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The Sexualisation of Yoga: Ew, stop it.

Writer's picture: LauraLaura


In the somewhat edited yet immortal words of Peach PRC, "f*ck off stop [emailing] me, Josh." Recently one of my old yoga teachers, the wonderful Lauren Aimee, who regularly posts yoga content online, received a pretty gross email from a random man named Joshua. He emailed her to tell her the oh so important information of how much he enjoyed her 'yoga movies' and the way her hair reacted to gravity while teaching in said yoga videos. Uncalled for and uncomfortable to say the least.


But is Joshua the only man guilty of sexualising yoga content on the internet. Not by a long shot. Type 'yoga' into the search bar of Instagram or TikTok and you'll be fed content focussing on the spandex covered behinds of various women moving through various yoga poses. I'd argue this is the hyper-fixation on the body within yoga at it's worst. Where it becomes profitable to sexualise yoga and distort it so far away from its cultural and historical origins that it basically becomes soft core porn under the hashtag 'yoga'.


Please understand I'm not looking to slut-shame anyone, men; women; non-binary people should be able to express their sexuality in whatever way they want. The problem with people seeing yoga as a purely sexual thing is that it strips yoga down to only the body, as well as reinforcing the idea that particularly women's bodies exist for the pleasure of men. Not to mention the disrespect shown towards those whom yoga is a deeply significant and spiritual part of their culture.


I'd argue the sexualisation of yoga is down to a culmination of factors. Demand and appetite for easily accessible provocative images, the idea that yoga is for the hyper-flexible, and casual chauvinism. Where a simple how-to guide on backbends or forward bends results in unwanted comments sexualising the creator, and then going so far as to blame the creator for the commenters response to the content, when called out on it.


This sexualisation of yoga, the expectation that the creators of yoga content be accepting of this unwanted behaviour and the common misconception of yoga by the general west all feed into this. What effect does this have on yoga content creators, teachers, or those looking to start a yoga practice? Does this expectation of sexiness going hand in hand with yoga make it off putting to people who would otherwise engage with the practice. Especially men.


If a man objectifies a woman based on an activity then he won't want to do said activity for fear of being objectified himself - Peter Cable

It's no secret that yoga is associated with women, especially here in the west. Common misconceptions of yoga is that you need to be thin; flexible; and strong in order to practice it. Which is simply not true. I do wonder whether the association of yoga and sexual content puts men off of trying out yoga or being afraid of being deemed feminine by their peers. Or even worse, being labelled as creepy for going to yoga classes as people assume they are there for voyeuristic pleasure.


Peter Cable, a man who is no stranger to yoga but does not participate in regular classes reasoned, "if a man objectifies a woman based on an activity then he won't want to do said activity for fear of being objectified himself". Curious, Peter decided to type yoga into his For You page on TikTok and was taken aback by the content. "That's the issue with TikTok, it's that these people are trying to make themselves popular and are turning themselves into commodities as a result." He went on to state,"they're feeding into this idea of that is all a woman is there for". The very first post on his FYP was a woman transitioning from downward facing dog to handstand but angled to look straight at a her lycra clad behind. There was no doubt that this, among countless other videos that followed, was yoga catered to the male gaze. Peter highlighted the juxtaposition between this voyeuristic content and what yoga means to him and many others around the world. "It's such a weird contrast, that that's being shown to the world as 'view me' when it's meant to be an individual thing". To him, "yoga is about the self".


If the only content prospective yoga students see is hyper-sexualised, mostly slim white women being impossibly bendy - you'd be forgiven in thinking that yoga isn't for you.


When discussing whether online yoga content has an effect on the likelihood of Peter signing up to regular yoga classes he expressed discomfort at the idea stating it's, "...the idea of not being represented, it's a lot of attractive people that are already quite fit and... i mean it's the same as going to the gym, the perception that people that go to the gym are fit and not there to get fit. Yoga is the same, it's the perception that people that do yoga do it because they can do yoga, not because they want to learn to". This feeds back into the idea that yoga is for certain people as well as into the perfectionist culture we live in. Where a prerequisite to trying something new is a natural affinity to 'do well' in it.


While the sexualisation of yoga may not seem to directly correlate with this idea at first, it is fed by it. If the only content prospective yoga students see is hyper-sexualised, mostly slim white women being impossibly bendy - you'd be forgiven in thinking that yoga isn't for you.


New yoga student Hannah Curtis says "it's all arse, vag and tits" when scrolling on the 'yoga' tag on TikTok. "It's basically soft porn." When asked if that has an impact on whether she'd be likely to sign up to more yoga classes she expressed discomfort at the thought stating, "then it's like a.) I'm not gonna look like that, b.) i'm gonna be hot, sweaty and struggling, and c.) I don't want that to be the vibe of my practice." What this content does is take the deeply personal and introspective practice of yoga and place it firmly in the voyeuristic sphere of influence. Where the focus is not on how your own body and mind feel during yoga, but on how you are perceived by others. Hannah goes on to ask, "Why do I have to look like that to practice having a healthy mind and body?". It's a good question. One that arguably shouldn't exist. Why should anyone have to look any one way to practice yoga. Surely showing up as yourself, in your body, as it is existing in that moment is the only way you should practice. Yoga can adapt to you and your body. You can practice asana and pranayama to energise the body, relax and calm the mind, bring fresh oxygen into the lungs. Even grow more confidence in your body image and lived experience. Yoga isn't for the viewing pleasure of others. As Peter said, "yoga is about the self", and while it may be worth ignoring this content to focus on your personal practice, I can't help but wonder what the impact this content has on people. Those yet to start a practice, or at the beginning of their yoga journey or who have an established practice but are seeing this content pushed to them. What impact could this content have on the young men and women who are told to try yoga for their mental health or to cope with school stress. Only to find hyper-sexual content as the first thing they see. Will young women and girls think that sexiness is a requirement of the practice, will young men and boys be reluctant to try yoga for fear of being judged.


The hyper-sexualisation of yoga does not exist in a vacuum. Nor did it stem from one particular source. While I don't know the remedy for this situation, I do know the more you focus on how yoga feels in the body and how it affects your life, mind and environment, the better your relationship with yoga is. So while we know Joshua is not alone in his so readily available opinion, nor is he entirely to blame for this shift in the way we see yoga, the Joshuas of the world don't help matters.


Check out Lauren Aimee's site and Youtube channel for some truly beautiful yoga flows*.

*Joshua's opinions not included.


By Laura Carey

Thank you to Lauren for allowing me to share her story, as well as Hannah and Peter for sharing their thoughts and opinions.

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