Matt King and Amanda Lucia in conversation, Michael Alexander, moderator

UCR Palm Desert Campus

The multi-billion-dollar industry of ‘wellness’ culture has become a driver of sizable intellectual and social movements in the 21st century. Despite its long history of pseudo-scientific claims and its questionable ethics of appropriation, exotification, and commodification of Asian and Indigenous traditions, wellness cultures continue to be widely popular - particularly in California! In this conversation, Matt King and Amanda Lucia come together in conversation to discuss the potentialities and pitfalls of wellness culture - including how ideas about Buddhist mindfulness and postural yoga have shaped its terrain and trajectory. This conversation draws from the authors’ expertise in transnational Buddhism and Hinduism, to query topics spanning from 19th century historical ideas about bodily purity and perfection drawn from Asian religions to modern examples of Covid denial, pseudo-scientific claims, and the spiritualities on display in sites as diverse as Coachella and TikTok. Employing an approachable interview format, this lively discussion brings to light how wellness culture is shaping not only our bodies, but our minds.