Beyond the Body: Finding Balance Between Asceticism and Modern Yoga's Obsession with Appearance
Yoga originated in the spiritual traditions of India and it has been practiced for thousands of years. Being deeply influential in Eastern traditions, it provided holistic guidance by uniting practices that improve the body, mind, and spirit. Today, yoga is often presented (and marketed!) as a fitness routine, and a way to build muscle strength, increase flexibility of the body, and even achieve a certain physical aesthetic.
This disparity between traditional and modern yoga leaves many practitioners confused. This blog post will explore this disparity and provide readers with directions on how to incorporate traditional wisdom in modern yoga practices.
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The Paradox of Modern Yoga
Included in religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, yoga was a practice aiming for complete self-mastery of the yogi. As such, yoga was never used to improve the body physically, to make it prettier, or to perform jaw-dropping physical poses. Instead, it was a practice of self-awareness, discovery and mastery. Yoga was a holistic approach that strived to harmonize and completely unite the body, mind, and spirit. But as yoga spread internationally, especially in the West, its purpose began to shift and adapt to the needs of the society it was included in.
Although yoga's popularity means that millions of people can now enjoy its benefits, it also means that as many people could distort its core principles, for individual preferences. Social media is now flooded with images of impossibly flexible bodies positioned in complex postures. Yes, physical health is essential, but these “picture-perfect yoga practices” are sending the wrong message that yoga is primarily a physical practice—one that rewards those who fit a specific mold.
This awareness brings us to the ultimate dilemma: How do we recover yoga as a practice of balance instead of extremes? Can we adjust yoga practices to modern living without losing their deeper meaning? Can we embrace both the discipline of the tradition and the accessibility of its adaptations?
At Northern Light Yoga in Oslo, we strive for holistic teachings and practices, looking to build a community in which members have a yoga practice that aligns with their needs, but also supports them with the ancient teachings and wisdom. Our Northern Light Yoga Oslo community organises inclusive Yoga retreats in Norway, allowing members to engage in restorative yoga, sound healings and vibrational healings, mantra yoga, as well as Kundalini yoga, among other things. Our Academy also offers yoga training for yoga teachers in Oslo, Gong courses, and astrology courses.
The Spiritual and Ascetic Roots of Yoga
The word yoga comes from Sanskrit and means “to unite.” It uses meditation, breath control, and ethical principles as a practice that promotes enlightenment - unity with the God consciousness and ending of physical reincarnation on this Earth.
In its earliest forms, yoga was all about transcending the material world, and nothing about achieving physical skillfulness. Ancient yogis considered the body a tool for inner transformation and not an object of admiration. In that sense, they maintained it healthy and pure, so it could be a vessel for consciousness and ultimate transformation.
Historically, yogis lived alone or in small isolated communities and a highly disciplined practice called “tapas”. This practice often included asceticism - giving up material comforts, including attachment to the body. So, they ate only to survive, slept on sturdy surfaces and exercised their mind to easily tolerate hot or cold.
Through serious dedication and meditation, traditional yogis practiced to quiet the ego and their physical needs/wishes. They also strived to unite atman (individual consciousness) with Brahman (the Absolute consciousness), to awaken, achieve nirvana (enlightenment), and moksha (end of the cycle of physical rebirth.)
However, even in these early ascetic traditions, yoga was never about punishing or rejecting the body, nor was it about perfecting it aesthetically. Instead, it was a tool for transformation and a means to achieve higher awareness.
Yoga as part of the Fitness and Wellness Industry
Modern yoga has taken a very different form compared to the traditional, ancient one. Today, yoga is often associated with physical fitness, stress relief, and self-care. All of these things are important for the modern day, and are highly beneficial as we live in our “fast and furious” society. But, portraying yoga as a form of fitness may overshadow its deeper teachings.
