Exercise for Oneself

A body practice that has been increasing in popularity in the modern era is yoga. The calming music in a quiet room incorporated with stretching and meditation allows a reflection of one’s thoughts and self-image. Unlike many other forms of exercise, it is a valid argument that yoga is a form of internal self-image. Rather than running on a treadmill or lifting weights to sculpt visible toning and muscle transformation, yoga incorporates external with internal strength in an attempt to shape one’s internal images and thought processes while subconsciously shaping the physical image of their bodies. The image portrays two women in a yoga class. The neutral colors in the photograph and the placement of the women’s hands (preparing for third eye center and then ending the class with Namaste) embody the context of yoga and the serenity one is apt to feel during a yoga class/session.

By portraying yoga as calming and spiritual, the photo contradicts the points made by Bordo involving the feminine body and shaping the body for external reasons. Bordo’s claim depicting women as developing an “other-oriented emotional economy” is false when involving yoga. The women [or men] are partaking in yoga for the sole purpose of relaxing and reflecting on oneself. They lack ‘greed’ and ‘excessiveness.’ Another thought I have about this photo and others on the Google search of ‘yoga’ photos is the lack of male images. Could this signify something deeper about men versus women and the roles of each gender? From experience in yoga classes, the majority are female, however, there are usually a couple scattered males. Yoga also involves more internal thinking and reflecting involving emotions; men usually have a more difficult time connecting with their emotions. Hence, there are fewer men taking the classes. In my opinion, this does not have any deeper meaning than that.

Yoga is a form of meditation and exercise that does not resemble a docile body in the vocabulary or context of Bordo. It is a practice of ones thoughts and self that can produce the socially accepted female body without the external forces telling the female gender what they should look like.