I have these super comfy capri yoga pants. I have two pair of them, actually. They are supposed to be for yoga and now for dance, but I have been wearing them...all...the...time.
And I have noticed something about these pants: They make me lazy.
They are too comfortable, too much like pajamas.
How sad is that!?
I have this vision of my essential, Wild Woman, eccentric Self: She is walking down the street having been at a dance class or a yoga class as a student or a teacher; she is carrying a wonderful bag filled with symbolic sorts of things.
(What would be in your bag?)
In this vision, I am very fit, and I wear yoga clothes at all times. You know -- the flowy pant, the fitted top with something flowy over that, the casual but chic shoes, a bit of jewelry, my hair messily and stylishly thrown up atop my head.
So I buy these capris and I think, cool, time to manifest this particular visual. I won't have to change three times a day or more for the different activities I do, so not only am I cute (ha!) but I am also uber-efficient.
Not.
Yoga clothes, for me, it turns out, are great for yoga, but they make me lazy in the other parts of my day.
They make me feel too casual.
I put on a skirt -- nothing fancy but a summery sort of skirt -- and I find myself gettin' back to business. I write more; I work on other projects.
And before you think this is trivial, let me tell you about the founder of the Shambhala lineage of Buddhism, Chogyam Trungpa who wrote the classic Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior.
He thought dressing more formally was a tool and that people in the West were getting too informal. He believed this would lead to a lack of discipline and a sloppiness in relations.
Yep. Smart guy.
So...sigh...the yoga pants have to wait for the yoga.
How about you?
Does how you dress affect your work, your mission in life, your bliss?Do you harbor a secret vision of yourself that includes a style of clothing?What would your Wild Woman self wear if she could wear anything?A Reminder: Are you participating in the Wild Woman poster contest? The due date is fast approaching!
(Photo & Text Credit: Christine C. Reed, blisschick.net, 2009, Rodin at Cleveland Museum of Art)
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17 comments:
I'm going to put this on my "Ponder This" list. I think you have a good point here. I love my yoga pants, too. I'd hoped they'd make my butt look suddenly yoga "ish". Relaxed is a better word for how my tush looks. That's a good thing--right? I'm also hopeful I can get six-pack abs by reading Shape magazine while standing in the check-out lane. [sigh]
When you work from home aka studio [not complaining] it's easy to fall into the habit of sporting your bunny slippers [and yoga pants] well into the afternoon.
Actually I've been wearing more skirts lately, too. Helps me feel pretty, and sassy. So, I think I'll try kicking it up a notch & wear a skirt with my bunny slippers. ***makes mental note to self to not wear ball cap with this combo*** ;-)
I was just thinking about this the other day- someone in blog-world was asking whether she should buy 'sexy' shoes for work...
I think where and who you work with will affect what you wear.
I work with preschoolers who are special needs- this means playing on the floor, being quick and avoiding behaviours. It also means that these parents are grieving and can be (depending on background) easily intimidated by 'doctor' type professionals (although I'm just a Speech Therapist). In my previous setting we were allowed to wear jeans- it helped with my work and helped with my connection with the parents.
Here in Halifax we only get to wear jeans on fridays... but skirts with little kids... totally out. I also don't wear heels. So I bought a few pairs of more 'dressy' versions of Lululemon pants- they look professional but they stretch and are comfortable. I love them.
My wild woman would wear skirts ALL THE TIME. In Montreal while I was a student I LIVED in flowy skirts. LOVE THEM. :)
Totally! Yoga pants, track pants, comfy clothes signal to the body and the mind it's time to loosen up, chill out.
Dress to success is the way to go.
I find when I am wearing a "power suit" (which admittedly isn't often), I hold myself differently. I walk differently. With purpose.
Fascinating. What a great post.
TrueTrueTrue!! I recently moved my business home. Many, many people commented that now I could work in my pajamas. I said "NO WAY"!! I still get dressed as if I am leaving my home. The best part of my day is when I can put my comfy clothes on in the evening and relax. If I dressed like this all the time it would make indeed make me lazy all day.
I will confess that I do wear my slippers. But only because my feet are cold....well...and they are comfy. I will allow my feet to be comfy.
I have to agree. Clothing does affect the way I feel about myself and my productivity.
I sleep in yoga clothes, so if I walk around in them, I feel like i am in my pajamas. That kind of feeling continues and makes me feel like a shlub. If i feel like a shlub, I feel bad about myself for my laziness... which contrary to what people say about me, is a problem. Bad feelings lead to doing less and feeling bad.
If I can wake up and put on a snazzy outfit, then I feel like I have done something from the very outset of my day. But even yoga clothes can be snazzy in my book. For instance, if you dressed in that fantasy outfit when you woke up, you wouldn't feel shlubby, but if you just slipped on flip flops and an old tshirt, you would.
I love this post and the questions you ask at the end. I am at the opposite end of the spectrum on the yoga pants thing. I don't own any; i feel a little intimidated by how cool they look and how cool the women must be who wear them - at least that's what my silly self says when I am out and about. So I haven't taken the plunge yet.
