Most people have no interest in the actual history and complete practice of yoga. So from that side, the company has it right - yoga is today primarily used as a tool to strengthen the ego, rather than what it was originally intended for, which was a tool to combat the ego. Most of the industry revolves around stroking individual egos - lose weight! be more beautiful! stay young! be better in bed! look totally hot! - rather than real spiritual development, which is what the original intent of the practice was. Ah, well.

This is all true, but has anyone given any thought while walking around that cheery place where this company is from? Once a proud canadian made company it has been bought out by the big guys and is now a American owned, overseas made garment like all the others.
I for one am at much more peace doing my practise wearing clothing with the right soul.
After all isn't that "our" mantra, to take care of our earth, it's people and our selfves.

I love Lululemon, and I think if you can afford it, buy it, but most importantly, make sure the clothes look good and you feel good in them. These are my rules: 1. Do you like the clothes, do they make you feel good, and does it fit your lifestyle. 2. Can you afford it, if so, ok, buy it. 3. Are you buying it for yourself or to impress others, if its not for yourself, don't buy it.

I see too many people buy clothes to impress others, and not because they truly like the clothes. Buy clothes because you like them, and they look good and you can afford them!

I have no interest in Lululemon. I've been in the store twice. It is outrageously priced. I get my yoga clothing at Marshalls, TJMaxx, Target or Walmart and I keep it comfortable and simple. Yoga mats, blocks and belts are also all available at the above mentioned places. I teach a class once a week and not one of my students look "hot", none of them would shop there either. They take Yoga for stress management, exercise, and wellness. Body Mind & Spirit. It has nothing to do with what you are wearing or how much you paid for it. I do believe that the true yoga community does indeed take their yoga practice seriously. It is the big marketing companies that have made it look like it is for all "hot" looking skinny mini's in expensive clothing. I do not believe it.

Comments about clothing with the "right soul" and the yoga industry "stroking the ego" bother me. Clothing with a soul? Please. And who doesn't realize that the industry is there to make a profit? I buy the clothing I like because it is well-made (yes, some is Lululemon, some is not) and because I feel great in it. My yoga practice is about balance, not sacrifice & self-denial.

Many paths, one truth.
Maybe the positive of this is that it will introduce/promote yoga to new people, allowing them to find themselves from there. I certainly don't condone the pricing/marketing but who knows?
I first learned about yoga and started practicing with the TV. Initially when I started, I was young and interested in the fitness aspect of it. But then I was getting deeper into the practice, my lifestyle and values changed and my practice has evolved.

The thing I really care about after my yoga session is how I feel and treating myself to a fresh squeezed orange juice! I'm not interested if my hair is out of place and I don't have expensive trendy yoga wear.

Consumerism will follow any hot trend: Take running shoes. Before the 1970s, only runners wore them. By the late 1970s, schoolkids were wearing Nike waffle soles and Adidas three stripes. Today, you see thick-ankled grandmas, hipster fashionistas, computer geeks, anyone, and everyone wearing brand-name running shoes.

Same with yoga. I'm sure that half the people who buy lululemon apparel practice yoga only occasionally. It's for show.

Does this detract from the real yoga that's happening (often in places and by people under the radar)? No. Yoga practitioners might wear lululemon because the clothes are functional (although nonbiodegradable nylon and spandex are questionable fabric choices), but no real yogi would equate their clothes with their yoga practice.

See this blog post for more on the "selling" of yoga: http://yogaspy.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/adidas-yoga/.

Yoga Spy
www.yogaspy.wordpress.com

I totally agree. Lululemon is now a 'Brand' for people to show off in as well as most other yoga 'outfitters'. I personally can't fit into their clothes! I'm too short! 'Yoga' clothing companies make their articles of clothing for the slim and tall, and forget it if you actually have breasts. Not to mention expensive, etc. I teach and practice in the clothes I've had for years on end, and dare I mention it, I buy Danskin at Walmart. They FIT and the price is right for me, and my pants have held up for years without snagging and pilling.

a few things...I have a couple of items from Lululemon, and I do like them because of a couple features they offer that some other companies don't offer. the flat seams and the gusset in particular - nothing worse than having a regular two-seamed pant crotch ride up into that exact place while you are in the middle of down dog or other...and they do offer free hemming for those of us, like myself, who are short of leg.

