Introduction

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In a Times magazine article, the author quotes a yoga teacher blaming “ego” for yoga-related injuries and pointing out that “the whole point of yoga is to get rid of ego.” If that’s the case, then why is narcissism so often on display in the yoga studio, with students spending huge amounts of money on gym memberships and gear and even clamoring to mark their territory with their mats, hours before the class begins?

Has the practice of yoga changed so much that not only the teachers are narcissists but most students are too? How can we reconcile a spiritual practice with a fitness trend in a culture that already emphasizes the individual over the community?