Beware the Yoga Wars
Jay Parkhill January 8th, 2008
I like yoga a lot. I’ve been practicing (more off than on, admittedly) for something like 12 years now and I have been amazed to see how much interest has grown in that time. The concepts of mindfulness, santosha (contentment with things as they are) and simplicity are great reminders and mental breaks from the rest of my life.
That’s why I am endlessly amused to read that Equinox gym in New York City is “expand[ing] and pursu[ing] an aggressive yoga strategy” that includes partnering with Hong Kong’s Pure Yoga, whose web site describes its retail interiors as “ergonomically designed for the ultimate shopping experience”.
Seeing the words “aggressive”, “ultimate shopping” and yoga used together is a little jarring and also great for a laugh. The “yoga market” has apparently matured. But is it a bubble? Will fortunes be made and lost between sessions of virabhadrasana? Only time will tell. 