I do find that yes, sometimes the style business is taking over the intention of the practice of yoga. However, when you are busy and don't have time to be ducking in and out of change rooms or packing around a huge bag for a change of clothes, it is nice to have some thing to wear that can take you from work to mat to errands to dinner out. this means that although the stuff is pricey, you really only need 1 pair of black pants, and maybe a couple of tops at most.

Having said that, of course you can buy very similar items at other stores and a fraction of the price. I have some great pants from Costco that were only $17.

Remember there is always another option in hip-yip clothing

http://www.yogadawg.com/fashion.htm

Don't expect less yoga clothing...

If I want to feel great vibes from the salespeople, I shop at Trader Joe's (for groceries). Yep, they are delightful, and do act like they are being cheered on, as well. They also know, unlike Lulu, that most people, including yogis, are not made of money.

I would never set foot in a Lululemon store. I wear Nike trainers, cutoff tights and a tee-shirt to any yoga class even if I am surrounded by Lululemmings.

Lululemon like many other clothing brands are just cashing on the "yoga cow"; yoga nowadays is just about how many asanas can you do in a class, how cool you look, how many words in sanskrit can you say in a sentence, how spritual you seem, etc... The practise is very personal, so if you want to look cool or not, why should it bother anybody else? practise in whatever you want to practise cool, hip, ugly, cheap, doesn't matter; You could say but yoga is about....but yoga is also about no judgement, so why should we pass it?

LuLuLemon is the only yoga clothing company that makes clothes that fit me, so its all I wear. It says something about the company that they will make clothes for big guys when that isn't the most profitable demographic in the yoga market. Many fashion brands won't make clothes for larger people because they don't want their designs seen on us bigger folks. This seems to be the case for every other brand of yoga clothing too. It shows a lot of character that LuLuLemon didn't follow that shallow path. So, if anyone in the yoga clothing business needs to be criticised LLL is certainly not at the top of the list.

There have many intense debates about this on the Yoga Journal Community and in the Yoga blogosphere. I embrace the diversity of Yoga in all its forms, from trendy workout routine to spiritual meditation. And I don't think they compete with each other in any way, since the Yoga pie is infinitely expandable.

Bob Weisenberg
http://YogaDemystified.com

I would like to say something truly radical: I am glad that yoga is marketed as beautiful, trendy, and uplifting right now.

I started practicing yoga, because I thought it was beautiful and I wanted to feel beautiful. I found yoga as I was growing out of an eating disorder, and beauty and hope were exactly what I needed. My practice and my life have changed since then, but I try not to forget my beginnings.

Stop the Madness; Do Pilates!!

You are correct - Yoga IS about non-judgement. So to all of you who have just cast your "greater-than-thou" spiel because you are more spiritually enhanced than those that wear lululemon, or you have chosen to throw your stone, admitting that you've never stepped foot into a store should allow the sutras of yoga to affect your lives a little more.

For whatever reason people get into it, whether its clothing they feel they can rely on in an expensive but disposable world or generating excitement about exercise that they might otherwise find difficult to complete or mundane, that is THEIR reason, not yours. We need to band together instead of segregating and pointing fingers.

What gives any of you the right to believe that you are better than another?

Believe in the power of equality and putting yourself in another's shoes. So much of the wars and battles we fight today is because people choose to see only their perspective. Do yourself a favour and look at life through the eyes of another at least once today.

Goodness - so much judgement of clothing choices. I wear three Lu Lu items and they are delicious. absolutely wonderful clothes. The design is great and the workmanship is equally great. As far as "goal based marketing" - that is spiritual practice for some. Secondly - to the guy who wears Nike while surrounded by Lu Lu Lemmings. Take a look at your own swoosh and look around - Surprise! you're a lemming.

For the 4.5 years that I consistently practiced yoga I never once bought a fancy yoga outfit like Lululemon. I bought my yoga pants and shirts at TJ Maxx, Gap Body, Target, Sports Authority, etc. To be honest they never held up well after a few washings and tended to ride up in the wrong places, so I constantly had to adjust them during practice. Just this past weekend I broke down and went to Lululemon. I bought a pair of pants and a tank. Both fit really well and are guaranteed to maintain their fit for 5 years.

At 5'5" and 145 lbs. with a very muscular bottom half, I am hardly willowy and skinny. Lululemon has plenty of sizes that fit me as well as sizes for people much larger than me.

Finally, I think the kind of apparel you need depends on your yoga practice. For an active flow practice with lots of inversions, it makes sense to wear something that is form fitting that dries quickly. For a slower practice that is not heavy on down dogs and inversions, old tee shirts and cut-off tights might be perfectly suitable.