On Thursday I visited a place south of Asheville called “Lakeview Putt and Play Minigolf and VR Games” so I could write this blog. Shockingly, I don’t own a pair of virtual reality goggles. But before I ventured out into teenage games land, I downloaded the Roblox app on my computer so I could experience a little proto-Metaverse yoga at the Alo Sanctuary first.
Alo (in case you don’t know) is a high-end yoga fashion purveyor whose website parades extreme vata models hawking overpriced tights. This $200M company has stores sprinkled around New York and LA (and one each in Austin and Miami) that they call “Sanctuaries.” Not exactly sure why – a sanctuary from your busy shopping trip because you can sit on a couch? A sanctuary in which to feel body shamed? A sanctuary to relieve you of the burden of your money?
Anywho, when I started doing research for this blog, it was the only place in the metaverse I could find dedicated to yoga. As someone who has never been a gamer (I mean I played Pac-man at the mall when I was in seventh grade occasionally if that counts), it’s pretty weird.
First, I downloaded the Roblox app and found my avatar. From the basic, thrift store worthy selection of free stuff you can get, I picked purple hair, a ripped-up t-shirt, jeans, and a smiley face. Fancier things, like an interesting face, cost money (real money). For $5, $10, or $20 a month I can buy things like a panda, balloons, a purple ponytail, and a Thor hammer to drag around with me. I decided for the purpose of writing a blog about metaverse yoga, Goodwill style was going to be just fine.
My avatar
Next, I found the Alo Sanctuary game and pushed play.
The intro video made me queasy (let’s remember at this point that I’m not even wearing VR goggles – which will take nausea to whole new heights, but I’m getting ahead of myself). I’m just sitting here at my computer screen and there’s a sort of slow-moving camera pan across a cartoonish, water-falled island (probably off the coast of Costa Rica or Bali, cuz where else do yoga folks go to get sanctuaried?).
A voice over of someone who sounds like Tara Brach on benzos welcomes me to the sterile space and I land in the entry way.
Now what?
I couldn’t figure out how to move for about the first 5 minutes. Quite embarrassing. I move my mouse around. Nothing happens.
Lots of people run by me wearing things like bows and arrows, machine guns, teddy bears, and bagel hats. Why am I just standing here looking around? Then I remembered something from watching my son play Minecraft when he was about 10 – something about using the arrows on the keyboard? So I try it and it works! I’m moving, thank God! I hope no one noticed.
They didn’t.
They were too busy treasure hunting yoga poses. Which, apparently, is the thing to do in the virtual Alo yoga sanctuary. You don’t have to actually do any poses, you just run around till you find statues of them, then you get points.
I ran over to the yoga studio space. As I approached a woman’s voice gets louder. She’s teaching a completely inaccessible, hypermobile, “hip opening” class which peaks with a crazy horizontal split. But, I am told I can’t participate because I don’t have a mat and I need to go get one from the Alo store.
But I don’t have enough credits to get a mat.
I keep seeing orbs and remember from watching my son play Pokemon Go that orbs are supposed to be good so I catch a bunch of them and then I can buy a yoga mat. After I get it, I roll it out in front of the video screen. My avatar can do triangle pose, because that’s the only pose I’ve found so far – good because she won’t tear her labrum like the teacher is probably doing at the moment.
Being rather disappointed with the yoga class, I leave without fear of offending anyone and go off to the meditation room. It’s in a high-ceilinged dome with a platform in the middle surrounded by a pool (or maybe a moat of piranhas, I don’t know).
I stay for a 1 minute meditation (doing that somehow gets me more credits, but at this point I can’t be bothered figuring out how or why) during which time I listen to another slightly anesthetized female voice tell me to breathe in for 6 seconds and breathe out for 6 seconds.
Okay, why not.
Then my meditation is over and I get up to leave.
Only I fall in the moat surrounding the platform instead. I start swimming around. There’s a fish in there (could be a piranha). I have no idea how to get out.
I’m drowning.
Other people see me in there and jump in too, but they jump out quickly. When I write “help” in the chat box everyone ignores me (kinda like going to a yoga class in LA).
Then I got bold and wrote, “Excuse me, I have never played any video games before, can someone please tell me how to jump so I can get out of this pond?”
The responses were mostly shocked and/or laughing emojis, and a bunch of OMGs. Okay, okay. I’m old! Just please help me. Someone kindly tells me to push the space bar. And with that, I jump out. Whew.
