2023-09-22 08:46:48
“We live in a society that believes that to be a good human, you have to be happy and healthy,” emphasized in a documentary (1) broadcast on the Arte channel in 2021 Carl Cederström, sociologist and co-author of Well-being syndrome (2). And added: “this society not only favors those who succeed, it also denigrates those who do not succeed.”
Whether it is the business world, personal development or the sphere of well-being, neoliberal economics has insinuated itself into every interstice of our lives. In business, the globalization of the liberal economy has been accompanied by the modification of traditional management methods to integrate notions from the field of well-being. This with the aim of strengthen the psyche of employees and get people to be more productive by supposedly making them happier.
The philosopher, speaker and author Julia de Funès (3) sees a great paradox between the fact that we have not never been so concerned about the well-being of employees and the fact that there has never been so much unhappiness correlated with long-term sick leave.
And the psychiatrist Christophe André sums it up: “If I can’t be happy, that’s one more failure in my life.” In other words, there is no reason to complain. Just roll up your sleeves and do something extraordinary. Neoliberalism wants that.
We are a market
Neoliberalism is a capitalism whose specificity is that it transforms everything into a market. Everything is a potential consumer item. Everything is a potential career opportunity. “I find that the most blatant example is that of romantic relationships,” says Camille Teste, yoga teacher, author (4) and feminist activist. “We never thought that romantic relationships could become a potential market.” Looking at the quantity of dating apps available, we have to admit that yes. “For well-being, it’s exactly the same. Before, practicing physical activity, going for a walk, taking care of yourself or even having certain spiritual practices – or which in my opinion fit into well-being practices – existed outside of the market. “Today, they are consumer goods like any other : you can treat yourself to a cocoa ceremony for a certain number of euros. There was a cultural switch through which we realized that everything could become a market, including ourselves.
We should constantly self-optimize
In certain well-being spaces, we find this neoliberal ideology. It can be translated into ways of speaking, beliefs. “I am thinking in particular of the idea that you should constantly work on yourself, optimize yourself, continue this famous quest for the best version of yourself to be happy “, depicts Camille Teste. There is this belief that if we raise our thoughts towards something of the order of abundance, then our life will be better. “
All this feeds neoliberalism since it is not a question of self-optimizing by consuming less and enjoying a life in silence, calm and economy of gesture. On the contrary, it is about consuming and doing more and more. ” In yoga, it’s the same thing. Every day, we are praised for the merits of a new yoga, with the promise that it will bring happiness and satisfaction.. It maintains this culture of constantly testing new things, of moving from hypnosis to nutrition, from this new food supplement to this revolutionary facial treatment. “
A very unequal world of well-being
It is very paradoxical since, in well-being, particularly in yoga, there is an aspiration for the universal. This is aimed, in theory, at everyone, at all bodies. If we all practiced yoga, the world would be a better place. “However, when you enter a yoga studio or other well-being practices, you immediately realize that the students are mainly white people, thin, with very standardized bodies and with a little money and/or timeregrets Camille Teste, who continues: “But the people who today have the greatest need for well-being are those who have the most difficulty accessing it. I am thinking of the most marginalized people, that is say black, overweight, disabled and female people. “But the fight is tough: “As a yoga practitioner, it is difficult for me to fight with my little arms against a society that has organized for the well-being of some and not for that of many others,” she admits.
Accept the diversity of bodies
« I saw clearly as a naturopath that I sometimes gave advice that was difficult to apply, with the objective of losing weight at all costs. I questioned the links between body size and health, and wondered about my own fatphobic biases. Today, I invite people to shift their focus from weight to focus on their relationship with food, physical activity, sleep, and emotions. Losing weight is not a simple solution that works sustainably. Body diversity exists: there are people who are naturally thin, lean, and fat. And there are also thin diabetics. »
Sophia Desbleds, yoga teacher and naturopath specializing in issues of slimming injunctions.
