Is yoga pretentious?
Probably the loveliest thing I was told by my guests at the Bali retreat last week was that my yoga style is “unpretentious”. I think this means that it’s accessible, approachable, and authentic.
Because I have been practicing for so long, it’s hard for me to remember how pretentious yoga can be (although I’m often reminded by social media and stories from my students).
Here are the 3 main ways I think modern/Western yoga is pretentious and how I try to make it more authentic.
The outfits - if you’re not wearing a size 10 sports bra and tights are you even doing yoga? (The answer is yes). As I mentioned in a blog post a couple of weeks ago, the idea that you have to wear “yoga gear” is one of the ways that people get put off the practice. We can’t all look like Jennifer Aniston in our yoga gear. We can’t all afford Lululemon. Plus, yoga outfits are really just a way for big companies to make a lot of money. They aren’t necessary. And as I found in Bali, pyjama bottoms or loose pants will do the job just nicely, thank you.
The expectations from some teachers - I have heard many stories of students that have been forced to try a pose (I’m looking at you headstand) way before they feel ready, or who have been forced into a shape by a hands-on assist in a class without being asked for consent. ALL. BODIES. ARE. DIFFERENT. We will never all look the same doing downdog. As I teacher, I can’t tell what your body is capable of by looking at it, so I’m never going to push you into a pose. Never.
The perfectionism - I guess this point relates to the other two but if you follow yoga people online you might be led to believe that your poses need to look like pictures in a book, or that you should have a matching outfit on every time you practice, or that you need to be vegan, or that you can never drink alcohol. But yoga is really about self-acceptance and knowing that you can do your best and not always be perfect and that’s okay.
I’d love to share my “unpretentious” yoga with you. Click here to book a class. Or if you aren’t in Albany, you might like to come on retreat. Click here to get the 2025 dates first.
And if you have stories of pretentious yoga, I’d love to hear them. Comment below.
Yoga Pose of the Week
Tree Pose - This is a balancing pose which is good for strengthening the legs and the core. I teach 3 versions of this in my class. This one, with both feet on the floor, but one heel against the opposite ankle. A more challenging option is putting the sole of one foot between the other ankle and the knee. The hardest option is to put the sole of the foot in between the knee and the groin. I also show my students how to use a block to make the pose more accessible if balancing is challenging.
Yoga Philosophy of the Week
Unfortunately, I got home from Bali and promptly got sick. It might be the change in weather or I picked something up on the plane. It also means I missed a few days at work. I started to worry because I am working on a project with a bit of a deadline. So, I’ve called on the yoga principle of isvara pranidhana which means surrender to the divine. I will trust that it will all work out. No point worrying about it as it doesn’t help.
Mindful Moment of the Week
One of my favourite mindfulness practices is reading what I like to call “gentle fiction”. I love to get caught up in a cosy story of friendship, families and/or love. Yep, I’m a romantic at heart. I’m loving my latest read called Thursdays at Orange Blossom House by Sophia Green. It’s a lovely story about women from different generations bonding over this strange thing called yoga (it’s set in the 1990’s before yoga was so popular).
Body Love Health Tip of the Week
One of the first things I learned as a health coach is the concept of “crowding out”. It’s the idea that we add as many healthy things as we can to our diet without denying ourselves the things we love. When we try to stop eating anything “bad” it often means we’ll overindulge later. So, I always ask myself, “why not have both?” P.S. You don’t have to finish everything on your plate either!
If you’d like to learn more about health coaching sessions with me, click here.
