Top Ten Yoga Poses to Post to Instagram to Prove You’re Awesome
We know you do yoga, you have an Instagram account, and you have to prove to the world that you're awesome. Frankly, people are getting sick of the show-off poses that get documented every minute on social media.Just because you can do a handstand, a bound pigeon, or some random arm-balance, most people can't. There are strength and flexibility limitations for most yoga practitioners and seeing the non-stop glory shots can be both disheartening as well as dangerous.
Below are the top ten yoga poses that get shown on social media (primarily Instagram) by yogis who seem more interested in showing off how "awesome" they are than actually embodying the core of Yoga practices - spirituality and humility.
While this pose is very beautiful and photogenic, it's another pose that isn't a part of most yoga practices. If you need to prove that you're in some sort of "yoga elite club," then go ahead and post this one.
Yup, we understand that you can do something different than other people. While they are fun to do, handstands are perhaps the most show-offy yoga pose out there.
Half handstand, half backbend, Scorpion pose results in many major injuries by yogis. Not only is it dangerous unless you have both the strength and flexibility to control it, but it's also a pose that rarely gets done right. Go ahead and show that pose to your beginning followers - just make sure you take credit for their resulting injuries.
OK, I'll give this pose partial credit because it has been the basis of many meditation postures for centuries. However, taking endless pictures of Lotus gives off a pious attitude. It suggests either that you're special because you can get into the pose or that you are one of those people who actually sits next to your pool and meditates for hours on end - you know, because you can.
Backbends with one foot stuck up in the air are basically a big, full-body middle finger to everyone else.
Arm balance with your legs thrown over your shoulders and sticking straight out in front of you... Seems to be all the trendthese days with article after article focused on it. But once again, what do you gain other than telling people, "look what I can do that you probably can't..."?
Funky arm balance with a foot on an elbow and the other one sticking to the side. Yup, totally comfortable. I'll bet you hang out in that pose while you watch TV.
Perhaps the easiest of the arm balances, Crow and its many variations get photographed a lot. This one actually isn't too bad for beginners to try, and it's less obnoxious to see. It seems to be given some sort of social status as the benchmark of yoga. If you can't do a Crow (or Crane) pose, then you don't really count, I guess.
Unless you're a gymnast or perform in Cirque du Soleil, there's not really much use for this one. Sure, practice it to get strong, but unless you're documenting it to work on your form, keep it off your feed.
Not only are many people getting this pose wrong (yes, your front leg is supposed to point out to the side, not back at your groin - which is easier but looks more impressive when you fold over it). There are also so many variations it isn't even funny. Go ahead and grab that leg, twist around to grab your opposite foot, break yourself in half, and make everyone else feel inadequate.