#instayoga

A satirical larp about yoga, image, sincerity, and the performance of spiritual authenticity

#instayoga is a live-action roleplaying game about yoga influencers, spiritual branding, and over-the-top public spirituality.

Players portray people who post pictures of themselves "doing" their spiritualy. Trying to be seen in the right way: authentic, luminous, desirable, grounded, healed, marketable, or above all that. The game lives in the tension between sincere spiritual longing and the machinery of self-presentation.

It is funny, uncomfortable, physical, and performative. Players move between embodied practice, status play, image-making, admiration, envy, aspiration, and the small humiliations of trying to appear effortless.

This is a good fit for larp nights, festivals, classrooms, workshops, and groups interested in spirituality, performance, social media, body culture, wellness culture, and the comic sadness of wanting to be real in public.

Practical Info

Players: 1–12
Time: 2–3 hours
Format: live-action roleplaying game / satirical wellness-culture larp
Prep: moderate
Tone: funny, performative, uncomfortable, embodied, satirical
Best for: larp nights, festivals, classrooms, workshops, yoga communities with a sense of humour, and groups interested in spirituality, performance, social media, wellness culture, and image-making

Requirements

This game works best with:

• a facilitator who is comfortable teaching or leading simple yoga-based movement
• a quiet room
• yoga mats, blankets, pillows, stretchy clothes, or other yoga paraphernalia
• quiet music, including an audio track of people chanting OM
• smartphones
• a good Wi-Fi connection
• printed and cut-out affirmation cards from Appendix B

For the full social-media version, players should have access to Instagram accounts so they can post images during play. For groups that do not want to use real social media, the game can also be adapted with a private shared folder, a group chat, or an imaginary Instagram feed.

#instayoga works best when played with affection as well as satire. The game is not only mocking wellness culture; it is also interested in why people reach for beauty, discipline, spirituality, visibility, and approval in the first place. The comedy comes from the gap between sincere longing and the polished image of sincerity.