Instagram Yoga

From being mocked and laughed at, to being scrutinized by the media, yoga has endured endless judgment. Finally, in the 21st century, yoga has come to dominate the culture of wellness in Western society, specifically in the United States. Love uncovers the story of the media's portrayal from times when "yoga has been feared, loathed, mocked, kicked to the fringes of society, associated with sexual promiscuity, criminal fraud, and runaway immigration" to currently a time of extreme attraction and lucrative business. Today, more than 15 million Americans practice yoga (Statistics Brain, 2015), and more than 300 million people have an Instagram account (Statista, 2015). The prominence of this social media platform has become a central location for yogis to virtually share their favorite poses, sequences, and yogic philosophies.

Yoga had transitioned from a countercultural practice to a pop culture phenomenon through yogic entrepreneurs. Pop culture has increased the demands of a global market for yoga, reflecting a heightened desire for beauty, flexibility, and fitness as well as goals of stress reduction.

The transition between premodern yoga systems and yoga in today's society has been a great one, "When we think of yoga today, most of us envision spandex-clad, perspiring, toned bodies brought together in a room filled with yoga mats and engaged in a fitness ritual set apart from day-to-day life". In several ways, Instagram has become another modern tool for yoga and yoga entrepreneurs to "package" the practice and has been marketed as a means for self-development.

Highlighting yoga "gurus" where the difference between the traditional yogic meaning of "guru" and the modern meaning of "guru," has come to signify celebrities within the yoga community who use their credibility to create a brand that sells. The branding of yoga has led to a six-billion-dollar industry. However, this type of fitness and image-oriented branding of yoga has created controversy in the yoga community, especially among more traditional practitioners, such as Hindus in America who associate yoga with having Hindu roots.

Yoga in modern society is often used as a tool for self-development. Although traditional practice places high importance on achieving one's highest Self, freeing one's Self from the dominance of the ego is also a core yogic principle. The characteristics which were common were:

Clothing: Among the 100 images, 65% of the images in the sample depicted an individual wearing minimal clothing, often revealing a hyper-toned/fit body that was generally very thin and slender. When it comes to a thin/fit body, it reached 86%. Only two images in the data sample depicted overweight practitioners.

Advanced posture and body type: 80% of the images in the sample depicted the practitioner in an advanced posture. Thin/fit body types were more likely to display an advanced posture than other types. Handstands and arm balance variations were the main types of advanced poses being demonstrated, placing a high importance on the physical/asana element of the practice, whereas virtually none of the other Eight Limbs were present. Physical strength was conveyed more often through images than captions or hashtags that used #strength, #fit, #getfit #yogastrong, or #corestrength.

Gender: 76% of the images in the sample contained women. Yoga has been marketed in today's Western society mainly for females, as represented by modern celebrity gurus like former model turned yogi Tara Stiles. However, in traditional yoga, women were not allowed to partake in the practice until the 20th century

Outdoor setting: Within the sample, 72% of images were depicted in an outdoor setting, with nature being an integral aesthetic theme. This represents another direct disparity between traditional yoga and yoga on Instagram, as the traditional practice advised practitioners to only practice indoors and refrain from being exposed to open air for at least one-half hour after practice.

These are examples of the disconnect between the principles of the traditional yoga practice and the way yoga is framed, practiced, and viewed today in modern Western society. With an increasingly interconnected world reliant and active on social media, and with yoga's increasing popularity in the West, it is important to assess the relationship between yoga's popular presence on Instagram and these core principles of yoga as taught by traditional yoga gurus.