Posting “Perfect” Yoga Images On Social Media

I’ve read and partaken in many conversations about the different ways yoga is shared. Some practitioners frown upon the “perfect image” of yoga being presented by socially-determined beautiful, fit individuals through social media. If it’s not the person doing it, they can even dismiss the landscape chosen to do it in. “Showing your latest asana accomplishment on the beach isn’t yoga”.

I admit I may be biased but I see it differently. If you are passionate in practicing yoga and you are continuously growing in it; the pride you have in yourself once you reach a new level is amazing. Why would we depreciate the excitement of that? We like to preach self-love but at the same time have contempt for it. I want to take and share pictures of my asanas for nostalgia to my future self, to help motivate others, to inspect my positioning for further alignment or adjustments, document my growth over time, and simply because it looks interesting.

If you have the skill of an extreme looking asana and decide you want to strike that pose in front of a sunset — do it!

It doesn’t matter if yoga is “meant” to be practiced on a beach or not.

There’s a difference between your practice and your functional daily life. If you are a weight lifter and you pose for a photo holding a car over your head in your spare time; is that devaluing the practice of weight lifting? No. It’s damn impressive! It’s showing the capabilities of where it can get you. Of course, my example is exaggerated to make a point — but you see the idea.

It’s using the functional techniques you’ve inherited from the practice in your daily life. If we can’t have fun with our yogic lifestyle; then we’re taking life too seriously.

I’d also argue that shooting pre-determined photos isn’t fake. It shouldn’t lose worth for being staged. With the right photographer, it can become a stunning image of art. With the right viewer, it can be a fire under the ass to get up and get moving.

This isn’t to say I think people should practice yoga in a full face of make-up, brand new clothes, outside of a global landmark, and always make sure to be camera-ready. There is a time and place to experience your yoga practice and reap all the benefits it brings. A shared shala filled with incense and music, or a small corner of your house where the kids won’t bother you; are perfect for focusing your intention and performing your flow.

However, I don’t like the guilt people spread to others about posting this content online in our modern day. Everybody knows by now that social media is curated in a highlight reel format. While I do agree there are downsides to social media, I also think (as yogis in particular), it helps to test your practice in mindfulness. Be present in how you are observing the content because it’s not about the person who is posting it or what the content is but it’s about how it makes you feel internally. You can look at it with negativity; thinking how that’s “unachievable”, “nobody looks like that”, and “that’s degrading to the yoga community” — OR you can look at it with positivity and think: “I want to work towards this”, “every body is beautiful”, and “wow that picture is really captivating”.

If you truly are on the journey to enlightenment and embracing all of the teachings you will learn that the mind is not one with your thoughts. You can separate yourself from your emotional attachment and simply let it be. See it, acknowledge how you feel, and move forward. There’s no sense in dwelling or pointing fingers towards people saying “they’re doing yoga wrong”. To each their own.

Picture this: most of your waking hours are dedicated to work, you rarely sleep, you abuse medications, and eat like trash. Now to try and cope with a busy and stressful life you take a daily, 15-minute meditation. Even though you may not be practicing yoga or mindfulness ‘correctly’, does this mean you shouldn’t practice it at all? No. You still reap the benefits of meditating. You use it accordingly and it can still have the same affect of shutting out the world as needed. Judging the way others personalize meditation or yoga for themselves defeats the whole purpose of enlightenment. It’s in the same sense that while some people use q-tips to clean their ears, others use them to help with painting their nails. There is no wrong way. You take advantage of what you have by using it in a way that helps you.

I’d also say there are times that you shouldn’t deny yourself to train when you feel the urge to do so. If I suddenly get a boost of motivation to do a physical activity, I’m hopping on that whenever or wherever because the truth is it’s rare for some people. It’s such an important value to remain healthy and if the only activity you do for the day is hold a pose for a picture — hey, that’s better than nothing.

Yoga is a philosophy. If you’re going to embrace the philosophy in your life then that includes the Yamas and Niyamas. Specifically, the Niyama of Samtosha or “contentment”.

This is exercising the habit of being happy with what you have and not looking elsewhere or comparing yourself to others. You can look at someone and think you want the same possessions or the same life experiences as them; or you can look at your life and appreciate what you have in the present moment knowing you’re in control with how it goes. All of the Yamas and Niyamas can be overwhelming from time to time and even I admit it’s hard to maintain that balance between each of them. But the more we strive to follow them, the closer we are to kundalini.

Ultimately, I think that you should be free to do with your practice as you choose. If you choose to spotlight the beauty in yoga with incredible locations or the newest fashion — that’s great; if you want to be au naturale in a neutral environment, your naked body, and a fancy pose — that’s still beautiful and impressive; AND if you never want to publicize a single photo or video of your hard efforts — that’s more than okay too.

Let’s keep embracing self-love and remember to build each other up. Don’t patronize someone for celebrating a milestone in their practice. Congratulate them and continue on as you were.