The Oversexualization Of Yoga

I was pleasantly surprised to see this article this morning in the Globe & Mail.  It couldn’t have been written any faster or come at a better time as far as I’m concerned.  I had heard about a Naked Yoga class opening here last week and was shocked that “sex” had taken over this market as well.  I mean, come on!  I have posted the beginning of the article, with a link for the full read.   I would love to hear your thoughts/opinions on yoga in the mainstream market…Thanks!

Amy Verner – Globe & Mail

By the standards of women’s fashion magazines, there is nothing particularly racy about Yoga Journal. Stories in the October issue include a step-by-step illustrated guide to achieving poses, versatile yet stylish clothes to wear outside the studio, nourishing beauty rituals and a recipe for dosas.   Toward the back of the magazine, however, there’s a black and white Toesox ad featuring well-known yoga teacher Kathryn Budig in a variation on a handstand. Apart from a pair of the organic-cotton non-slip yoga socks, she’s naked, strategically positioned to reveal no body parts that would be considered scandalous on Sesame Street.

But while the image, shot by respected fitness photographer Jasper Johal, is unquestionably beautiful, not everyone was happy to see the practice of yoga portrayed in a sexy, commercial context.

Judith Hanson Lasater, a leading voice in the yoga world and one of the founding editors of Yoga Journal 35 years ago, wrote a letter to the magazine that ran in its September issue. In it, she expressed her sadness and confusion over the “photos of naked or half-naked women” and how they relate to the practice of yoga. Yoga blogs and message boards jumped on her response, mostly in agreement.

Finish article at:   http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/the-oversexualization-of-yoga/article1738251/