Is social media killing yoga?

Social media is a core part of modern day life and is in many ways valuable, but it can also have a negative affect on the things it is used to promote. Yoga is a great example of the curse of social media, because it makes yoga unattainable and commercialised. In this blog, we explore how social media is killing yoga.

Making yoga unattainable

On social media, the driving force is a desire to be the best and look the greatest. This has led to the development of "master yogis" who dedicate their days to pulling off cool yoga stunts in dramatic places. While these pictures can be wonderful to behold, there is also a counter to this display of brilliance. These images often lead to statements such as "Wow, I wish I could do that but I'm not flexible enough for yoga". This goes against every principle of yoga and instead of encouraging people to try yoga, people are instead seeing it as something that is unattainable. While these people could learn to improve themselves with yoga through beginners yoga classes, they instead think it is too hard and don't even try.

The commercialisation of yoga

Yoga has also become commercialised to the point that people use yoga to promote herbal teas and a whole other range of health kicks. As well as going against the principles of yoga, this can also put a lot of people off. The image of yoga that this presents is one of vegans and hippies. For many potential yoga practitioners, this can be a put-off because they don't want to be pressured to change their diet or be judged for their wider lifestyle. By commercialising yoga as a health product, the converse effect of driving people away from the healthy practice of yoga is occurring.

The distraction of social media

Social media can also distract you from the practice of yoga itself. Instead of focusing on the poses and breathing, people are instead trying to get a great yoga selfie, which means they are not benefiting from the meditative state that is most beneficial from yoga. Social media is killing yoga by offering a distraction, commercialising the practice and making yoga seem unattainable. Yoga classes are a great way to improve your wellbeing, however, so it is important to put the phone down and give it a try.