Yoga flow is so popular it might be THE most popular type of yoga class in America.However, I have my quibbles - which I'll share here!First: what is yoga flow?Yoga "flow" isn't very concretely or explicitly described in the mish-mash, hugley historied, highly varied body of yoga practice. But in general, most "flow" in yoga parlance means moving relatively fluidly from one asana (pose) to the next. This can be done slowly and in low-intensity poses or a class so vigorous and strenuous the practice begins to look like gymnastics. And of course - anything in between.In America, yoga "flow" is often associated with vigorous, sweaty, aerobic movements. It tends toward aerobics. There can be a very fitnessy tone to all of this - some classes pump up the volume with 120 bps pop hits and lots of "push yourselves!" languaging from instructors. That kind of thing.Here's why I've hated flow - and then I'll tell you why I've ended up offering it anyway:One: yoga flow isn't accessible.I dislike the broad-stroke use of "accessible" these days but, the point applies here.So let's take students who want a very swift moving, sweaty class where they get up and get down and all that. Your average flow student.Well, those activities are prohibitive to many, many practitioners.You could INVITE anyone at all to such a class and tell them to rest when they need to - but they are likely going to feel left out, frustrated, or even embarassed.I know what you're thinking: "Oh, just design an accessible flow." But no - you can't just slap the word "accessible" on a class and make it so.A sweaty, fast, athletic flow and a truly accessible class - where everyone has the time, care, and attention to succeed in each asana - are just diametrically opposed. End of story.Two: flow sacrifices alignment.This is deeper and more subtle than you might thinking. Let's take pristhasana - lizard pose. In lizard pose we come into a deep lunge with our hands on the inside of the forward leg. Back leg can either be lifted, or knee-down.In lizard many people think the goal is to get their forearms to the ground. So this means they will let the knee travel well past the foot to get that front thigh and hip lower, or they'll let the forward leg fall open for the same effect.Some teachers would call that "cheating" the pose but I think that's a crummy thing to say.It isn't that it's "wrong" to let the knee travel, or to let the hip open so you can get foreamrs closer to teh ground. It's just a really different benefit and strength exercise than if you're setting up pristhasana in a more traditional way. Keeping the knee in alignment and welding the front shin to the front arm is very hard work - but it's beautiful work for the thighs and pelvic floor.In a slower class, there are opportunities to gently remind students of these possible elements. In…

Toxic fitness culture or “fitspo”, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t inspire us to do better, be better, or even to take care of ourselves.It instead invites us into harmful hierarchies.Fitspo encourages us to constantly measure ourselves against the “ideal” - thin, athletic (or strong), white (or aligned with Whiteness), young, able-bodied, depoliticized - and affluent or wealth-adjacent.Fitspo can be seductive, because who doesn't want to be part of the in-crowd? This is all the true if you’re in one or more of the classes invited into the (temporary) rewards - if you’re young, thin, athletic/strong, wealth-adjacent, etc. If you fit into the fitspo metric at any time of your life, it's hard to voluntarily relinquish it's hold.Fitspo does more harm than can be summed up in a blog post. One of the worst things fitspo does, is encourage us to purchase experiences rather than commit to constructive personal and communal health practices. We become self-absorbed by our own bodies, our own abilities, our CrossFit identity - what-have-you. We lose sight that we are interconnected. We stop looking around the room to ask - Who isn't here, and why? Who is not feeling welcome - and why?Fitspo is one reason people and other marginalized individuals stay away from gyms and exercise classes - whether they want to attend or not, they feel distinctly unwelcome. And why wouldn’t they? They’ve been told their whole lives they are less-than, lacking - or even disgusting.This has to change.More harmful still, fitspo is the reason that even if people allow themselves a movement or physical practice - they strain, push themselves, and try to “get the most out of it”.That striving becomes habituated and soon people come to loathe physical exercise.***I once saw an influencer ask, “Would you be so excited about ‘clean eating’ and your workouts if you weren’t allowed to publicly post about them?”Because fitspo is not just hierarchal - it is performative.That is some weak shit. It will let you down.Fitspo is everywhere around us - and enforced by white supremacy and capitalism - but it’s also astonishingly easy to dismantle.You can invest in something a lot deeper. Over time, fitspo becomes more and more irrelevant in your day-to-day. You are then far more likely to take even better care of your mind, your body – and start doing deeper work in your community.Each of us has the power - and the responsibility - to overthrow fitspo. You can start small, if it’s too scary to start big!It's a wonderful upgrade!I believe in you.***More: "fitspo: what is it, and why does it matter?" (also note the tag "yoga" yields almost all physical/asana work - no mention of ethics, social observances, pranayama, philosophy, or history. But those are topics for another day!)Who is welcome, in the fitspo world?Youthful, slim, athletic (strong), racially and socioeconomically statused individuals are seen as more worthy and more desirable than their counterparts.Fitspo ties in with our race, our age, our body shape and size, our socioeconomic class. You…