Then I sit down on a sanctuary chair to dry off and recover from my virtual near death experience. A cute girl wearing an “Alo” shirt comes over and sits next to me. She offers to help me better understand the game and asks me if I want to be her friend. Then she kindly teaches me how to friend her. We chat a bit and then she says goodbye because she has to go to school.
It was adorable… and a little sad.
Really Virtual
So anyway, now I’m an official Alo yogi gamer. I guess? I have an avatar! With purple hair! Woot woot!
But, to really write about the future of yoga in the Metaverse, I need to see what it would be like wearing the VR goggles in Alo’s sanctuary. I called around town thinking I could go try out something at Target or BestBuy but they do not allow test drives. Just gotta buy the damn goggles, which I’m not prepared to do. So, I get in the car and drive to Lakeview Putt and Play Minigolf and VR Games where I rent a headset for $20 for a half hour.
When I get there, a very nice woman explains that their system is ancient (a whole four years old) and isn’t connected to the Internet so I can’t visit Alo. Also, they only have a certain number of games that you can play but she’ll try to find me something meditative.
She puts me in the headset and shows me how to use the hand device thingies. Then she loads me in. (I have an urge to say, “I know Kung Fu”)
Suddenly I’m in a huge room with a massive screen in front of me. I point my laser hand at a nature walk game which takes me to a huge landscape of trees, grass and mountains. I walk around a bit (well, I didn’t actually move, it just looks like I’m walking around because the scenery is moving. It’s nauseating so I stop near a river and ask her to take me back to the game selection.
The woman explains how to get back into the main room and tells me how to switch to a medieval village game where I shoot arrows at trolls for a few minutes. With my little hand control thingies, I’m getting pretty good at archery, but still no yoga happening. Then she suggests I try an escape room game. Again, not at all like yoga, but whatevs, here goes.
She doesn’t quite know how to play the escape room game so she watches YouTube videos on her phone while I’m fumbling around with little rocks, vases, and gem stones. Hard as I tried, I can’t smash the vases. But then she explains that the point of the game is to try to figure out how to get out of the tiny room.
Oh.
I realize I’m in a tiny 4 x 6 medieval dungeon kind of room. Claustrophobia is setting in.
I throw a rock at a ladder above my head which then descends and magically transports me to a new room where I have to take the gemstones and stick them in a box to move to the next level. I work that out after some more fumbling with my weird hands, and move to a room without a wall, hanging over an abyss. I try to jump off the edge figuring if I kill myself, I’ll get to leave the game, but it won’t let me.
Finally, the 30 minutes are over (that was only 30 minutes?!) and she helps me take off the mask and the hand control thingies. I am sweaty and disoriented. So, I thank her and leave. Out in my car, I sit and breathe for a while. I’m feeling green and clammy but I pull myself together and start the car. Still, I need to stop at Wholefoods and buy a bottle of ginger kombucha to quell the waves of nausea. I couldn’t eat much that night. I just went to bed early.
When I tell my husband about my experience with VR he diplomatically opines, “Gosh, you really felt like you needed to do that all for this blog, huh?”
Follow the Money
Futurist Thomas Frey has said that we are at the beginning of a new age in digital reality. Instead of an atom-based world, he argues, we will engage in a byte-based world using Augmented Reality (AR) senses like in The Matrix.
Billionaire CEO of tech company Nvidia, Jensen Huang, anticipates that the virtual world will soon economically surpass the physical world. Noticing all the cool things the other avatars were wearing in the Alo Sanctuary and that it’s just the tip of the iceberg of ways to spend your parent’s money in Roblox, I get it.
The Global Wellness Institute released reports on the wellness industry in 2018 and 2021. They found that mindful movement was the fastest growing activity prior to 2020 and shrank the least during the pandemic.
Yoga is here to stay, and it’s already in the Metaverse – well sort of.
After my experiences in the Alo sanctuary and despite my nauseating VR experiences (my proprioceptors and vestibular system just said no) I think I’m starting to get it. Many people have become isolated, particularly during the pandemic, and find some sense of connection online, like the schoolgirl who saved me from drowning. But there are elements of addiction and escapism at play. And digital corporations prey on these vulnerabilities. Alo is no innocent provider of yoga fantasy, they see the writing on the wall, they are out in front.
I am feeling a little disillusioned (and did I mention queasy?) about the whole thing. Yes, I get that’s how the world is going, I understand the digital age is here to stay. Maybe, as I wrote in last week’s blog, as the Metaverse evolves, it will support human evolution as well.
