I asked ChatGPT to describe a stereotypical yoga teacher
why I found it predictable and problematic
This morning I asked ChatGPT to describe a stereotypical yoga teacher for me. Here’s what it had to say…
Ugh.
I mean, it’s fine. I suppose it’s not insulting, or even remotely surprising. But truly, I think I find it just a bit…boring?
These kind of assumptions about what teachers wear, how we live or even how we speak, create this awful chicken-and-egg scenario; people start believing that ALL yoga teachers fit within these stereotypes, and then as teachers, it almost begins to feel like some so role we feel like we need to play.
Shit, should we be vegan? What if my students knew I lose my shit at dickhead drivers on a regular basis? And do we need to keep that Friday night glass of wine on the down low now?
We can then end up feeling like we need to contort ourselves into some tight, uncomfortable box just to be seen as authentic - even if that box really, really doesn’t fit.
Even if we don’t feel like we want play up to the stereotypes, it can leave us hyper aware of not fitting that mould, leaving us feeling awkward or shamed about it.
It’s more important - and with social media, theoretically easier - than ever right now to push back against those stereotypes, but it can be a lonely place if we feel like we’re the only ones doing it.
This isn’t just a yoga thing - it’s the fundamental problem with stereotypes across the board.
By nature, stereotypes are these oversimplified ideas that result in labels getting slapped on whole groups of people. They come from repetition - what we see, hear, and internalise on a regular basis. They’re shitty shortcuts that reduce a reality that’s nuanced and complex into something much easier to digest.
But they do us ZERO favours.
When I asked ChatGPT that question, it delivered exactly what I expected. Buzzwords like ‘calm’ and ‘tranquil’, visuals of wafting around in flowy clothes, speaking in a soothing tone, and showing off extreme flexibility and fitness with ease.
Interestingly, I’d say that stereotype is evolving in many ways. The image that might come to mind first could be a bohemian vegan (Chat GPT’s words, not mine) but nowadays there’s a rival that creeping up as a close second; the Insta-fresh teacher - clad in skintight lycra, sipping on a green juice and handstanding on the beach at sunset.
If we’re getting truthful here, that newer mainstream stereotype also dictates that you be young, slim, beautiful and white. It’s not right by any stretch, but it’s certainly what comes to most people’s minds first when asked to picture a teacher.
We see both of these tropes rolled out on TV and in the movies regularly enough that it’s almost embarrassingly predictable. It frustrates and bores me in equal measure - and it’s usually made worse by teachers on screen being portrayed as airy-fairy, ditzy caricatures.
God forbid we show anything beyond unwavering zen or be portrayed as capable, intelligent people who can actually run a business.
The assumptions are limiting, flawed and actually pretty problematic.
I don’t have anything against any teacher who fits beautifully into any of the common stereotypes. I don’t have anything against any teacher full stop. But I want to see MORE.
More teachers.
More variety.
More boxes….
Or even better…how about no boxes at all?
I want everyone ELSE to see that there’s more nuance, depth and variety in yoga teachers too.
Because without that variety, it becomes this shitty catch 22 where teachers don’t see themselves as fitting the mould, and start to make themselves small. They shrink back, staying quiet about their true, multifaceted selves - they play down the things they love to wear, the way they speak, the emotions they feel, the reality of what they love to teach most and the truth of how they practice.
Maybe some of the best potential teachers never even think they can become teachers because the labels they see in those stereotypes don’t feel like they fit.
‘Will people still see me as a teacher if I’m not constantly calm?’
‘What if my tone isn’t particularly soothing and gentle?’
‘Will I be taken seriously if I’m not flexible and fit?’
‘Do I still have something to offer if I can’t do ‘complex asana with ease’?’
And I understand. It’s uncomfortable to stand out. There’s something deeply embedded in our psyche that says we need to fit in to be accepted as part of the tribe. Once upon a time, we literally needed that to survive.
But in staying quiet, the stereotypes get perpetuated.
Although ChatGPT isn’t real as such - it’s not an actual physical person sat there having actual real time thoughts - it IS an amalgamation of all that’s been written about and shared on the internet. It’s the product of exactly what we keep putting out there - content that keeps reinforcing these same narratives over and over again.
If we want to be seen differently, it’s up to us to overwrite the stereotypes. To make peace with the fact that we don’t all have to fit into these tired boxes in order to be authentic, or impactful or ‘real’ teachers, and to start creating spaces (both physical, and online) that actually reflect how much diversity and variety there is across teachers today.
This isn’t just for the benefit of other teachers, or teachers of the future…perhaps it might also open up the practice to a whole new chunk of students. People who, up until now, haven’t felt like yoga was for them because they couldn’t relate to what they thought yoga had to be.
I want to see the whole, wildly varied spectrum of teachers.
The ones who are willing to talk freely and openly about the fact you can wear what you want to class (it doesn’t have to be ‘activewear’), how you’re probably not always going to be calm and collected (all vibes, not just good ones), and how, teachers too struggle with all aspects of life and often, our practice.
If more of us start showing up as our full ‘unconventional’ selves, it might create space for everyone else to do the same. More diversity in teaching styles, more honesty in how we approach our lives and our practice, and more inclusivity in the communities we’re looking to create.
This isn’t to say I want to push back on the stereotypes as being ‘wrong’, they’re just incredibly limited.
Perhaps it’s time to worry a little less about how well (or not) we fit within the mould, and talk more about how normal, bloody brilliant and welcoming it is to fall outside of it.
This is such a cool post! You had me at, "Shit, should we be vegan? What if my students knew I lose my shit at dickhead drivers on a regular basis? And do we need to keep that Friday night glass of wine on the down low now?"
This is why I am not worried that Chat GPT will replace humans. It is a bad copy of our tendency towards laziness and what would be called... stupidity. Lol. Thank you for posting such a funny and real .
This is spot on. I hope that it will shift with this up-and-coming new generation of yoga teachers. I think we can honor the ancient roots of yoga and honor ourselves at the same time, recognizing our role as householders versus renunciates, practicing and teaching accordingly. We are witnessing a shift in the collective that wants to take off the masks, value authenticity, and break the cycles held by those who came before us. That is the real yoga... Liberation!