Many of us are familiar with yoga, on a basic level. We know that yoga is a good form of exercise, one that also helps us release stress, relax, and find inner peace within ourselves.
Since the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, many of us realized we needed to spend more time with ourselves, focusing on our own inner selves and our happiness and health.
Yoga and Pilates became a popular choice for starting on this journey.
However, saying just ‘Yoga’ is actually quite vague to someone who is knowledgeable and well-versed in yoga as a practice.
There are actually countless different types of yoga, and the poses, positions, and music that typically come to mind when we think of yoga, is only a tiny part of it.
There are other types that are a bit different such as trap yoga. So, what is trap yoga, and how exactly is it different from the yoga that usually comes to our minds when we think of ‘yoga?’
What Does Trap Yoga Mean?
Let’s start off with what trap yoga means. Well, on the most basic level, trap yoga is just a style of yoga class.
It combines the physical ‘asana’ yoga practices with trap music. Perhaps an unexpected mixture, but one that works for many.
Trap music is a form of hip-hop music that was founded in the United States.
Who decided this kind of yoga might be appealing to people?
Well, Brandon Copeland, who is a yoga instructor in Washington, D.C. is the person who is credited for the founding and development of this particular practice.
He said that he began his teaching career in yoga as a way to promote mindfulness.
He also hoped to promote the transformation of power in practice with an extra emphasis on African American communities.
The inspiration that brought him to trap yoga was how he wanted to try and tempt more African American men into the peacefulness and mindfulness of yoga.
What We Know About Trap Yoga
So, knowing this, what do we know about this type of yoga?
Well, it was made to create a more welcoming environment for newcomers who might not feel so comfortable with silence, as you would find in a traditional yoga class.
Some may also feel uncomfortable with the music typically played in a yoga class, such as meditation music, or binaural beats.
Some may want to attend a class that better reflects themselves or their culture.
However, this does not mean that trap yoga is not empowering anymore. It is still empowering.
In fact, trap yoga specifically is designed to empower its practicing yogis and promote better attention to wellness.
It does have an increased participation from men, but many women enjoy trap yoga as well.
Copeland (the founder) described this yoga class as a form of Ashtanga yoga that is practiced with trap music to better get a sense of the struggle that comes with the music, but also increasing the feeling of success.
Although the music involved is loud, the focus of the practice is in the breathing, as well as the gaze and typical postures you could find in Ashtanga.
This type of yoga joins alongside an ever growing list of western informed popular culture styled forms of yoga.
Let’s not forget about hip-hop yoga as well!
Some traditionalists might say that the use of this music would detract from the real and spiritual purpose of yoga, but many proponents tout the fun and innovation of this, saying that it provides its own unique physical, mental, and spiritual benefits to the practicing individuals.
Modern Advancements
When we consider the modern world, technological advancements and the increase in the speed of life.
Bursts of progress, even in niches like yoga, are so important, allowing traditional view points to become modified to a certain extent.
This happens in many different areas, from lifestyle, exercise, health, music, and so on.
Everyone wants to see new things in their life, things to explore, be they intentional things or unintentional.
Humanity is a collective of innovators, always looking to create something new, or find new things that interest us and spark a fire in us, giving us new insight and bringing new ideas.
So, the invention of trap yoga is little more than humanity doing what it does best, and in a sense, it also touches on the topic of inclusiveness that the modern world is always trying to work on.
Is It A Good Yoga Work-Out?
For traditional Yogis and purists, trap yoga doesn’t serve its objective.
Yoga on a wider scale uses peaceful, focused, concentrated meditation to make the soul unionized with the body and the soul.
However, at this rate with progressive mindsets, in western cultures, people constantly look to evolve.
We now think of these things as more relative to the individual than we did before.
So, whether it is a good workout or not is actually more relative to the individual.
Is It Good Exercise?
For those who follow this form of exercise, and enjoy yoga as a form of physical and health-specific exercise, it is likely a good form of exercise.
However, it is also a good alternative form of a workout.
If you only want to have physical rejuvenation, better health, and such, this cannot be distinguished so much from other variations of fitness, your body will benefit though.
In truth, trap yoga is just a matter of what you prefer.
Trap Yoga: An Evolution Of Yoga
Overall, trap yoga is little more than yet another way in which yoga has evolved to draw in more people to practice, target groups who may have otherwise not have considered yoga for fitness, and to broaden horizons as is traditional with western adaptations.
There is nothing wrong with trap yoga, its practice is simply just another form of yoga which is of interest to specific groups of people.
It is all down to personal preference. Traditional yoga, or yoga with trap music.
Return to ‘Types of Yoga’ blogs
The positive effect yoga had on me was indescribable. Every aspect of my life improved, from social to mental, physical to emotional.
I want my website to help more people get into the world of yoga and teach them how to be present for themselves - even if that’s just for a few minutes a day.
- 10 Best Yoga Retreats In Costa Rica - September 30, 2022
- What Are Yoga Sutras? - September 1, 2022
- Best Bra For Yoga - September 1, 2022