But it’s not there yet. And, at this point I’m not ready for the matrix. I’ll stick with real yoga on my real yoga mat in my real life – where I almost never feel like vomiting.
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Thank you for subjecting yourself to that in the name of research so I (or other readers of your posts) don’t have too. I really mean that. I don’t think my vestibular system or my vision would have liked any of that one bit! I vaguely remember my daughter playing Club Penguin, and I was struck then at all the things you could buy. And could should probably be in quotation marks.
Thanks Sara it was an… ahem…adventure to be sure.
I was cracking up while reading this!! My son calls this BOOMER-ISM. I was completely agreeing with you on all points. I am also a gamer of the arcades in the 70’s and have never ventured into today’s gamer world. I too will stick to what I can see, touch, smell, taste and hear in the REAL world. BOOMERS UNITE!
Ah well, if “boomer” means VR makes you throw up, then I fit that description (although technically I’m a Gen Xer!)
I like Sara thank you for giving us the experience through your adventure and know now I probably will never venture where you did. I will stick to my yoga on or off my mat.
Thanks Susan!
This was hysterical! I laughed through the whole thing and can totally relate. Thank you for the respite!
thanks Char – glad it was fun!
How bizarre! You are a brave woman😀 Thanks for giving me some insight into Roblox. Now I’ve got an idea of what those Roblox gift cards tat my grandson requested for Christmas are used for. But I really don’t want to think about what they might have purchased. And thanks for venturing into the Metaverse for our edification.
Hilarious!! Well said!!
And if “Billionaire CEO of tech company Nvidia, Jensen Huang, anticipates that the virtual world will soon economically surpass the physical world” says this is our future, there will be a lot of dead people decomposing while sitting at computers!
Thanks for subjecting yourself to all of that, so we don’t have to. I know I would feel just as nauseous as you did. My son write VR video games. He had a head set and game for us to play at the holidays. I opted out! It was fun watching everyone else. I know the kids have fun, but I will stick with real life, real contact with people, when I practice yoga or play games.
Well, somebody had to do it. LOL. Please ask your son what he thinks yoga is going to look like in the Metaverse. I’d love to hear an insider’s opinion!
Thanks for introducing me to this world. This is truly queasy making and makes me a little fearful of the future. Like Russian propaganda.
Hi! yes, something like that LOL!
Thank you for the adventure and the insight. I too will stick to my (lol) my mat & cushion. Having experienced vestibular issues in the past, I will stay far away. Thanks for your brave spirit!
Thanks Kitty! me too!
Thank you for this blog post Kristine! Your reflections of your experience with VR (and Roblox, in particular) resonated with me on SO many levels. I’m also a Gen-X’er with some gaming experience in my adolescence: Ms.PacMan, Centipede, Frogger, and various Driving games back in the day. As it turned out, I learned early on, my nervous system preferred IRL (in real life) experiences to virtual exploration. In fairness, the virtual worlds I was exploring in the 80’s were far less exciting and far more cartoon-y than many are now, which caused me to bore of them quickly and move on whether I felt compelled and/or challenged to master them or not……in most cases, NOT.
Going back to Roblox (and your experience of Alo), I have two teens who are rather savvy with many games – watching them navigate their way through any new game seems to be a result of their highly developed computer keyboard or game console dexterity rather than their IRL physical / motor skills. While I’ve observed both their gaming skills with many positive reactions – amusement, admiration, and awe, I also notice a degree of anxiety in myself regarding the darker issues that gaming can contribute to – physical disconnection from REAL nature, attention hijacking and addiction. My daughter was 9 when she discovered she could BUY pretty things on Roblox and it was a tough discussion to get her to realize there wasn’t a lot her IRL SELF that was benefiting when she spent IRL $ & IRL TIME ‘improving’ her VIRTUAL SELF. Fast forward 5 years – she’s a highly sensitive adolescent who has struggled – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually – to navigate very different IRL and Virtual realities than I ever did.
