Yogi Culture

One of the most important aspects of psychology and psychological research is based on treatments and treatment effectiveness. Yoga, while commonly said to have great benefits, both physically and mentally, lacks enough research to back it up. In addition, “yogi culture” has little to no research surrounding it. And this research is perhaps even more important, as it determines willingness for students to continue a yoga practice and continue treatment, assuming their treatment includes yoga. Ultimately, I would love to use a local yoga studio as my field site, specifically one called Lila Yoga, supposedly the best in the area. Here, I could observe yoga and meditation classes. I could look for differences in one’s outward presentation …show more content…
Additionally, I could observe the dynamic between teacher and student and between student and student. My subculture is the yogi community, who has in previous years been described as warm and welcoming. However, in recent years, many in the yogi community have been described as being self-righteous and exclusive, going to their yoga classes without making eye contact or conversation with anyone, only concerned with the accuracy of their poses and their practice alone. This is a problem, as it may contribute to other potential students being reluctant to continue practicing yoga. If yoga is something that said student enjoys and it helps to enhance their mental and physical well-being, but they are reluctant to continue their practice due to colder attitudes and possibly even stereotyping, detrimental effects on all aspects of health may arise. Essentially, my research will …show more content…
It is difficult to explain but one might assume that all yogis are these very laid back, calm, “hippie-type” of individuals. This stereotype has definitely been something that I struggle to combat, but the appeal of becoming one of these “hippie,” very chilled-out people has been present in my life. The appeal of becoming your stereotypical “yogi” has been the driving force for my interest in yoga as a study topic. I would like to mention that this appeal will not get in the way of my research. I will remain objective, as I know that this is just a stereotype, and that, in fact, there are some issues with coldness within the community as previously mentioned. That being said, yoga is something I believe to be an wonderful topic of study for various reasons. For example, yoga is considered a type of exercise and exercise is known to greatly reduce the presence of and future occurrence of many different chronic illnesses. Additionally, exercise and yoga in particular is said to have beneficial emotional and mental effects. I wonder what “yogis” think of these findings. I wonder if people who regularly or even irregularly practice yoga, as some people who attend classes are attending for the first time or are just starting to get into yoga, have differing opinions on the mental and emotional effects in particular. Perhaps even more interesting to me is the dynamics that exist between teacher and student, and between student