INDUSTRIA SUPERSTUDIO, the West Village citadel of fashion photography where Mark Wahlberg once shed his jeans for a Calvin Klein ad, is not the first place one looks for spiritual enlightenment.

But on a Wednesday night last month, Andy Puddicombe, whom The Times of London once called “Britain’s top meditation guru,” stood before about 100 young, stylish New Yorkers on his first professional visit to the United States. He was hoping to turn the studio into the world’s most smartly accessorized zendo....