Yoga as a Lifestyle & Culture

Last night, I attended the 5:30pm yoga flow class with Joyce Glick at Yoga Nine. Up until this class I had been attending morning classes to start my day on a positive note. But after having a long stressful day yesterday I wanted to test out an evening class to see how it treated me. I walked in and found the studio to be more dim than the bright space I am used to. The class consisted of me, an older woman, and our teacher. Joyce led us in a very well thought out, smooth, and deep practice. I could tell she was prepared for the class and knew exactly how she wanted it to go. Her class was the most in-touch I have felt with my breath in any of the classes I have taken thus far. Joyce practiced with us, and linked her breath with us. This really held me accountable and reminded me to keep my breathing incorporated with my poses. By the end of the class I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I was able to escape my bad day for a little while and connect with myself and others with the same intentions.

It is amazing to see how practices such as yoga can go from being "counter culture" and seen as completely bazaar, to being "pop culture" and admired. The first thing I observed about yoga was that there are so m

any studios that can be found even just in one town or area. When yoga was "counter culture" there were a lot less studios and they were not as noticed as much. I also took notice how young a lot of the teachers I have encountered are. Teachers and even studio owners are in their 20's and 30's. They wanted a piece of yoga because it was so popular and went the extra step to become a teacher or even start their own yoga studio. This is typical for pop culture because in this culture, when someone wants something seen as desired they go get it immediately. Steps of maturing, mastering a specific art, and experiencing all the world has to offer are skipped in order to be in the "now." One other thing I noticed about yoga in today's culture is that almost anything you see in a studio can be easily purchased. The incense, the statues, the chimes, everything is available either in the studio to purchase, in boutiques, or online.

It is great that yoga is being incorporated into the lives of so many people in the West. We live such a fast paced, "go getter", stressed out lifestyle. Having yoga as an outlet and as a place to get away from all this craziness is so healthy for the mental state of our society as a whole.