"Yoga is meant to lead us from state of desire, attraction, and revulsion to a state of equanimity, strength, and ease. "The idea of being sponsored on Instagram kind of baffles me, it feels like the branding on race cars," says Conor Yates, who teaches at Tangerine Hot Power Yoga in Brooklyn. "These teachers get to travel all over the place," she reminds me. She recently attended a five-hour yoga teacher’s workshop about social media branding. "Instagram can blow up your teaching," Kreitzman tells me. Kaitlyn Kreitzman, a college student who’s working towards who own yoga following, says Kathryn "definitely lived up to her expectations." She looks up to her as a business model as well as a life coach. I can’t stop thinking about the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend line: "Now is the time to let your mind go blank and focus on how awesome the yoga teacher is."īut for fans who paid anywhere from $99 for one class to $1079 for four days of downward dog, a dose of Kathryn is the whole point. A teacher at a regular studio might not mention her dog during class, but none of them teach while absentmindedly holding a Sharpie for autographs. She’s been to eight cities in the past two weeks. We learn about Kathryn as she takes us through a flow of positions. How close would you really want it, anyway?" In a seated forward bend, she jokes, "it’s not about how close your forehead is to your feet. She starts class with a very yoga teacher-esque fact: "The moon cycle just changed, so now is a good time to ask for what you want." After a pause to text that great news to everyone in my phone, I notice that she’s slipped out of the stereotypical "inspirational quote in a soft voice" yoga mode and is… just talking. Kathryn’s talent for personal connection is clear in real life. "I make a concerted effort to keep my Instagram page consistent with exactly where I am in my life." Her feed is sprinkled with professional pictures that get comments like "I'm so appreciative of your grace and strength and genuineness" and "You're such an inspiration!" Of course, we’re here for the pretty pictures of a girl doing yoga. "I’m not saying that people should be airing their dirty laundry, but I think it’s important to keep it real," she says. Lately, her posts have focused around her second book, Aim True. Her feed looks like a heightened version of a girl from your high school who got really into Pinterest. "I make a concerted effort to keep my Instagram page consistent with exactly where I am in my life," she tells me. She lives in Charleston, is into Snapchat and isn’t too fit for a glass of wine. Unlike, say, Aruba-dwelling yogi Rachel Brathen or Kerri Verna aka beachyogagirl, Kathryn Budig’s ( 174k followers ) relatability is exactly her point. "You look beautiful," Gabby tells us in her kind voice. A woman in front of me is so into it she looks like she’s about to take flight, so I try to shut my eyes and clear my judgmental chest. We spend a few poses essentially swinging our arms around for "chest clearing." Like any exercise, you get as much out of this as you put into it. She makes it back just in time for Savasana, at which point we’re laying flat on our mats chanting "hallelujah." The woman next to me straight up walks out. That’s because she teaches kundalini yoga, meant to be practiced while constantly chanting, with your eyes closed. Her feed is less yoga poses and more positive quotes and lifestyle imagery. In person, I’m 40 percent surprised to find her bathed in a yellow light. "Using social media to carry the message of inner awareness is very important," Gabby tells me via email. These women may be centered, but they aren’t afraid to hustle. Among the teachers I meet this weekend, the follower counts seem to be highest among those who happen to have the most to sell. Many teach yoga themselves - which means this is a networking event, and #gettingbendy on Instagram can feel like just part of the job. Hundreds of mostly white women in their 20s to 40s are here to perfect their chaturanga and take selfies with favorite practitioners, also mostly youngish, white females. Gabby is just one of the big ticket yogalebrities, a term I’m dealing with, at the NYC iteration of fancy yoga convention Yoga Journal LIVE! Picture a yoga convention and I bet you’ve got it. Hundreds of mostly white women in their 20s to 40s are here to perfect their chaturanga and take selfies with favorite practitioners.
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