Yoga Instagram Culture — Is It Healthy?
As yoga inspiration and #fitspo has become more common on Instagram, you have to wonder — is this healthy? Is sharing millions of photos of yoga selfies and looking at millions more of other yogis in impressive arm balances good for anyone’s self-esteem? There’s photos of yogis in airports, promoting themselves on YouTube or their subscription service and different styles of yoga across every genre. But for every negative thought that may come up about yoga and Instagram selfies, there’s a counter point to be made about inspiration and about helping fellow yogis get motivated to jump back on the mat.
Does Instagram make it impossible to have body confidence?
Even as Instagram has permeated into popular culture for food and travel photography, it’s also made its way into the fitness and yoga community. Almost every famous yoga teacher has a corresponding Instagram where they may post photos of a new pose, a video of a new flow or simply everyday photos of their life. While in theory that’s not harmful, the common perception of the skinny white yoga practitioner might be.
Not everyone’s body looks the way that others look like online. Certainly not everyone can make a yoga pose look effortless. Looking at these photos can give the impression that everyone that practices yoga has to look like that, and that if you don’t — you shouldn’t be practicing yoga. In other words, focusing too much on what you think yoga should look like could be harmful to your own self-esteem and body image.
But can’t the yoga Instagram culture also be motivating?
The short answer is of course! With Instagram as with any social media platform, you have the opportunity to meet yogis from all around the world and connect about the one thing you both have in common. You can find a yoga teacher that you love and that inspires you. Often yoga accounts will post inspirational texts. Or simply by looking at a pose might mean that you get motivated to get in shape and eat healthier. All of these are good things.
And like other yoga social media platforms, having support from friends from all across the world can be inspiring. Maybe you didn’t want to attend a yoga class, but by scrolling through Instagram, you decided you wanted to go. You can find retreats like Udaya Live on Instagram and sign yourself up for an event you would never have considered before!
The Healthy Verdict
How do you balance what could be harmful with what is helpful for others? Can you really make a blanket statement on a social media channel that does both good and bad? Depending on how you see Instagram in your daily life and how you interpret it, it can be a source of inspiration or harmfulness.
But imagine that there was no Instagram… could we get as much inspiration to travel and see places as we do now? Would it be possible to advance our yoga practice as much? Imagine those yoga teachers that you’ve found through Instagram, various schools and pieces of knowledge that could change your life — that wouldn’t be in the picture without Instagram. It’s become such a huge part of many people’s lives now that picturing life without Instagram is pretty difficult — but luckily, we don’t have to.