Happiness, a collective issue
Too many beliefs conveyed make us think that each individual is solely responsible for their own happiness and unhappiness. “This distracts us because happiness is a collective issue. We live in a society that makes us more and more tired, insecure, stressed, anxious. I think you can do all the coaching you want, it’s impossible to be happy. At my level, says Camille Teste, I try to propose practices which raise awareness of the fact that we are a human group and that it is together that we must organize ourselves to ensure that our society suits us. I propose simple actions such as adapting prices or creating specific spaces for bodies that are not within the norm. “
It’s all the more important because people go to these spaces to receive gentleness and care, so if we bring sexism and racism to them like in the rest of society, that’s a problem. And then the financial aspect is a crucial point: the most vulnerable people are especially financially vulnerable. Affording yoga sessions is not always easy given that unit prices vary from 25 to 35 euros for a class in a fashionable Parisian center. Outside of large urban centers, a subscription system is generally put in place; courses are rarely offered individually. Prices per year vary: a Grenoble yoga school, for example, offers annual subscriptions for 350 euros. In Lyon, the single course costs around 20 euros…
The turning point of the 1980s-1990s
The yoga ultimately crystallizes the contexts of its time. It is a fascinating cultural object to study because it reflects the societal changes that are gradually taking place.
From its reformulation, at the end of the 19th century, in one of the Hindu elite circles, yoga will no longer be formulated as a means of exiting existence, but as a means of developing one’s full potential within this very life.
With the fall of communism, there was no longer really a grand narrative offering an alternative to triumphant neo-liberalism. The individual has become solely responsible for his destiny. As philosopher Barbara Stiegler summarizes (5), everything is done so that humans adapt to the structure of society instead of changing society to match human needs. This can make us unhappy, depressed, and even violent.
A systemic approach to care
« I mainly support minoritized people. The idea is to ensure that they understand the mechanisms at work in their lives which mean that, even if they follow all the personal development advice for well-being that is given to them, it will still get stuck in certain places. I don’t think my approach is particularly daunting. On the contrary, it really allows you to get by in everyday life. There is no point in making people feel good in a session and then, returning to their daily lives, are faced with the same difficulties again. We cannot work on collective issues on an individual level alone.. »
Anne Favier Barthelery, naturopath and guide to well-being practitioners on issues of inclusiveness.
Making our world more habitable
Zineb Fahsi, author (6) yoga practitioner and teacher, agrees in the same direction by denouncing the injunction to happiness omnipresent in our contemporary society. While specifying that yoga is more a symptom than a cause. So how, in these universes, can webegin to weave other imaginaries, to offer spaces of respite, to turn to our benefit certain injunctions present in the world of yoga? How can we develop the power to act?
“ I think that we can cultivate spaces of resistance, which are intended to be on the margins or which can be ferments where we cultivate gentleness, unproductivity, relationships with the body which are disconnected from the idea of performance, non-aesthetic . These spaces remain on the margins, so the question is: how can we extend this outside of our yoga classes? This undoubtedly involves anti-capitalist, feminist, environmentalist militant struggles which, for me, have this vocation to make the world more acceptable and habitable for as many people as possible. “, concludes Zineb Fahsi.
For further
(1) The business of happiness, documentary by Jean-Christophe Ribot. Authors: Claire Alet, Jean-Christophe Ribot, 2022.
(2) The happiness syndrome, by Carl Cederström and André Spicer, ed. The escape, 176 p., €15.
(3) (im)personal development, the success of an imposture, by Julia de Funès, ed. I read, 192 p., €7.60.
(4) Politicizing well-being, by Camille Teste, ed. Binge Audio Editions, 161 p., €15.
(4) Yoga Revolution, by Camille Teste, ed. Solar, 128 p., €9.90.
(5) “We have to adapt!”, on a new political imperative, by Barbara Stiegler, ed. Gallimard. 338 p., €22.
(6) Yoga, the new spirit of capitalism by Zineb Fahsi, ed. Textual, 208 p., €18.90.
Also read:
Useless misfortune, by Dr. Alain Gérard, ed. Michel Lafon, 161 p., €16.95.
To listen :
– “Intuitive” a spiritual activism podcast which denounces new age excesses and, among other things, toxic positivity and spiritual avoidance mechanisms.
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