The Body in Health, Lifestyle or Sporting Magazines - Case Study Example

Name: University: Course: Tutor: Date: Introduction: Unless one has been living under a rock it is obvious that he/she has heard of yoga. However, most of the people only have a very limited knowledge of yoga and the relevance of the various poses that have become synonymous with yoga. It is because of guilt of this ignorance that has kick started me to get a yoga magazine. The magazine that I have laid hands on in this endeavor is a weekly yoga magazine going by the name “Yoga Journal,” which has lived up to my expectation by providing me with just the right information that I wanted on yoga. Generally, Yoga involves body postures, body movements (i.e. Stretching), imagery, breathing practices, progressive relaxation techniques, and meditation, each (practice) of which has a specific purpose that combine together to develop a focused consciousness of what is going on in the practitioner; mentally, emotionally, energetically and physically (Roberts & Gettman, 2004). According to the magazine, it has been scientifically proven that developing an awareness of bodily feelings and sensations, mental attitudes and beliefs and emotional conditions of being, are some of the first steps in reducing stress while when used therapeutically, they can have healing effects (Feuerstein 2002). Just as would be expected of a complicated and seemingly archaic practice like yoga the magazine takes upon itself the responsibility of taking the reader through the nitty-gritty of yoga so that a lay person can understand and hopeful be convinced in beginning practicing yoga or attending yoga classes. The magazine begins by looking at the start of the stressful stimuli in order to make the reader appreciate the importance of yoga practices, and how specifically they help prevent the physiological responses that ensue from such practices. The Body within Yoga The impact of visual media like Yoga Journal and other magazine as a powerful tool of communicating images and ideas is tremendous. Magazines create a world that appears so real and readers and viewers of those pictures in magazine are unable to differentiate between the real world and the contrived one (Parsons & Betz 2001). Therefore when Yoga Journal exposed readers to pictures that only reinforce the beliefs and stereotypes that are potentially capable of affecting the behavior and attitudes of readers, then that presents a problem. Looking the various pictures of women in yogic pose and the general depiction of the female body in the copy of Yoga Journal that an holding, one cannot fail to notice the peripheral role that Yoga Journal plays in constructing, strengthening and reinforcing gender stereotypes, just like majority of tools of visual media. For instance, the Yoga Journal copy that I have just gone through is filled with pictures of women in bounded, contorted and sexualized positions. As for the few men pictures that have been featured in this magazine, almost all of them have a striking similarity – that of warrior-likes poses, which in my opinion has an aspect of being subversive. I have also noted that the picture of half-naked women in yogic poses far outnumber those of men in this particular magazine. In my opinion, this distorted depiction of women body forms part of the commercialization of yoga which I strongly believe carries conspicuously sexist undertones. Almost all women pose in this copy of Yoga Journal have sexism undertones. For instance, the Camel pose which I understand is an intermediate pose, has a woman leaning exceptionally backward, with her chest pushed upwards towards the sky providing an extremely sexy feminine silhouette, while exposing all contours of her upper body. The Bridge pose, another intermediate pose, has a woman showing-off the whole front of her body leaving very little to imagination. There is also this pose the magazine is calling “Plow” which just like Bridge pose is extremely seductive. The most striking thing with this pose is the way it exposes the woman’s tooshy while providing a lovely and seductive position, leaving you to imagination. Looking at the Dog Tilt pose, one cannot avoid remembering an almost similar bedroom pose with almost the same name. In this pose the sexism undertones are quite evident, which explain the author’s rationale of featuring a woman instead of a man in this pose. Wrapping it all, is the Upright Seated Angle pose, which as an outstretched woman holding her toes with her hands while stretching her legs, a pose that resemble the one a stripper would provide to patrons in the front row. Looking at these poses I cannot avoid asking myself why almost all of these seductive poses have to be performed by a woman, especially considering that men forms the bulk of Yoga instructors, and therefore would be better placed to perform better poses for the magazine. It is even baffling to note that almost all poses have been posed by women which begs the question, is it that women are the only one who are interested in yoga, or are they obsessed with yoga in order to attain “great bodies” (all of women in the magazine have slim and petite bodies) so that they catch the attention of men. Almost all the women that have been featured in this edition of Yoga Journal have slim and petite bodies, which in my opinion is an extension of the visual media idolization of such bodies. In fact, looking at the bulk of poses that are contained in this copy of Yoga Journal, I am left with no doubt that almost all of them require slim and petite bodies. It is as if plump and heavy women (and men) have no place in Yoga studios. However, I strongly believe that by showing the “ideal bodies” performing yogic poses the media (Yoga Journal) expect to tap into the obsession that women have so far exhibited in attaining such bodies, which exposes the commercialization of yoga that visual media has been accused of. Management of everyday life that yoga demands One of the shocking things that the magazine explain about the various poses and forms that characterize yoga is that they are of a wide range where one has to fit with one of them in order to experience relaxation. In this regard, I am referring to what the magazine calls the ideal forms of yoga, which Rosen (2011) believe is more of dating essentially because of the way a person has to try several forms before landing on the ideal one for taking a person to the journey to relaxation. It even get more interesting reading that each of the forms of yoga (they