09/01/2026
I thought this was a good read. I have watched the yoga pendulum shift--I began practicing yoga in my early 20s because I wanted the focus and body awareness. I also liked hand balances.
Yoga was never a complete physical practice for me. I saw it as a complement to running, hiking, and lifting weights. The last yoga class I went to in person (other than a restorative yoga class in Basel at The Looking Glass, which was exactly what I needed) included pistol squats that weren't programmed very well. I remember sitting in that class thinking to myself, "if I want calisthenics, I will do a calisthenics program that is designed for calisthenics." I wanted the yoga to be the yoga. I didn't want it to try and be everything else.
I have watched well known yoga teachers transition to becoming full time personal trainers. I get it. Even while I was exploring yoga personally, I never taught yoga to my clients and unless you are a well known yoga teacher who is packing classes in a city, the math doesn't work to make a full time living teaching in person. But strength training isn't a complete physical practice, either, which leaves room for something else, something that requires focus, gives you space to breathe, and allows you to move, without holding on to a heavy object.
Like all pendulums, at some point, there will be a shift away from such a mechanistic view of the body to the realization that there is space for a holistic approach to movement, strength, health, and well-being. And maybe instead of pitting different types of movement forms against each other, as though one is better than the other, the fitness and movement industry will focus on what they have in common--helping people move more and use their bodies in a way that makes them feel more connected.
Or maybe that's just my wishful thinking.
It used to be the peak symbol of wellness. Now many studios can barely stay open.
