The Shala Daily

What does the life cycle of a tech platform have to do with our yoga practice? In a recent episode of the Offline podcast, Cory Doctorow unpacks the rise and rot of digital services—what he calls “enshittification”—and it offers some unsettling parallels to modern yoga culture.

Doctorow describes how platforms shift from showering users with value to squeezing them (and businesses) for every drop, all in service of shareholder profit. The cycle feels eerily familiar not just online, but everywhere we turn. What starts as a tool for empowerment can be twisted, commodified, and extracted until the soul evaporates. The question: how do we keep our practices—technological or yogic—vital, honest, and nourishing?

🛠️ Yoga as Technology, Not Just a Tool

Yoga, especially something as methodical as Ashtanga, is a technology—a culture-changing, society-shaping process that extends far beyond mere physical exercise. Like any tool, its true power depends on the spirit in which it’s used, taught, and shared. When yoga is commodified solely for profit, it can lose its original drive for transformation and community—mirroring the digital shift Doctorow critiques.

But unlike a social media algorithm, yoga invites us to participate actively, to discern when we’re drifting toward shallow consumption rather than deep transformation. This is karma yoga in real time: how we create, consume, and support shapes cause and effect, for us and for everyone we touch. We become responsible stewards of the practices we love.

🌱 Commodification and Discernment

There’s nothing wrong with accessible yoga studios, or with using technology to spread good things. But the market’s gravitational pull can leave little space for depth, lineage, or true community—the places and teachers that hold the space for real, sometimes uncomfortable, growth. If we’re not careful, even our spiritual tools become just another product on the shelf.

Discernment (viveka) is key. Can we notice when a tool becomes an idol? Can we support those who keep the deeper practices alive, even if they aren’t the flashiest or most convenient? Community forms when we spend time with real people, make things with our hands, and share presence—not just content. These are the antidotes to enshittification, whether online or on the mat.

🤝 Hope Over Optimism: Karma in Action

Doctorow ends on a powerful distinction: optimism is believing things will get better on their own; hope is believing our actions matter, that small steps can build something better. In the yoga world, this might mean supporting authentic teachers, seeking out sangha, or simply paying attention to what feels alive and true in your own practice.

Yoga’s karma isn’t just on our mats—it’s in how we engage with the world and the tools it offers us. Each choice, each act of discernment and care, ripples outward. The invitation is to hold on to the roots, keep our eyes open, and create the culture we wish to inhabit, one thoughtful action at a time.

— MJH