres, Remski, and Walker are the hosts of the popular podcast Conspirituality, where they dive into new-age conspiracy theories, helping listeners to see the thin lines between spirituality, conspiracy theory, and actual danger in today’s modern world. The book expands upon many of the topics in the show but stands fully on its own.
Conspirituality looks at some of the biggest names in the alt-wellness world to highlight the grifters (and assorted grifts) that have really exploded since the start of COVID-19. As someone inside the yoga world, it was not surprising to see the ways that popular teachers were espousing conspiracy theories as fact and sharing them widely across social media. But anyone who is unfamiliar with the yoga world will certainly have their eyes opened with some of what they learn here. Many of those who share—or maybe a better word here is preach—the horrors of things like seed oils or eschewing vaccines in favor of “herd immunity” are doing so because they’ve found they can profit tremendously from selling the “true” antidotes to the problems: supplements, courses, wellness retreats, and so much more.
These behaviors are not much different than what happens on the far right, and indeed, this book showcases the horseshoe theory of politics.
The history and research in this book is phenomenal. One of the biggest takeaways I had personally was learning the actual history behind International Day of Yoga, a celebration that shows up widely in June. While the intention of having a world unite around a day of yoga, both its physical and spiritual components, is laudable, the truth behind the event is far from. The first International Day of Yoga was created as part of a militant Hindu Nationalist movement, and because the history of yoga is so whitewashed and commodified in the Western world, most practitioners partake without ever pausing to think about why such a day was created.
As much as this book is a deeply researched expose into some of the worst parts of New Age spiritualism and beliefs, the writing is itself empathetic and compassionate with its readers. We don’t know what we don’t know, and because of how much Western culture is driven by consumerism and a desire for paternalism—it is much easier to get through the day if someone else tells you what is and is not good for you, whether or not they provide evidence beyond “do your research”—the writers are not here to scold readers who have gotten caught up or tricked by the grifts. Remski himself was part of a cult and his experience, paired with his partners, is meant to remind readers that it is not hard to fall victim.
We’re entering an era where a noted grifter and felon is at the helm of American democracy and his cabinet picks are a clown car of fellow grifters and conspiritualist oligarchs. It’s crucial to understand how poor our health literacy is and that it’s not all coming from one side of the political aisle, even if that’s a convenient and more comforting belief. We know vaccines work and we have thousands of peer-reviewed, scientific articles to prove it. Ending vaccine requirements for children will do nothing but create a new generation of extremely ill kids for no reason (if those kids survive a new polio outbreak or whopping cough outbreak at all). We also know that some of the biggest myths plaguing the wellness world are just that: myths. Seed oils are not dangerous, and even when such claims come from people who seem to be good sources of information, it’s often a repackaging of right-wing talking points for a “more enlightened” audience on the left.
If you’re an audiobook listener, it’s a great listen. The authors do the performance, and it’s like listening to a long episode of their podcast.
It is unfortunate that this book, which should have lost relevance in the year+ after its release, has only become far more urgent. But readers who feel like they are living in a world of false promises, where their sacred practices are being commodified for profit, or who wonder why it is so many nice white folks have become “gurus” in the spiritual world without any actual background in the sacred roots or traditions of another culture, this is the book for you. Conspirituality is a reminder that asking questions is far more important than getting—or being sold—any answers.
