Yoga Selfies: What's The Point?

Yoga Selfies: What's The Point?
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Rachel Hunter, the 44-year-old supermodel who became famous for marrying Rod Stewart, has jumped on the yoga selfie bandwagon.

It's hardly breaking news, but when I saw the picture posted from a London park appear, I had to question Hunter's urge to share the bikini-clad handstand snap on her Instagram page.

Firstly, if anyone's got the yoga selfie thing covered, it's Alex Baldwin's wife Hilaria . Want to see an impressive body-bending snap of someone reading-Moby-Dick-upside-down? She's your woman, although Gisele, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Miranda Kerr are just as guilty of twisting their toned, flexible bodies into balances and postures in sunny, exotic locations.

Aside from giving us a serious case of holiday and body envy, why do Hilaria and co feel the need to promote their yoga skills?

Don't tell me it's meant to be inspiring. I'm a huge yoga fan, but seeing photos of supermodels doing a downward dog in a desert doesn't make me think, 'wow, I must remember to try and look like Gisele in my next class.'

Yes, the effort Baldwin puts in to making #yogapostureoftheday look seriously painful is quite impressive, but is she appreciating yoga for what it should be - a personal and thoughtful practice to encourage self-reflection and inner peace? I don't think so.

It looks more like a competitive game of showing off to me.

Kay Kay Clivio, the lead teacher trainer at NYC's Pure Yoga, agrees.

"To me, that's more of a publicity stunt," Clivio told the New York Daily Post. "Yoga is a practice of body meets grace. And being humble. And I don't know how humble or graceful that is. I don't know what her intention is. Is it teaching people how to manage their stress or uplift themselves - or is it just wanting people to follow her and have the most followers?"

It must be the latter. If I want to feel calm and uplifted, I'll go to my yoga mat and feel lucky I don't have to worry about how many likes on Instagram my warrior one pose will get.

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