Yoga and Technology: Outlandish Union or A Seamless Blend
For those who aren't Avengers fans, let me bring you up to speed. Tony Stark developed a mind-blowing technology which helped him develop an armour of metal, which would protect him and in turn the mass destruction of this world. And when someone physically attacked him, he just presses a button on a bracelet, which summoned the suit from across the globe! So, when Loki, a God, tried to over-power Tony, he had an army of metallic men at his disposal to save him. All controlled from a bracelet. One, singular, bracelet.
Well, that’s Iron Man for you. If you think it’s an outlandish idea… then you should definitely look at your phone, in all probability you are reading this on it and, check your SMARTWATCH!
And now answer me… Is it really that hard to imagine a flying suit coming towards you when you summon it with a press of a button? Well maybe not instantly, given the air traffic, but in a few minutes? Maybe not in 2019, but in 2025? 2030? So, while you are flying to work, you think back to 2019. And think where this all started. It all started with a FITNESS SMART watch, which measured your heart rate and your calorie count along with your blood pressure.
With the advent of virtual assistants like Alexa, Google, Siri, would it be so impossible to say
“Ok Google, show me what workout will help me sleep better?” and get results on your phone/living room TV? Just try this.
50% of the top trending video results in this list are YOGA.
The first website result is YOGA.
60% of the top five app results is MEDITATION.
Staggering statistics! Aren't they?
What do these technological systems do? They simply correlate research from across millions and millions of search results, recommendations and testimonials and present to you the best of them all! Now that we know that technology and Yoga, are a seemingly good match, shall we delve deeper?
Yoga is evolving! The strong ancient roots remain the same, just the dissemination changes. The traditional practise of yoga consists of a yoga guru offering yogic teachings to his pupils in an ashram. From Ashram, the practise moved to home, from home to studios, from studios, it has gone digital. With its own journey through technological advancements, Yoga which is a journey in itself, became the robust lifestyle that survived the test of time! We keep going back to the basics and forget and relearn the same principles. Only the medium differs!
So, coming back to Tony’s bracelet/SMARTWATCH/Flying suit summoner. Could we have a workout series that showed up on our phones and we could refer to those and workout where we wanted?
Well, APPS!
Can we have apps where trainers and gurus can manually correct our postures through video feedback where they could day, stretch this leg further and feel the pull?
Well, INTERACTIVE TRAINING.
Can we have a digital system that corrects our postures through the intelligence that authentic yoga instructors can feed into it?
Well, UNEXPLORED!
Can we have a digital system that connects the Yogi and the Guru in times of stress when the Guru simply conducts a guided meditation to process the stress and slowly ease a pupil into silence?
UNEXPLORED!
And now, hold on to your seat folks! Can we have a holographically projected instructor in your living room who can simply come alive at the flip of a button and can guide us through our Yoga practise by extrapolating a beginner’s practise with their own? What an outlandish idea! Offbeat maybe, but outlandish, nope! Never! Is it possible to replicate these experiences with a click of a button at a preferred place and time? Of course, it is! And we are working relentlessly to make the dreams a possibility.
The question remains, is yoga and technology an outlandish union or a seamless blend?
If we can send cars to space, people to mars and explore options to look for permanent habitation on alien planets, artificial intelligence infused workouts seem practical and achievable in the near future.
This blend of mindfulness and technology empowers us to create our special safe space in the world. A place of happiness and wellness, available at your fingertips.
If technology can remind you to take your medicine, to meet a deadline, to wish birthdays and can have drones deliver food home, then why can’t we find a way to have the same technology remind us to take a break and provide wholesome workouts?
Does the thought of the amalgamation of yoga and technology fill you with the tantalizing excitement of its possibilities? If it does, then you are in for some huge surprises!
Until the next week, I send towards you a digital Namaste!