have names) has a specific purposes. For instance, the most commonly practiced form of yoga in US is called “Hatha yoga,” which is known to concentrate the vitality, mediation, and relaxation (Barston 2009). The magazine goes on to explain how muscles can gently be stretched while regulating breath in a certain way during “Hatha yoga” in order to achieve relaxation. Reading this yoga literature, one also gets the idea that body shape affects greatly the form of yoga that one chooses (Rosen 2011). For instance, a less flexible person who is starting practicing yoga will require a “beginner-friendly” form of yoga, or one that does not raise the heart rate above the aerobic range. There are also other forms of yoga that are ideal for people with more fitness benefits but still requiring relaxation. An example of such a form of yoga that this magazine gives is “Iyengar yoga” which is comparably heavier than “Hatha yoga” as can be demonstrated by the way it uses blankets, blocks, and straps to assist in maintaining precision and longevity of poses (Rosen 2011). It is also interesting to read of poses that combine both the physical and the spiritual side of yoga through just regulating breathing and mediation in a bid to awaken the so-called chakra (seven centers of consciousness), and therefore permit the mind to open up and disperse tension (Parsons & Betz 2001). What this collection of poses and forms of yoga is trying to say is that one can practice yoga and still get a good work-out. It is all about achieving a mind-body connection. It also shows just how it is possible to get what it calls a “great body” courtesy of the various fast-paced yoga poses while still achieving the spiritual relaxation from the mediation that characterize almost all yoga poses. If anything there are those who practice yoga primarily for its physical benefits while shunning the spiritual side of various yoga forms that have both physical and spiritual sides (Rosen 2011). It is even surprising to hear that there are yoga forms (Bikram and Moksha) that are performed in heated rooms in order to necessitate sweating and therefore allow tissues and muscles to be more pliable while helping a person release toxin, which therefore means that they have cleansing effects like those of a sauna (Bradley 2008). There is “power yoga” which the magazine calls as “the real workout yoga” because of the way it enables athletes and fitness fanatics achieve a meditative and holistic workout by focusing on strength and endurance (Rosen 2011). In order to identify the best form of yoga for a person, it is extremely important to practice yoga routinely. The same applies to those who might be interested in the physical side of yoga, which just like any other work-out, demands consistency. The magazine also enumerates how a regular practice of yoga can enable a person continuously get closer to his/her ideal pose whose benefits are enormous. If anything it is impossible to achieve the so-called great body that yoga literature is idolized. Personal feeling after reading the magazine Reading the magazine one cannot avoid the shock that comes with some of the things that the magazine demands from an individual. The magazine dedicate most of its content to explain the relationship between the variety of posses that have become synonymous with yoga and the spiritual relaxation that yoga is claimed to give, which to me is just spellbinding. Even the diet that the magazine recommends on certain forms of yoga is just all what a person interested in both mediation and a great body would take without questions. This is because yoga per see is not a quick-fix diet pill, although it has profound effects on the body; but can open doors to many transformative gifts one of which is weight acceptance (Bradley 2009). There are a number of startling facts about yoga that are contained in the magazine that a layman can only consider to be too weird to believe. However, the magazine is too convincing in majority of this “dos” and “don’ts” that have been invoked by the author to explain a number of seemingly complicated fact about yoga. For instance, the supposed relationship between certain yoga posses and the body overall flexibility is something that demands a deeper understanding from a layman. The whole idea of a balance between strength and flexibility which according to the magazine forms the core of the yoga sounds archaic but convincing enough. The magazine undertakes a step by step narration of the “path to balance of flexibility and strength (Rosen 2011)” that yoga takes a practitioner through which is also spellbinding, and especially the fact on the connection between the body and the spirits and the subsequent achievement of increased vitality and general sense of wellbeing from that connection, that in my opinion is convincing but most importantly, worth a trial. Reading this magazine I could not help realizing just how much I have missed an opportunity to release stress while achieving a fat-free body like the one propagated by the yoga literature. Relationship between self and body implied in this magazine One of the strong points of yoga weekly in my opinion is its consistency. Though most of the ideas about the relationship between body and spirit that yoga tries to regulate are seemingly archaic there is no doubt that most of them are consistent to a point of convincing any person who care to read this yoga literature. References Barston, S, 2009, The Best Type of Yoga for Your Body, retrieved on 5th October 2011 from http://www.yogaflavoredlife.com/styles-poses/the-best-type-yoga-your- body.html Bradley, C, 2008, What Kind of Yoga is Right for You?, retrieved on 5th October 2011 from http://www.yogaflavoredlife.com/basics/what-kind-of-yoga-is-right-for- you.html Bradley, C, 2009, A diet Rich in Yoga Can Lead to Weight Acceptance. Retrieved on 5th October 2011 from http://www.yogaflavoredlife.com/yoga-tips/a-diet-rich-yoga- can-lead-weight-acceptance.html Feuerstein, G, (2002), The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy And Practice. New Delhi; Motilal Banarsidass Publication Parsons, E, & Betz, E, (2001), The Relationship of Participation in Sports and Physical Activity to Body Objectification, Instrumentality, and Locus of Control among Young Women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, vol. 25, pp. 209–222. Roberts, T, & Gettman, J, (2004), Mere exposure, Sex Roles, vol. 51,pp. 17–27. Rosen, G, 2011, 10 Classics of Spiritual Literature, Yoga Journal, 2th October 2011 Issue Read More