There's bound to be a great conversation when four of the most influential women in yoga today sit down at a table together. And that's exactly what happened today when Seane Corn, Shiva Rea, Judith Lasater, and YJ's Editor-in-Chief Kaitlin Quistgaard came together to talk about the power of women in yoga. It's a vast topic and the discussion touched on many different things so I'll give you a taste of a few of the topics that I found most interesting.

Note: The following are memorable paraphrases, not direct quotes from the panelists.

Q: If yoga is all about embracing your true self, why do women in the yoga community still wear make up and color their hair?

Shiva Rea: For me it's about adornment. It's something I do as an expression for myself, not for anyone else. I was born as a pixie blonde. I feel like the blond hair is an expression of who I am. 

Judith Lasater: There's kind of a spectrum. Plastic surgery might be on one end and brushing your teeth on the other.  

Q: Why do the pictures we see in YJ and other media outlets portray yoginis as thin and flexible when we come in all different shapes and sizes?

Kaitlin Quistgaard: I can't speak for other outlets, but for Yoga Journal we're always looking for diversity in models, keeping in mind the integrity of alignment. It takes a lot of stamina and hard work to be a model, so we have to find people who can hold poses all day long. For our covers, we're trying to appeal to people who have never picked up the magazine before.

Seane Corn: I hear people place blame so much, and it's like nails on a chalkboard for me. Instead of villifying others and talking about what they should be doing differently, we need to think about what WE can do in our communities to shape the perception for our daughters.

Q: What can we, as women yoga students, do to get more men interested in yoga?

Seane Corn: I don't think we should be doing anything. Do your own practice and trust that they'll come to it when they're supposed to if it's their karma. Plus, there's nothing more annoying than a woman nagging, telling others what they should do to make changes in their lives.