Sexy storm in a teacup!

A few weeks ago, a friend sent me a video of Los Angeles yoga teacher Briohny Smyth demonstrating a powerful, composed sequence that included some incredible arm balances. I marvelled not only at Briohny's strong and healthy body but also at her lovely sense of serenity and quiet confidence. To my surprise, I discovered that the video had created quite a bit of controversy in the yoga community with accusations that the video "sexualises" yoga all over chat rooms and on blogs on the net.


Personally, I hadn't thought about the video in sexual terms until it had been suggested by someone else. I grew up taking dancing, pilates and stretch classes, where we were always encouraged to examine and analyse our bodies and the way they moved to improve our ability and performance. When viewed from this angle, I feel that Briohny's demonstration becomes an artful homage to the beauty and potential of the human body. This body happens to be female, do you think it would have caused such a ruckus if the practitioner had been male and dressed in similarly brief clothing, or do you think we have a greater tendency to sexualise the female form? Please feel free to share your thoughts.


To see the video, click on the link below: