YOGI TARA STILES has been a guest editor and beloved NYC wellness leader on our radar for some time. Her Instagram feed is a great example of what the best wellness leaders have mastered: sharing a balance of aspirational living mixed with raw life insights and snapshots that transcend the overly glossy, unreal and somewhat depressing tone that pervades too many of our other favorite follows.
Earlier this week, Stiles shared this post reflecting on the pressure to drive and document our successes. Can that dynamic actually keep us from living our best lives? At what point does our drive for social media validation go from fun and healthy to distracting – and even toxic? Here’s Tara…
@tarastiles Working on the intro to my new 📚 Clean Mind Clean Body 🌱 (spring 2020 Dey Street) and deciding to get real, because you know, we are ready. 👊🏼 Any feedback welcome 🔮 We are burdened by the pressure to care intensely about external success so we can appear “well” to the world. We drive ourselves bonkers by documenting every moment of our pressurized perfect lives and feel forced to share it with the world for validation. We spend no real time on our personal care unless we are faced with breakdown or threatening illness and presented with no other option to proceed. Even in crisis, when we get sick and stop functioning, we do what we need to get better fast so we can get right back in the race of being and showing how successful we are. We can deny this all we want, but it’s unproductive and the truth is we all want freedom from this toxic cycle. Our culture rewards those who are outwardly shiny and fancy. We brag about our stress and wear our sleep deprivation as a badge of honor. It’s not newsworthy to be well and balanced. Being healthy, not so busy, spending quality time with your friends and family, and following what interests you in life without a goal to make a ton of money and winning is a sign of a real loser these days. It’s uncomfortable to admit how disconnected we have become from our true selves, our wellbeing and how we relate to others. We all want a better way and we can’t afford to refresh another moment in the wrong direction.
What do you think about Tara’s perspective on this? Can you relate? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
