How to tell if you’re a ‘Yoga Bitch’

By Deborah Dunham for Blisstree.com

Calling yoga a source for spiritual enlightenment can be a stretch for some—literally.

In her new book, Yoga Bitch: One Woman’s Quest to Conquer Skepticism, Cynicism, and Cigarettes on the Path to Enlightenment, Suzanne Morrison writes about something many yogis have struggled with: total ambivalence about the often-narcissistic, sometimes-spiritual yoga world. Morrison says it’s easy to get caught up in the complexities of all that, and wanted to share her experience as a modern American yogi who says the more she tried to find her higher self, the more she found her lower self.

When she took a drastic step and went on a two-month retreat to Bali (something she did long before Eat, Pray, Love put the idea into thousands of women’s heads), she left with a grand vision of yoga transforming her life. But when she got there, she found herself often disillusioned and wanting to run.

Ten years later, Morrison admits to still struggling with finding a balance in it all—in a very funny and real way. So we rolled out our mats and talk with her about her experience on the so-called path to enlightenment:

Who is a ‘yoga bitch’ and how did you come up with that title? I am the yoga bitch, but all the females in the book are yoga bitches. It’s also a bit of a bitch session about yoga. It’s about me though. In spite of my cynicism, I did find myself becoming a yoga bitch. I was telling myself that I was so enlightened, and I had it all figured out. I was consumed with spiritual pride. I’m also very susceptible to the yoga commercial thing of wanting to buy the expensive yoga pants, candles and conflicted about all of that, and that can also make you a bitch.

Keep reading for more from Morrison on how to tell if you’re a yoga bitch and why you should stop taking yourself so seriously…

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