I admit it: I can be pretty unaware sometimes. A little google poking indicates the phrase has been about for a while, yet I believe the first time ‘yoga butt’ entered the forefront of my consciousness was a few nights ago when I heard it pop out over the low-level background noise of the TV as I was making dinner.
I thought, “ermph?” and walked around the corner to see an Old Navy commercial, with their brand-identifiable-yet-ever-annoying mannequins sporting what I suppose are your average spandex-ey yoga pants, together with a bling and promise that upon putting them on, you’ll have instant yoga butt.
As I’ve been reading around about the apparent phenomenon of yoga butt, I’ve found sites devoted to viewing images – clothed and otherwise – celebrating the yoga butt, sites with a how-to-8-step-series-of-asanas that if a person practices them enough, then he or – most likely – she will acquire a yoga butt. I’ve also found saner (to me) sounding explanations that point out it’s not simply about an ass fetish (although it assuredly is for some folks), but that the localized term ‘butt’ actually is a shorthand reference to the overall good physical tone that a person can gain in the regular practice of yoga. That makes sense; hard to imagine someone who would have a well-toned rear end, while everything else falls apart. That would look weird, wouldn’t it? I guess ‘yoga body’ doesn’t sound as sexy.
And I’ve come across message boards and blogs by women angry at Old Navy, because the chain is marketing the $12 pants not only for women, but also a $7 version for young (younger than teenage) girls. To any intelligent person reading this, I’m sure you can a priori imagine their concerns, and I completely sympathize. I get it. But I’m not going there. Where I go I'll continue tomorrow.
But until then, if you haven't seen it yet, here's a url to their commercial.
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1295271511906
