There is a movement afoot to try to introduce competitive yoga as an Olympic sport. Yoga competitions do exist in India, and are supported in the US by former yoga champion and hot yoga innovator Bikram Choudhury. Listen to this story from PRI's The World for more info, and let your opinion be heard by voting in the following poll:
Explore Yoga
I’m sorry, but I think this is the oddest thing I’ve heard recently. This makes even less sense to me than having beach volleyball or croquet or something as an olympic sport. There are just some things you do for fun, and just because it’s exercise doesn’t mean it’s an OLYMPIC sport. I find it amusing.
To me, Yoga is partly physical (it brings strength and flexibility), but mostly it’s the inner balance, the centering, and the peace that makes Yoga what it is. It’s something you do for yourself. You grow and challenge yourself based on your own abilities. Competing with someone else is sort of anti-Yoga, isn’t it? I can’t imagine saying, “Score 10 points for me because I can touch the back of my head to my heels and you can’t! Neener-neener! And an extra 5 points because I have more inner strength! I’m more balanced than you!”
It doesn’t make any sense.
The study of yoga is such a personal and individual journey I don’t really see how scoring can be brought into it. Making it a competition defeats the purpose of self exploration and sharing.
i agree with you, maria. olympic yoga would be the anti-yoga in every sense of the word. isn’t yoga supposed to be about finding your inner-self, being, and soul? the fact that you’re supposed to check your ego at the door when practicing yoga and allow your competitive nature to dissipate means performing yoga in the olympics would be pure hypocrisy. once competitiveness enters yoga, then it no longer is yoga. it’s gymnastics. i believe they already have that one in the olympics… as a matter of fact, i am watching it right now!
There is definitely an appropriate competition level in Yoga. It is highly inspiring to see how a person can use concentration to peform yoga asana. As a matter of fact, the idea of a completely silent stadium witnessing a yoga demonstration by each individual would be deeply inspiring. The Bikram Yoga competitions are beautiful to behold and there is a healthy display of a balanced ego. I truly hope it happens. After all, Hatha yoga is the doorway for many to deeper inner peace but it starts out for many of us on the physical level.