Naked ads for Yoga Stuff
Well, I’m not one to say I told you so. Actually, I am the one to say it- “I told you so!”
I told you so!
I told you those naked yoga advertisements were offensive, but no one listened. You all thought I was just being a pain in the ass… a big mouth and perhaps and maybe a little bit of a hypocrite?
Check out my post in May stating my frustration with the naked Kathryn Buddig, and the trend of using nudity in advertisements for yoga products. It’s here.
Well my friends, I am in great company. The incredible Judith Hanson Lasater has written a letter to the editor of yoga Journal magazine regarding this very issue. You see, Judith Hansen Lassiter started yoga Journal magazine, it’s her baby and I don’t think she’s very happy about how it’s behaving now that it’s all grown up. Here is the text of her letter:
Letter to Yoga Journal August 2010
Yoga Journal was born in my living room in Berkeley in 1975, where I was one of five yoga practitioner-teachers who gathered to create the magazine. I have loved the magazine ever since. But I’m concerned about ads that have stimulated both confusion and sadness in me about where the magazine is now and where it is headed. I am confused because I do not understand how photos of naked or half-naked women are connected with the sale of practice products for asana, an important part of yoga. These pictures do not teach the viewer about yoga practice or themselves. They aren’t even about the celebration of the beauty of the human body or the beauty of the poses, which I support. These ads are just about selling a product. This approach is something I though belonged (unfortunately) to the larger culture, but not in Yoga Journal. Finally, I feel sad because it seems that Yoga Journal has become just another voice for the status quo and not for elevating us to the higher values of yoga: spiritual integration, compassion and selfless service. My request is that Yoga Journal doesn’t run ads with photos that exploit the sexuality of young women in order to sell products or more magazines. Thank you for your attention and willingness to hear another point of view. Judith Hanson Lasater -San Francisco, CA
And one more thing, told you so!
darla cooks 
D, you are always ahead of the curve. 🙂
so totally!
Yay! I’m so glad that you wrote about this. It drives me crazy when I read yj and feel like I just read a fashion mag. I hope that they take Judith’s suggestion under consideration. In addition, they really should stop including ads for diet pills. They don’t appear too often, but often enough.
Yogadarla, you are so wise.
Please correct me if I’m wrong—but you seem to believe that nudity and sexuality are one and the same. To some: it means freedom and comfort. Our bodies are not who we are. They’re just useful machines that need a lot of care and maintenance.
We should not be shocked by, ashamed of, and titillated by the sight of naked bodies. My problem with the Kathryn Buddig ad was that she wasted her talents on such a useless product.
i absolutely believe that the only reason nudity is used in advertising is to evoke sexual feelings in hopes of making a sale. the nudity in the ads with Katherine Buddig had nothing to do with the product. nudity and sex are forever linked in our minds and in our DNA. to deny that is ludicrous. i wasn’t shocked at the nudity that this and other yoga ads use to sell their products. i was shocked that they had stooped to objectifying women to sell their products.