14 Signs That Social Media is Making You Sacrifice Yoga for #yoga: Confessional

I recently wrote an article for Inner Fire about how the pressures of social media may profoundly affect our yoga practice (read the full article over at Inner Fire for all fourteen points with discussion). At the bottom of the post, I wrote the following:

I poke fun with love. I’ve been guilty of many of these things at one time or another over the last ten years.

In the spirit of owning up to inauthenticity on social media, I’d like to share some of my own photos that inspiredpoints in the article.

1. You spent longer taking photos of yourself in [one pose] on your more photogenic side than you did moving through a complete, balanced asana practice.

Compass pose

This is backstory behind nearly every “yoga” photo I have of myself. I now like to say my picturesque photos are of me pretending to do yoga. Cameras are distracting for me and I keep them as far away from my real practice as possible. (Bonus: this is also an example of #2 and #6)

2. To you, the true purpose of pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses) is to make sure you look contented and serene as you press your bare hands and feet into sharp gravel…

Wild Thing on Gravel

The year I was a Wayfarer, Wanderlust featured this photo of me drilling gravel into the palm of my hand. This selfie photoshoot lasted about 10 frames before the heels of my hands were too raw to continue.

4. You have injured yourself taking advantage of an irresistible photo op.

I learned early on never to do yoga poses while buzzed. The photo a friend snapped of me dropping from standing to full splits at a lifeguard-themed pub night is now lost, but my hamstring remembered it for months thereafter.

I learned early on never to do yoga poses while buzzed. The photo a friend snapped of me dropping from standing into full splits at a lifeguard-themed pub night is now lost, but my hamstring remembered it for months thereafter.

6. Your significant other rolls their eyes when you ask them to take yet another photo of you doing a balancing pose on a rock while on vacation together.

This is from my honeymoon in Hawaii. As if there's room to do an actual yoga practice on this rock.

I took time out of my honeymoon in Hawaii for some #yoga… as if there’s room to do an actual practice on this rock.

8. You’ve perfected the blissful gaze and Mona Lisa smile that every yoga magazine ever loves to feature on its cover.

Striking a #pose in #CentalPark. #doyogaanywhere #yogaeverydamnday #yoga #umbrella #rain #nyc #barefootintherain #lace

A photo posted by Barbie Levasseur (@barbieyoga) on

Practicing on a slippery wet park bench while holding an umbrella always makes me feel blissful and serene.

12. There are no photos of your journeys, only your destinations.

Want to take a guess at how many photos it takes to capture a perfect moment like this with a baby? At least she got a good, long tummy time session.

Want to take a guess at how many fussy, gawky, pukey photos it takes to capture a perfect moment like this with a baby?

 

13. Once the camera is off your practice is over.

Pregnant Skeleton

I stopped practicing traditional asana the day I found out I was pregnant to retain as much stability as possible in my already hypermobile joints. I didn’t practice traditional poses again until the end of my third trimester in preparation for childbirth… Well, except to take this irresistible photo of my Halloween costume.

Read more about hypermobility during pregnancy here.

14. You take selfies while meditating.

 

#meditation #nyc #manhatten #zen #fountain #batterypark #sucasana #jnanamudra A photo posted by Barbie Levasseur (@barbieyoga) on

Not a selfie, but still a totally posed meditation shot (and another example of #6). I don’t think I sat in stillness for much longer than it took to get the photo.

Please read the original full article over at Inner Fire: 14 Signs That Social Media is Making You Sacrifice Yoga for #yoga

Mindful Pregnancy Table of Contents

This blog series is not meant to express an opinion about how anyone else should navigate pregnancy, childbirth, or parenting; this is simply the story of how one urban yogi in America moved through her own normal, relatively uncomplicated first pregnancy and childbirth. Although my posts end on positive notes, many parts of the process were challenging for me, and writing this blog helped me stay sane. My hope is that by being authentic about my experience I will empower other mamas to do the same. Because I shared what I was going through, friends from near and far reached out to support me, which made the difficult moments manageable and the joyful moments ecstatic. I thought it would be the birthing process that was empowering, but it was the solidarity from other women that gave me the fortitude to rise fully and completely to the challenge of motherhood. My hope for other mamas-to-be is that you will acknowledge your experience as it is (whether whether that’s blissful, horrible, or somewhere in between), will be unashamed to express that, and will be able to attain the resources you need to navigate your path.

I blogged my whole first trimester after-the-fact (alternating with present day posts), which makes it a little hard to navigate my Mindful Pregnancy posts in order. Here is an ordered week-by-week list of all my posts:

2 – Conception
3 – Pre-Conception Nutrition
4 – First Symptoms of Pregnancy

Bound Side Angle

4 Weeks Pregnant.


5 – Peeing on a Stick
6 – Secrets
7 – Nausea
8 – Surrendering Control (Or Not)
9 – New Joys
10 – Sharing the Joy (And Splitting My Pants)
11 – Hypermobility and Pregnancy
12 – Head Cold with a Side of Morning Sickness

12 Weeks Pregnant

12 Weeks Pregnant.

13 – Ascending From the Haze of the First Trimester
14 – So, What Type of Birth Are You Having?
15 – Beginning to Plan for Birth
16 – So When Do I Get That Baby Bump?
17 – Big Feelings
18 – Pregnancy Firsts

18 Weeks

18 Weeks Pregnant.

19 – It’s a Girl!
20 – Coping with Insomnia
21 – Beyond-The-Basics Nutrition
22- Pregnancy Book Reviews

22 Weeks Bump

22 Weeks Pregnant.

23 – To Work or Not To Work?
24 – Horizontal Growth Spurt
25 – Tis the Season to Dress to the Nines
26 – Baby Movements
27 – Home for Christmas
28 – 13 Misconceptions I Had About Babies

28 Weeks Pregnant

28 Weeks Pregnant.

29 – Nursery Mania
30 – Things I Love About My (Early) Third Trimester
31 – Healing an Eroded Body Image
32 – Birth Prep Class
33 – Dessert Decoration, Dog Deodorizing, and Dutailier
34 – Commitments to my Daughter
35 – “Lightening,” An Early Sign of Labor

35 Weeks Pregnant

35 Weeks Pregnant.

36 – Thoughts About Labor
37 – An Epileptic Mama’s Postpartum Plan
38 – Selfie Photoshoot, Stuck Rings, and Staycation

prenatal-belly-gaze

38 Weeks Pregnant.

39 – Encouraging Labor Naturally
40 – Equinox Firestorm’s Birth Story
40+ – Mindful Pregnancy Epilogue: The Fourth Trimester