The commercialization of yoga has shifted its focus on aesthetics, performance, and overall a certain “lifestyle” that the person should maintain. It seems that mainstream yoga culture focuses only on asanas and physical, aesthetic aspects of the practice, especially as it portrays only the most photogenic, flexible, and athletic bodies as yogis. This trend has created a covert expectation that practicing yoga correctly requires a certain appearance or clothing, certain body form, movement style, or level of mastery.
On one hand, the recent wide popularity of yoga means that its benefits are now accessible more than ever, available for people to learn the wisdom that this ancient practice offers. Millions of people discovered the physical and mental benefits that yoga can provide, allowing them to manage stress, improve health, and cultivate mindfulness in the fast-paced lifestyles we have. But this fame came with a cost, and a big one. The true essence of yoga—the internal work, self-knowledge, self-understanding and self-acceptance—can easily get lost in a culture that prioritizes performance over presence.
Well, with modern yoga focusing so much of its attention to the external, how can we reconnect and maintain its wisdom?
The Dangers of Extremes: Over-Detachment and Over-Attachment
It seems that both ancient and modern yoga cultures have leaned toward extremes.
In its most rigid form, traditional asceticism denied the body’s needs entirely, perceiving the body as a personification of samsara (the cycle of reincarnation on Earth.) Some practitioners abandoned all body comforts, believing that true enlightenment needed complete detachment from the physical form.
Modern yoga, on the other hand, has swung the complete opposite way. Social media, the woke culture, the trends of popular psychology, all of them placed so much emphasis on physical appearance and performance that it risks becoming another avenue for body obsession, perfectionism and materialism.
In both cases, the body became an object to either conquer or worship. And, neither of these approaches reflects what the true essence of yoga is. Yoga teaches “santosha”, or “contentment” - finding peace within ourselves and accepting things as they are. In the spirit of this “true essence”, body is not meant to be idolized or rejected; it is a sacred vessel that allows us to experience life fully. It is the primary tool through which we experience and discover ourselves and the world around us, and as such, it should be nourished and appreciated as a foundation, and not as an ideal.
Yoga as a Practice of Balance
To bring balance back to our yoga practice, we need to leave these extreme viewpoints and find a middle path. We need to balance between discipline and self-compassion, effort and ease, strength and surrender. Yoga is supposed to offer a holistic way of living—one that nurtures the body while also guiding the mind and spirit toward greater awareness.
So, how can we integrate this balance into our daily practice and keep the true yoga wisdom?
Practice with awareness and acceptance.
Explore the numerous yoga wisdoms like breathwork, meditation, and mindful living.
Listen to your body and practice with patience and kindness, and not with pressure and rigidity.
Accept the physical imperfection, the long journey and the authenticity of who you are.
Focus on what yoga means for you, and not on what modern gurus and yoga influencers tell you it is.
At Northern Light Yoga, we offer the best Yoga philosophy courses in Oslo, as well as the classical and traditional yoga and Hatha yoga practices. Keep an eye on our calendar, as we often offer workshops, retreats, courses and masterclasses that aim to incorporate ancient yoga practices in our modern times. We also offer individual energy healing, alternative therapy, and mindfulness meditation.
A Call to Mindful Practice
At its core, yoga is about unity of body, mind, and spirit. It is about learning to live with self-awareness, appreciating our bodies without being obsessed with them. It is also about practicing compassion and self-compassion instead of judgment and self-judgment. Fundamentally, yoga is about conscious experiencing of everything that happens within us and around us and acceptance of how things are.
The beauty of yoga is that it meets us where we are. It does not require perfection—only presence. When we practice with balance, honoring both the physical and the spiritual, we honor yoga as what it was supposed to be. Here, at Northern Light Yoga, we teach and present yoga wisdom holistically, and we encourage self-acceptance in all of its forms. So, we warmly invite you to join our tribe and grow through acceptance!Beyond the Body: Finding Balance Between Asceticism and Modern Yoga's Obsession with Appearance
