Flipping through an old Yoga Journal magazine (December 2008, in case you’re wondering), I noticed this ad for Bhakti Ware, a yoga clothing company.
What are you supposed to think?
>Doing yoga will make you hotter
>Wearing Bhakti Ware will make you hotter
>Doing yoga and wearing Bhakti Ware will make you hotter, guaranteed
>Bhakti Ware’s workmanship and design are impeccable
>Darn, I thought this magazine covered yoga, not tango
Actually, this company deserves some commendation for making their clothing in the USA, for donating $1.08 of each purchased item to worthy causes such as NRDC, and for designing attractive clothes (I admit that I’m taken by this offbeat Ganesha print).
But, seriously, yoga as commodity is out of control. Does it make you more “yogic” because you wear clothes depicting a Hindu deity? What are you trying to express by wearing a big Om around your neck? For whom are you dressing? Yoga is an internal practice, after all, and draping Y-O-G-A all over your body is all about the external.
As for the $52 Bohemian Bags, how much would you guess the Indian maker gets per bag?
October 21, 2009 at 7:17 pm
I can tell you that bag is about $5 in India!
November 30, 2009 at 7:14 am
Great post – and thanks for the feedback on my linkback. Many of your points could also be made about sustainable fashion – wearing a t-shirt that says Go Green!, using a polyethylene shopping tote… But at the same time, maybe beginners, in both yoga and sustainability, need a visual reminder to help them focus their intentions… Fashion is a funny thing.