It's about time! This February's issue of Yoga Journal Magazine (one of my all time favorite things to read!) features a male yogi in full lotus position. After almost 8 years of females on the cover, I was both surprised and pleased to see this. I was just discussing with a friend a few months ago how there are never any men on the cover and how silly I think that is. While a YJ study showed that the majority of yoga practitioners in the US are, indeed, women, that doesn't mean we should ignore those men out there who are practicing! We should encourage and celebrate them, no? If I were a male yogi I would find it encouraging to see another male on the cover every now and then. Sure, men are featured throughout the inside pages, but what exactly are we saying, that they aren't good enough for the cover? Fiddlesticks! Before I saw this months cover I was planning on writing a letter to the editor to voice my opinion, and come to think of it, I still may. One man every eight years simply isn't good enough!
And while we are on the topic, has anyone else out there ever noticed a common theme among the women who grace the cover of YJ? Sure, the majority of them are very well known yoga teachers who travel the world leading very popular (and expensive) teacher trainings, but that's a given. I'm talking about the fact that they are all super fit, very thin, very flexible, and for the most part are all photographed in advanced poses (with a few exceptions) that the average person would find difficult to do and perhaps a little intimidating. I can appreciate the beauty of the poses just as much as the next person, and I will admit, when I see the cover I usually spend a few moments trying to put myself into the same pose just to see if I can do it. I will also admit that there have been, on occasion, poses featured on the cover that are more basic and beginner friendly. But the majority of the poses are not available to a large population, and in my opinion could give people the wrong idea and frighten them away. Is this how we want to represent yoga? -- as an intimidating practice that consists of movements & poses that require super human strength and are only available to the uber-flexible who can twist themselves like contortionists and happen to look like super models? Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the magazine and I learn so much from reading the articles each month. It is a great teaching reference and I use the lessons I learn when I teach my classes. I just don't love the close mindedness that I see reflected in their covers. You know who I would love love LOVE to see on the cover of yoga journal? The readers. Average, every day people who practice yoga on their own time and their own terms. I would like to see someone in downward facing dog with their knees bent because their hamstrings are tight, or someone in child's pose with their hips lifted up in the air because their knees won't allow them to lower any farther. I would like to see someone in tree pose using the wall for balance, or in a modified triangle pose using a block for support. Then I would be truly happy with the magazine in its entirety.
What would you like to see on the cover of Yoga Journal? Please share!
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