Those of you who know me, know that I am a big fan of @yogagirl, I get a little giddy looking at @laurasykora,@patrickbeach, @kinomcgregor @sadienardini, @mynameisjessamyn or my personal fave @meghancurrieyoga. I have an Instagram account, and a large number of the people I follow are yoga teachers or practitioners. They post photos of ridiculously fantastic asana, the occasional post of them looking thoughtful and meditative, and always a little bit of yogic wisdom, some kind of thoughtful inspiration. They use catchy & trendy hashtags, post challenges, promote clothing, show photos of their yummy organic whole foods vegan lunches. All in all, they image craft the ideal “yogic” lifestyle. Sometimes, like Yoga Girl Rachel Brathen , they get real and post about their dark moments, their fears, tragedies and insecurities. Rachel Brathen also coined the popular instagram yoga hashtag #yogaeverydamnday that has accompanied many of my instagram photographs. It’s a pretty great hashtag that generally comes along with a lot of feel good likes and follows whenever I use it.
This is the world of the Instayogacelebrity. This is western yoga at it’s finest. Cleverly marketed yoga sold en mass to receptive yoga audiences. Of course there is a backlash from those who disagree with yoga being sold in this way. They cry, “but it’s not all about the asana!! they aren’t representing REAL yoga”. Looking through any of the above listed feeds, it might appear that the instayogi is focused on doing yoga postures alone. These are committed practioners who clearly take their time on the mat seriously, it is not without hours of daily practice that they are able to accomplish such impressive postures. We don’t often see into the behind the scenes making of an insta yogi, and it all looks so effortless and flawless on the surface. I’m not sure how many followers they would have if they posted photos of their meditation or pranayama practices instead of the asana. Truth is, the impressive stuff sells the yoga.
And this is where I come back to the title of this piece, “The Value of Instayoga”. It is in the “sales pitch” they do. They reflect a desirable image, a lifestyle that is healthy & happy. We follow by the millions because we like that image. We like what that image is telling us about yoga, about what yoga can do for us. It is through the instayoga that we may be inspired to go to a yoga class, read a book about yoga, start meditating, try a new posture, work hard at a posture we thought we were unable to practice because... Yoga every damn day! It’s inspiring. And we think, “I want that, I want to do yoga so that I can be happy”.
We all know that yoga postures themselves don't make us happy. But, it’s a start! It’s a pretty fantastic start actually. And if we simply just went to a class now and then because we like the image yoga girl presents, that can be a very positive thing. I know how much yoga has impacted my life, and have seen it create positive shifts in many lives just with attending one or two classes a week.
Author David Deida has a wonderful tool for understanding levels of consciousness. His work centres around human sexuality but it can be applied to the evolution toward enlightened behaviour in any type of activity. There are three stages, they are all valuable, some are more enlightened than others, and we can flow between stages. He describes the third stage as openness and quite obviously the place one might want to spend most of their time in particularly in relationship with one’s partner. The first stage is “me” centered - what can you do for me? How can I benefit from this? This stage is often felt when one is hungry, “I’m hungry, I need to eat”. The Instayogi has the ability inspires stage 1 behaviour in the viewer. I like that pose, she looks happy, I want to do that pose and be happy - I am going to try yoga.
Yoga has this wonderful ability to catch the conscious thinker and bring them into a greater conscious awareness. Some people may spend their entire practice life in stage 1. They feel good physically and emotionally, and so they keep going to yoga. Postures and possibly meditation are the extent of the practice. The stage 1 yogi will probably feel happier, and will be more productive in their day to day life. If yoga wasn’t useful for a stage 1 yogi, they would find a new teacher, or quit practicing. They may post a lot of yoga selfies, and work very hard to accomplish difficult yoga postures because that is what feels good to them. They may vehemently defend their “style” of yoga - not understanding that others might receive benefit from different approaches.
Over time, as consciousness evolves the yogi may move on to stage two. In stage two the yogi begins to take others into consideration. This might be where the yoga leaves the mat, and begins to impact relationships. The yogi might become more conscious in his/her action, acting more compassionately toward others. They may begin to notice small things like a piece of garbage on the ground and feel compelled to pick it up rather than walk past it in their hurry to get to class. They may also consider sharing yoga with others and sign up for a teacher training program. In stage two, my needs are satisfied but I want to make sure your needs are also met. This is where most people tend to reside, and most yogis I have met (including myself most of the time) are quite content in stage two. This is a good place to be, and without stage 2 we would have a world without activism. Strongly defending one’s belief in equality and fairness is the only defence against injustice in a world full of unconscious stage 1 governments & corporations.
In stage two, a yogi might become so concerned with others that they feel it is important to defend or become critical of other yoga styles. It starts out with worrying about the safety of students - worried that particular styles of yoga or particular teachers or even instayogis are not practicing “real” yoga or are pushing themselves too hard and it is our duty to get involved and defend those who are at risk. Sometimes the defending goes so far that it becoming defensiveness, and in defending their position, the stage 2 yogi becomes a stage 1 yogi. Ego gets in the way #everydamnday. I see it all the time on Facebook!
There is nothing wrong with stage 1 or stage 2. They are valuable at times. David Deida often says we have moments in any stage but it is our goal to be practicing in stage 3.
Stage 3 is about devotion & selfless service. To openly offer the gift of yoga (presence without barriers) without expectation of anything in return. Practicing yoga (presence) becomes effortless, because the stage 3 yogi is living yoga both on and off the mat. This yogi would recognize their own collapse when feeling threatened and instead of defending, arguing or fighting back they would love through that discomfort. Why would you want to live any other way? There is a freedom in allowing and not resisting each and every moment. There is freedom in not fighting when we feel personally threatened. There is freedom in not worrying about what is and isn’t REAL yoga. There is freedom in living every moment consciously aware of remaining open and present. It is here we realize that we were already happy, in fact our true nature is happiness. This is the practice, this is how we LIVE yoga. And while this seems very idealistic and fantastical - it is a state of mind. One might call it enlightenment. It is not to say that shitty stuff won’t happen and you won’t collapse or feel horrible. It is not to say that you won’t often flow between stages as needed. It is to say that the practice is to try and remain here, to stay consciously open and to allow the yoga to shine through the shells made hard through patterning in the body mind. It is an ongoing practice and perhaps what Pattabhi Jois meant when he said, “Do your practice, and all is coming”.
You can’t have stage 3 without stage 1, or stage 2. They are all part of the process. We all have different ways of finding our way to stage 1, and I am quite grateful that the Instayogi exists to start people out on their yogic journey. There are many different paths to enlightened living, and yoga is one of them. Great teachers, hard work, dedication, mindful awareness, and a little bit of insta- inspiration go a long way to help us along that path.
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