The Punjabi Sikh Presence in Early American Yoga. This talk tells the hidden history of the Punjbai Sikh presence in early American yoga through the stories of five Punjabi Sikh immigrants

Phillipe Deslippe

Phillipe Deslippe is a historian of American religion with a background in American Studies and literature. His research focuses on race and immigration in American religion, “cults” and new religious movements, the American metaphysical tradition, and Asian American religions

Phillipe explores the hidden history of the Punjbai Sikh presence in Early American yoga through the stories of five Punjabi Sikh immigrants : Wassan Singh (1882-‐‑1942), Bhagwan Singh Gyanee (1884-‐‑1962), Rishi Singh Gherwal (1889-‐‑1964), Bhagat Singh Thind (1892-‐‑1967), and Sadhu Balwant Singh Grewal (1899-‐‑1985). After placing them in the context of modern yoga and its early history in America, these men are best understood as immigrants who occupied a unique position between the prevailing antagonisms against immigrants and a fascination with an imagined “metaphysical Asia.”