Tanned, muscled but otherwise skinny girls, looking blissful whilst holding complicated poses like flying splits, headstands and other gravity-defying contortions I didn’t know were possible.
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That’s what I think of when I think of yoga. Maybe it’s because of all the yoga-related posts on Instagram. #yoga gives you more than 40 million hits. #fitspo will turn up 48 million. That’s a whole lot of pictures of these beautiful, toned and usually slim women in athleisure who claim to have achieved mental clarity and happiness thanks to yoga.
Well, if yoga is so life-changing, why is it all I feel is miserable and anxious when I attend a yoga class? I talked to instructor Gabrielle Mendoza to figure out the psychological barriers to having a great yoga practice.
Sources:
1. Sabiston, C. M., Pila, E., Pinsonnault-Bilodeau, G. & Cox, A. E. (2014) Social physique anxiety experiences in physical activity: a comprehensive synthesis of research studies focused on measurement, theory, and predictors and outcomes, International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 7:1, 158-183. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2014.904392
2. Lamarche, L. & Gammage, K. L. (2010): The effects of leader gender
on self-presentational concerns in exercise, Psychology & Health, 25:7, 769-781
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08870440902866886
3. Tiggemann, M., & Zaccardo, M. (2016). ‘Strong is the new skinny’: A content analysis of #fitspiration images on Instagram. Journal of Health Psychology.
http://doi.org/10.1177/1359105316639436
Sound design by Lee Zhe Ren. Follow Gabrielle Mendoza on Instagram, or Gabby’s own fitspiration, national high jumper Michelle Sng.
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