Yoga and social media
Social media. It’s amazing and it’s awful. And that’s definitely true in the yoga industry. Let’s start with the amazing!
Here are some of the content creators that I enjoy following. I’ve picked a range of people who have varying levels of recognition online, because I find it so inspiring to engage with content from people who work on both local and global levels.
First up is Natalia Tabilo @yogaforallbodies, who posts joyful, body positive images on Instagram. She frequently uses props and variations to make poses inclusive, and I often steal her ideas for use in my own teaching and practice. Natalia creates content in both English and Spanish, and she has just under 10,000 followers on Instagram.
I often recommend Dianne Bondy’s @diannebondyyogaofficial content to you, because she offers such a great balance of energy and accessibility. I particularly like her YouTube channel. She posts a new video each week and the playlists function is well-organized: it’s easy to find a video practice that suits your needs. Dianne has 73,600 followers on Instagram and regularly contributes to international yoga events.
Closer to home, Divya Kohli @yogawithdivya is a yoga and meditation teacher from London with 633 Instagram followers. Divya posts images, videos and articles about restorative yoga, meditation, yoga philosophy and decolonizing yoga. Her beautiful photography often makes me stop scrolling, and her book is on my list of things to read this Christmas!
I love podcasts, so here are two of my favourites about yoga. Yoga Is Dead began as a six-episode podcast hosted by Tejal Patel and Jesal Parikh, investigating problematic aspects of the yoga industry with equal amounts of detail and humour. A second series, Afterlife, includes perspectives from listeners to the original episodes, and @yogaisdeadpodcast regularly post on Instagram, where they have 27,500 followers.
The Accessible Yoga podcast launched recently, hosted by Jivana Heyman and Amber Karnes, who are both major contributors to the international non-profit Accessible Yoga. (You can read more about my involvement with Accessible Yoga on the Affiliations and Partnerships page of the website) The podcast is not always easy listening, but it really gets me thinking. Amber is a frequent Instagram poster with 26,700 followers, and she regularly publicizes podcast episodes.
What about the downsides of social media in yoga contexts? I’ve got plenty of opinions of my own, but here are some resources to get you thinking.
The Independent published this 2-minute read about how Instagram is contributing to a rise in yoga-acquired physical injuries. Written by Olivia Petter earlier this year, it includes some images that look more like contortionism than yoga!
This 1-minute read from Jamie Silverstein summarizes the yogic concept of pratyahara (drawing inward) and why it is contradictory to the culture that we currently live in. Jamie explains the emotional danger of focusing on how our yoga practice looks to others.
Finally, this academic article by Skyler Cowans researches the presentation of yoga on Instagram in 2015, comparing Instagram content with traditional yoga practices and teachings. It’s a lengthy read, but includes great details about yoga history and philosophy, as well as critiquing influencer content. If you’re a social science geek like me, you’ll love it!
What do you think? I’d love to hear about any content creators that you already like, and your thoughts about the pros and cons of using social media to engage with the yoga community.