Social Media Ins and Outs for Yoga Teachers
We all know social media has been in its flop era for a while. Meta-owned platforms like Instagram have slowly morphed into Facebook in terms of ambiance. Instagram used to feel fun where we would share our creative hobbies, but it hasn’t been like that for a while. I remember the innocent novelty of sharing asana progress that has now become a cheap shot for people to hate on asana and yoga influencers. I also remember when minimizing asana was not a cheap shot, but a genuine critique of the commodification of yoga.
As I divested from online yoga spaces, I learned a few things about my mental health as a yoga teacher. So, here are some of my ins and outs for social media as a yoga teacher that I am carrying in the new year.
1. Gatekeeping myself from monitoring spirits.
We are told to speak about something to bring it into existence, and sometimes talking about it is how you make it happen. However, privacy is a luxury and not having to share everything you are doing is not only one of the best flexes in life, but also a way to maintain your peace.
There are folks who are unhappy with their lives, and use that unhappiness to hate from afar. Anyone who is in competition with me has already lost, because I was not about that in the first place. Anyone who hate follows me is only delaying their own healing process. These monitoring spirits have negative intent, whether they are aware of it or not.
I have learned this lesson a few times now that staying private until the time is right (which may be never for some folks) is a protective measure. Here is one small example. One time, I shared a yoga engagement that I would be teaching at, and it was one that I had been invited back to teach. After I posted, I was let go because my ethnic identity was not a good look for the organization that folded under some behind-the-scenes pressure.
2. Removing mutuals and leaving accounts when I feel like it, no explanations needed.
I have started to compare my beliefs and actions in the online world to the real world. If I’m not interested in knowing someone, I don’t pretend and fawn over them when I see them. Sometimes, I perceive social media as a personal phonebook, which makes it difficult to remove people because it feels like the cut direct. Almost as if I saw them and purposely ignored them. However, I have began to let go of this unwritten rule. I now routinely unfollow and remove people. If I don’t want to bother, I will leave my account altogether.
3. The content that I like to engage in is the content that I will post.
In 2023, I remember shame was a popular emotion to weaponize in activist circles. Shame for not caring enough. Shame for not caring about this issue over this issue. Shame for not caring in a specific way that people perceived to be genuine or correct. It had been a primal trigger on social media for awhile, but I remember seeing this pattern repeat itself.
The problem is, shame doesn’t work. While I had originally used TikTok to catch up on House of the Dragons memes, I began to migrate there in earnest. It was just more joyful in the content and in the comments.
As my social media habits of consumption have changed, I’ve become less interested in sharing my yogic views the way that I was 2, 3, 4 years ago. My practice of yoga remains serious, but I am now more excited to express that practice in ways that are soothing and uplifting. I want to be on social media to relax. I want my community to feel that way too.
What are your social media ins and outs for 2025?
Written By: Irene Lo