What do good yogis wear? Ethico-political implications of reckoning with (non)judgment through yoga in Turkey

This article explores the intersection of apparel consumption, ethics/morality and politics through how yoga instructors in Turkey navigate their own and others’ consumption choices while trying to be good yogis. These navigations are marked with the domination of (non)judgment as a significant point of contention whereby yogis mobilize, rethink or reject the path metaphor to make sense of how one might critically engage with yogic moral becoming or deliberately refrain from doing so. By following an anthropological approach to ethics and moralities, I highlight the reflective and creative ways in which yogis undertake these deliberations as well as the broader political stakes implicated by their diverse positions. Ultimately, I show that everyday ethical/moral notions of judgment are connected to the broader arena of justice by situating the yogic reinforcement of nonjudgment as a political act within Turkey’s larger context increasingly defined by arbitrariness in relation to social justice and political, legal judgment.