On the other hand (and Lisa, the nerdy renegade can attest to this), I wear a skirt or a dress every single day. I own one pair of jeans that I bought a couple of weeks ago and have worn once. I have a four pairs of capris that I wear maybe five times per year total, maybe. Other than that, I have worn skirts or dresses every day for over five years. And I love it!I wish I had cuter, more colorful, interesting, vintage style skirts (and i am trying to find a few of those), but the solid ones work just fine too.
Several years ago, I used to fantasize that my wild woman wore skirts and flats or boots with knee high socks and tee shirts or turtle necks and matching jewelry everyday and loved pulling together all the combinations. Then I asked myself why I wasn't doing just that. I've been very happy with my skirty life every since.
As for my job: I'm a homeschooling mom, at home 85% of the time. But I put on my skirt and shirt and jewelry every day anyway. Happy as a lark every single time.
My next challenge is to overcome my reluctance and buy some yoga pants. Gulp!!!
Thanks again for this thought provoking prompt.
I don't have yoga pants, and really few yoga items of any kind other than the basics...yoga mat, block, books. I wonder if yoga paraphernalia, yoga vocabulary, or yogacentric activities in general, might make people lazy in the sense of being an excuse to do less yoga. Kinda like "I'm wearing my yoga t-shirt [okay, actually, I do own one of those], have some yoga music playing, have a pot of yoga tea brewing, and was just throwing around words like 'kundalini' and 'chakras' with a friend, so I feel like a serious yogi even though I haven't done my morning practice in weeks...."
This post is so true! It hits the nail right on the head! I totally believe and have observed how clothes influence how people behave and are perceived. In general, I think North American society has gotten a bit to casual. I once had a job interview where the guy interviewing me was wearing an old plaid shirt and jeans, while I was dressed professionally. It ended up being a strange job interview!
My wild woman would probably wear yoga clothes all the time. I love my Lulu Lemon yoga pants! :)
I'm glad this makes sense to more people than just me! :)
Rowena -- Great point about the "formality" of the yoga clothes. Hmm... Thinking...
Gail -- YES! The school girl look, I call it. I totally love that and when I worked at the library, I wore it all the time -- playing with that stereotype. :)
YogaforCynics -- Very interesting points. The whole spiritual materialism thing taken to the very literal extreme.
My "Yoga" pants are simply inexpensive, capri sweats, light weight. Not "official" yoga apparel at all. I find that stuff SO EXPENSIVE, which, again, speaks to the materialism end of things.
My point is mostly about too casual clothing making us too casual toward our life's work.
I am much more disciplined in my writing when I am "dressed." Yet, when I have on my "yoga pants," I'm much more likely to do MORE yoga, MORE times throughout the day.
Again, though, I love the whole description you present -- talking and wearing yoga but never doing it.
Just like I had "church clothes" as a girl, I have yoga pants and tops now. I don't wear them at home to relax, what're pj's for? What's cool about my park district yoga class is no one is there for the fashion show. Even my teacher, who tends to wear Lululamon, basically wears black and white. I buy my yoga outfits at Target or Kohl's. As usual, your post piqued. Thanks BlissChick.
I can definitely relate to what you wrote about clothing... I seem to develop "uniforms" for specific activities and I have to be wearing those clothes in order to get down to business.
Another big thing for me is my hair... I have super long hair and pulling it back into a pony tail is my signal to myself that I am ready to work.
My energy level isn't really affected by what I wear, but it does affect how I feel about my self. I find my hair has the greatest ability to affect my moods, though.
As for my wild women? Long, flowy skirts for sure. I live in these in the summer. Fashion rules for petites be damned. I also really like tops that aren't tight around my middle, like an empire top. At lots of color and jewerly (gemstones, beads, shells, wood) to choose from.
I seem to be the opposite of most people. I'm more productive the more comfortable/casual I am. Take my "writing pants" ... they are very, very old jeans with huge holes in the knees. I'm my most prolific when I wear those pants!
I'm also more productive after I've showered, dried my hair, put on my jewelry, etc. That's my signal that my "work" day has begun.
As for Americans being too casual...eh. I think people should be able to be comfortable. I know that when I'm comfortable, I'm more productive, I'm in a better mood, and I'm just generally happier. Professionally and personally, I think I'd rather deal with someone in jeans and a t-shirt who is happy and productive than someone in a suit who is miserable and stagnant.
It's all about comfort for me ... no comfort, 0 productivity. I suppose that's b/c I wore uniforms for schooling, and then for work (nursing). Now, I dress to suit the weather and my mood.
My wild woman self would wear what her mood wants her to wear.
I have found, over time, that costuming is critical to invoking a mood and an attitude. Theater people know this.
I wear skirts alot to invoke the goddess energy, and I am doing my best to wear much less black than ever before.
Hoping to see you Sunday! xo
Graciel -- GREAT point about theatre people understanding the power of costuming.
Comfort is important, surely, but sometimes it's also about wanting to make some sort of impression. :)
And I ALSO hope to see YOU! That would be so much fun! Here's to plans working out.
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