Why there are 27 Plastic Bottles in my Yoga Leggings

I'm in a war with the Instayogis, but I think I'm finally winning.

It all started four months into the pandemic when I made a yoga-specific Instagram account for my quarantine hobby (@philosoyogi).

At the time, I didn't know the dangers of my decision, it just seemed to make perfect sense. I enjoyed yoga, my husband was getting into photography, and we had just moved to beautiful Southern California.

What could go wrong?

A whole new world

Using Instagram on my yoga account was an entirely different experience than being on my personal account. I made yoga my account on a whim and I didn't have any goals or expectations for it. I followed a few yoga teachers I knew from the online programs I used and wondered what to do next.

Then I found them--Yoga challenges.

Yoga challenges are 4-10 day affairs that are typically sponsored by companies who sell yoga-related products and hosted by a few Instayogis. Each day of the challenge features a specific pose for the participants to post a picture of themselves doing. At the end of the challenge, the hosts pick a participant to win a prize from the sponsor.

The challenges end up being a powerful combination of:

1. Marketing for the sponsors by getting their names and products out into the yoga community.
2. Competition to win the prizes or motivation and accountability in their practice for the participants.
3. A way for the hosts to grow their following while helping and encouraging the participants.

I like winning things, so I decided to join my first challenge.

That was when I first entered into the war with the Instayogis.

The subtle art of Insta-Warfare

Here's the thing--When I started my yoga Instagram I had two pairs of yoga pants I had purchased years ago at Target and a few sports bras that suddenly seemed lackluster compared to the beautiful sets from Alo Yoga and Lululemon worn by the Instayogis.

This is me in one of my first photos wearing my admittedly unaesthetic pieces:

Luckily I won a few yoga challenges and giveaways which allowed me to get my first Alo Yoga pieces without breaking the bank. I was so happy when I walked out of the Alo store with a beautiful strappy black top and soft, deep purple high-waisted leggings.

However, by the time I took photos in them for my Instagram page (tw0 weeks after they had been released) they already seemed to be out of style.

The Instayogis seemed to be getting new yoga wear every week!

I definitely couldn't buy any more $100 dollar leggings, but I discovered Aerie made cute, comfy, and affordable yoga tops and bottoms. Naturally, I decided I had to have them so that I could keep up with the variety of clothing the Instayogis wore on their pages.

A subtle desire had crept into my mind from my time on the yoga Instagram scene--I wanted more.

The Instayogi's subterfuge had infiltrated my mind.

Too much stuff

Here's the thing though, I've never been into fashion. I don't like having a ton of clothes to manage. I'm the kind of person that cycles through the same three shirts contentedly.

I didn't know what to do with all these yoga clothes I was acquiring. Besides the Alo and Aerie pieces, I had won an outfit from Onzie and decided to buy some pieces from Aura Yoga Wear after they offered me a discount to be an ambassador. (See my cherished Alo outfit below)

On one hand, it was fun to get packages (especially in the dregs of California's pandemic lockdown) but, I really didn't like this little desire for 'more' that I had now recognized in myself.

I started to realize that competing with my desire for 'more' was a desire for 'better'.

And then I found them--the yogis doing things differently; doing the Instagram yoga scene better. Could I join forces with them against the Instayogis in the battle of Too Much Stuff?

Yogis, choose your weapon

These different yogis talked about something called 'Conscious Consumerism.' They were about 'making sustainable choices' and 'fighting fast fashion'. As I learned more from them, I found the perfect weapon to use against the Instayogis and their mind tricks.

I realized I had power in this fight that I hadn't before realized--The power of volition. I could choose to make mindful purchases and to put my money into companies that are doing things differently.

With the recognition of this new power, I started to learn about different yoga companies that made small batches of beautiful yoga wear with sustainable materials. To my delight, one company, Wolven, was local to where I live in Los Angeles. I quickly learned more about their practices and was captivated by their company policies.

I became a Wolven Wolf.

(Here is a picture of me meditating on my purchasing power wearing one of my favorite yoga sets from Wolven)

A better way

Wolven is a company that does things differently. In producing their clothes they:

• Have Carbon Off-Set Initiatives: The clothes you purchase are carbon-neutral. Wolven measures their greenhouse gas emissions and partners with Climate Neutral to purchase carbon credits which support a range of projects like rainforest conservation.
• Use Recycled PET and Carbon Neutral Modal Fabric: Wolven's products are made from recycled plastic and a cellulose fiber derived from beechwood pulp to create super soft and durable yoga wear.
• Ocean Clean-Up Partnership: Wolven has partnered with One Earth - One Ocean to recycle one pound of plastic from the ocean for every purchase made.

Not only are their practices sustainable but they have beautiful clothes in wild festival patterns as wells as simple basics and their cuts are always on-trend.

Many pieces are also reversible front-to-back and inside-out, which is like getting 4 pieces for the price of one (Don't worry--I'm linking the best styles for you at the bottom).

No wonder celebrities like Vanessa Hudgens, Sophie Turner, Lucy Hale, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Miley Cyrus are loving Wolven.

Beating the Instayogis

With my newfound power of volition, I finally felt ready to defeat the Instayogis. I returned to Instagram ready for combat only to discover the battlefield was empty.

The Instayogis were nowhere to be found.

Instead, all I saw were my yogi friends--I guess you could call them 'Instayogis' because they were people doing yoga on Instagram, but they weren't the force I had been battling.

Then I realized, the Instayogis never exist; they were only a concept I had built up in my own mind. From somewhere out in the world, I had internalized an ideal of what my page needed to look like.

No doubt this concept was birthed from advertisements, marketing techniques, and the general makeup of the human psyche. But it no longer held sway over me.

I am a different person, with different ideals, and the power to choose when and where I put my money--And for yoga clothes, I'm going to choose sustainability.

Connect with Me

If you like yoga and random musings about how to feel good in your body, think well in your mind, and find peace in your soul then check out my Instagram page: @philosoyogi.

Send me a DM if you want to be an Instayogi and I'll help you find your first challenge or recommend some inspiring accounts to follow!

And if you've become empowered to buy sustainable activewear check out the Wolven trends below and see more awesome eco-friendly styles on Wolven's website.

You can even save 20% with the code: philosoyogi20

Top 5 Wolven Trend Alert

Love these styles? Use the code 'philosoyogi20' to save 20% at checkout!

Crossover Leggings

Flared Pants

Reversible Tops

Earthy Basics

Festival Patterns