I Love Yoga, I Hate Yoga

Yoga's evolution has accelerated, adapting to the changing needs of practitioners. It remains a lifelong practice, capable of accommodating various physical and emotional states. Whether recovering from injury, seeking energy, or calming the mind, yoga offers tailored benefits, restoring balance and homeostasis. Despite my appreciation for yoga's efficacy, there are moments when its familiarity breeds reluctance. Having witnessed its evolution since the early 2000s, I sometimes find aspects of contemporary yoga unsettling, leading to occasional resistance in my practice.

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOGA?

Over the last two decades we’ve seen yoga change drastically. From 1.5 hour classes with either no music or “yoga music”; To 60min classes bumping Justin Bieber or T Pain. Add on top of that the proliferation of social media and 💥 it’s a whole new world.

During my first years of practice and study, everything was traditional. Yoga was stripped down, uncomplicated, subtle and real. I’d long studied Sociology and this seemed like the philosophical refuge I had been seeking.

When social media hit, things began to change. Yogis started to get famous for their extreme poses and posting booty shots with captioned spiritual jargon became the norm. Today, yoga is practiced by 55 million Americans and revenue from the yoga industry is reaching upwards of 11.96 Billion U.S. dollars.  What they’re selling us isn’t yoga, it’s cute yoga pants and tragic symbols for pseudo spirituality.

For this reason, there are times I hate yoga and want to run far away from its culture. A lot of today’s yoga is watered down and far removed from what it was intended to do. The ego got us once again! Goat yoga!  Cannabis yoga! Anything to stay relevant and get more likes.  My preference has always been the light, straight-to-the-point, stripped down yoga rooted in old school teachings and free of BS.  I often have to remind myself that sharing this is all I can do to stay true to myself in a sea of ever-changing gimmicks.

I LOVE YOGA, MY ROCK FOR LIFE

Yoga is a journey that spans a lifetime, adapting and growing alongside us. It encompasses various dimensions—physical, emotional, mental, and moral—that guide us towards a fulfilling existence.

Showing up day after day gives you a chance to see things with brand new eyes, to shift perspective, to practice less judgement, and to embrace all the different permutations of yoga as they are today.

You might just need to do a little more searching to find a style and teacher that resonates with you. I suggest reading yoga books, too.  The old classics such as The Bhagavad Gita and Light On Yoga.  It’s also important to push yourself to keep taking classes, even when you dread it.  

Committing to doing the things that are good for you even though you may not always want to do them is the definition of mental strength. It’s a quality that will carry you to higher levels of accomplishment, both personally and professionally. There’s also something to be said for seeing the positive amidst the negative and shifting your perspective when you’re stuck in pessimism.

I’ve learned that yoga is my rock and no matter what I’m going through on any given day, it will always enhance my experience. When I feel annoyed at the latest social media ad selling me “the worlds best yoga mat” or seeing someone flying into handstand with a caption reading “yoga for beginners”, I work to not let it shake the foundation of what I know to be true, to not get caught in the vritti of it, and let it be. To show up for my practice as a student and a teacher, authentically.