How PDA (Public Display of Asana) became the new PDA. And, why you should support it.
We've all been there. Just minding our own business -at the grocery store, walking our dog at the park, or even at a family gathering- when all of a sudden we find ourselves audience to some physical groping, tongue kiss, butt grabbing, licking (ok, not licking) but some other equally squirm-worthy gesture. #VOMIT. "There are 24 hours in the day, can't you just do that in private?" we think to ourselves in annoyance....
Well, at some point in history, someone coined the term PDA aka Public Display of Affection. I'm going to take a wild guess that they did not mean for this acronym to be used in a positive manner.
So now here you are, reading a yoga blog because yoga has undeniably swept the globe. Maybe you practice yoga, maybe not, but there's no denying that you can pretty much find it EVERYWHERE. And, it's especially hard not to scroll through your Facebook, Instagram, or any other social media outlet without encountering someone happily displaying a photo of them self perched atop a mountain peak or any other backdrop in some type of yoga asana (pose). I call this PDA (Public Display of Asana). How did our personal yoga practice become so.....well, PUBLIC? Is it a trend? Will it go away? Why does everyone feel the need to post photos in positions our grandparents would have deemed inappropriate?
These are all great questions, and here are my thoughts (btw-I would love to hear yours too in the comments)!
If we break down the traditional form of PDA (the kind that takes 2 people), you realize that it typically happens in the beginning stage of a relationship. When two people are newly love, their hormones are so out of control they feel the need to display their affection everywhere and couldn't care who falls witness. They are literally so head-over-heels crazy about each other that they can't suppress their need to show it. In fact, the more people who know how crazy they are about each other, the better (flashback to Tom Cruise jumping on couch. Ok, that may be a bad example of true love). But, you get what I mean.
Usually after people settle into their relationships, this over-the-top display settles down. This does not mean the couple is no longer in love, but rather their hormonal reaction to each other has leveled off or reached some degree of homeostasis. But what I have noticed with PDA in the asana form, is that the longer many people practice yoga, the more and more they display their love for their yoga practice. It almost has as inverse relationship to romantic PDA. Could this mean that the longer someone practices yoga, the more uncontrollably crazy about yoga they become? In my opinion, YES!
SOOOO what does this all mean? Well as we practice yoga longer, we learn that yoga heals more than just the physical body. It helps us practice self love, love for others and our communities. It also helps us open our eyes to patience, trust, and all the beauty that surrounds us. It helps us become a better lover or spouse. These realizations and deeper practices come with time and this is why our love for our personal yoga practice exponentially grows over time. Because our personal and very public display of yoga is really a public display of all the aforementioned loves. A love for our self, our lover, our neighbor, our community, our world! After practicing for a while, we no longer worry that someone on Facebook is going to see our post as showoff-y or ridiculous. And, we also notice how these posts can serve as inspiration to someone who is on the fence about starting yoga or has just recently started.
So if these posts and public displays of asana still annoy you, maybe it means you haven't started your love affair with yoga. Or if you currently practice yoga but still find these posts obnoxious, maybe you haven't opened your mind fully to the practice of yoga beyond just the physical practice. Just my humble opinion. But, if you'll excuse me, and #letmetakeaselfie.
Namaste, Bendy Babes
Paloma