Atypical Yogi

Preconceived ideas, stereotypes, and judgements are just natural. It’s just human! It would require a great dose of enlightenment to not judge people when we first meet them. Clothes, voice, etc., all give a vibe and identity—that’s just the way it is.

So, what is today’s idea of a yogi? Or, most probably, yoginis, if we were to base those ideas on the number of followers? A ripped Californian dude doing handstands on a beautiful beach in Tulum? A stunning brunette on top of a 5th Avenue building? I sincerely don’t know, because this virtual landscape is sometimes so full. And honestly, who am I to say what yoga is supposed to be or look like? I’m still trying to figure out myself!

But one thing I do know is that when people see me, they’ll ask things like: Are you a fighter? A basketball player? Sometimes, in China, I get English teacher. I also used to get model (less so now—damn, getting old!), but rarely yoga teacher. Is it because I don’t dress the part? Or am I too big, in people’s minds, to contort myself with a zen-like smile, hiding the fact that my body is in excruciating pain? (Got to act the part, right?)

Still, jokes apart, I truly believe that in the perfect 2025 yogi world, dudes like me just don’t do yoga. And what’s a dude like me? Well, French, born of African origin, with an illiterate mum, a bunch of siblings, and no husband around. Let’s not judge here, but still—pretty far from the tattooed and oiled hotties of Instagram!

So, maybe I’d dare to say that, even though I look more the part now, I sincerely feel I wasn’t, let’s say, supposed to be here—or wasn’t really. My point is quite simple: you can look like a sadhu or an Indian yogi and still be a jerk, or be that girl on the rooftop on 5th Avenue and be realised. Who really knows?

So, for those who think that yoga is this or that—or that yoga is not this or that—I’d humbly propose, as an atypical yogi: let’s focus on what unites us instead of what divides us. And let’s get all the looks on that mat, because no matter how you look, after a good yoga session, you’ll get the high of feel-good hormones.