I must confess I live in a household that does own a Metaverse VR headset – my husband purchased it a few months ago after we had fun as a family at a local VR arcade and as an ‘escape’ during the long, cold and dark Canadian winter. While we were all initially awed by the felt sense of being IN A GAME the headset provided (Angry Birds and Gorilla Tag are pretty entertaining), it took me less than 20 seconds to realize a VR roller coaster is FAR more nauseating than an IRL heart stopping ride as I ripped the headset off my head mid-ride and dizzyingly staggered to the bathroom. That’s not to say I haven’t picked it up again! In fact, my family encouraged me to search the many available apps for something that suited me – I found TRYP (a meditation and focus app) to be somewhat aligned with my desired mindful lifestyle – you can even sit and listen to a few ‘talks’ given by Jack Kornfield with other meditation students! While this might provide a great ‘jumping off point’ for DIY Beginning meditators, alas, the novelty of virtually sitting close to a renowned & celebrated mindfulness teacher has worn off for me with the weight & pressure of the VR headset causing too many unpleasant sensations to meditate ‘comfortably’.
So while the virtual world continues to grow and provide novel opportunities to engage with, I will continue to seek refuge from my IRL yoga & meditation practice for my IRL body & nervous system.
Thank you so much for shedding your light on this subject.
So many good points Christina! It makes me sad for sensitive young kids for sure. But they seem to have resources that we don’t. Thanks for sharing your story!
Hi Kaoverii!
Years ago (about 15) I was at Disney with my girls. They so wanted to ‘go on’ the VR Aladdin ‘ride’. So we did. Much like your adventure I raised my hand almost immediately upon starting and began begging to get ‘off or out’ like the attendant promised. Woof. I was 45 at the time. I sadly have not improved or gotten with the VR age. I prefer bare feet on the ground, sensing everything around me. Did yoga progressively do this to us or were we never meant to evolve with Nvida, Roblox etc? I kind of really like being a dinosaur. Did I mention I have a degree in *** wait for it **** computer science? LOL! Sue
Hahahaha! I love it! Well, IDK, I think I’m meant to be on a mat, not behind glasses myself. But who knows what’s next!
I FEEL sick…uuuuggghhhhh
It was fun though, in a weird way…but yes, very nauseating!
Kristine,
Just reading about your experience made my BP go up a few points! I’m 68 and feel certain that I would not have navigated this virtual world nearly as well as you. Hats off to you!
I’ll stick (no pun intended) to my real mat and enjoy the moving meditation that yoga brings to my life.
Thanks for putting yourself out there and sharing you experience with everyone.
Namaste
Thanks for doing the thorough exploration so i/we dont need to.
I think the meat-averse will become the every day persons access to yoga. Which is a shame, especially if it gets co-opted (further) by corporations, diluting and twisting it until it’s macdonaldised.
I do think that authentic yoga teachers will be sort after by wealthier individuals and or corporations, as they will be needed to counter the nervous system disconnect/interruptions, by every day life.
Purely because it will be understood that efficiency and optimum work out put is dependent on workers/managers functioning properly.
It’s a brave new world where I think we as yoga teachers, need to decide what future we want BEFORE it is decided for us.
Perhaps it’s time for a good old fashioned yoga guild, to protect the lineages/methods/histories.
Yes I like that idea – what do we want the future to be rather than succumbing to market forces
Thanks, that was very funny !
💖 THanks Celena!
I giggled my way through this. As an ex school teacher I’ve spent weekends and stayed up late preparing or doing the activities I wanted the class to do. Thank you for doing this for us. I’m so happy to have vicariously experienced this through you. Watching the one and only 3D movie I’ve ever seen Avatar, left me scared for life.
Bwahaha! I would probably have been nauseous during a 3D Avatar too LOL!
Thanks for enduring that. I like your husband’s comment. I think you did have to experience it to write about it, who knew. Your writing and experience paint a detailed picture with laughs as always. But all I can think of is the lack of movement and brain function for all the participants. Yikes. I will stick with the live stuff.
It was an interesting experiment – that’s all I can say – weird!
Just can not do it – virtual will always mean “not real” to me !
I hear you!
I tried VR once and felt totally sick just after one min. My senses couldn’t take it! Apart from overstimulation, which many people may not feel, if they are used to it, the biggest health threat will be exposure to Wi Fi so close to the brain. Pulsed electromagnetic radiation has a negative effect on human biology. You can find out more here: https://ehtrust.org/virtuality-reality-health-faqs/ This site has extensive database of research on how EMF impact health and its effect on the environment. I have recently discovered that my home wi-fi gives me anxiety, tension and insomnia. I have now put all devices on wired ethernet cables and my symptoms disappeared. Many people don’t have electromagnetic sensitivity but nevertheless, their health may decline because of it. There is a correlation between heavy usage of mobile phones next to the ear and brain tumours. Young people are especially vulnerable.
How beautiful this blog is. Thank you so much for this amazing blog.