Georgetown students love their exercise. Anyone who goes to Yates around 5 p.m. knows that you have a better chance of getting into Otto Hentz’s Problem of God class than finding a vacant treadmill. The alternative is sharing the sidewalk with the swarms of outdoor runners—huffing and puffing along, looking miserable. But Georgetown has another category of over-zealous athletes, easily recognizable by the yoga mats sticking out of their backpacks.
Most of the yoga-goers that you see on a daily basis are probably on their way to Down Dog, the hot yoga studio on Potomac. Unlike Bikram, hot yoga takes place in a room whose temperature is kept at about 95 degrees. And while Bikram is a series of 26 separate poses, hot vinyasa is more like one long dance with breath-linked movements. But in this particular studio, there isn’t actually that much room to move beyond your mat. I can’t figure out how they fit so many sweaty bodies in that tiny, sweltering yoga studio, but every time I go, it seems to get more crowded.
Judging by the G-inscribed paraphernalia in Down Dog’s changing area, most of these yogis are Georgetown students. I started practicing last semester, and it seems like I can hardly do a flip dog without hitting a Georgetown student next to me. The preponderance of Hoyas at Down Dog made me wonder why these girls in their snazzy lululemon outfits decided to become such dedicated yoga students.
I’m afraid the answer may be just that—the clothes, and, more specifically, looking hot in said clothes. Yoga has developed a secondary function, as a platform for athletic-gear fashion statements. A quick scan around the Down Dog studio reveals a concentration of stylized “A” lululemon logos outmatched only by the store itself.
The influx of spandex-sporting, yoga-mat-toting students trekking down to M Street means not only an increase in yoga clothing sales, but also a sharp decline in studio floor space for my mat. I’m not complaining about the situation, though. I want the studio to do well, because if it ever went out of business, I don’t know what I would do with myself. Yoga keeps me relaxed, grounded, centered, and happy. I may sound like a crazy new-age hippie, but to me, there is simply nothing better.
That said, the idea of doing yoga just to look good in my yoga clothes is bizarre to me. Of course, the added benefit of a strong, toned body is nice, but yoga is supposed to be about harmonizing the mind, body, and spirit—not just working out the body.
I find that some people hate doing yoga just as much as they hate going to the gym or running. I see the same pained expressions on their faces as they move through their sun saluations as I do when I see them sprint down the sidewalks. I understand the “no pain-no gain” mentality, but it seems out of place in a yoga studio. So many people dread and complain about those 90 hot minutes, and yet they force themselves through it. I admire the tenacity, but, honestly, yoga is meant to be enjoyed. It is impossible to reap its full rewards while hating every second of it.
I’m not saying that everybody needs to love yoga as I do, but it would be nice if all these people doing vinyasas next to me actually knew what it meant to practice yoga. I’m not a guru, but there is a certain attitude that is not conducive to the practice of yoga.
Often, when I tell people how much yoga I do, the response is, “Wow you must be so in shape! How much weight have you lost?” The answer? I have no idea! I guess I’m in shape, but who knows?
The point is that when I go to yoga on a regular basis, I am happy with my body, my life and myself. Yoga doesn’t have to be—and in fact shouldn’t be—a serious, solemn affair, and it’s fine if yoga is not the most important thing in your life. But if you see it as just one more way to judge yourself and everyone else, then you’re probably better off just going to the gym. I’m pretty sure you can wear cute clothes there, too.
