We recently received a call during EWTN’s Wacky Wednesday about the ALO clothing line and whether or not it’s okay for Catholics to wear this apparel due to its focus on yoga.After doing some research, we learned that ALO is not just about yoga clothing – it’s unabashedly rooted in yoga and is very much involved in promoting the practice through its clothing line, studios, foundation, and wellness clubs
The company was founded in 2007 in Los Angeles by two childhood friends named Danny Harris and Marco DeGeorge. They started out selling t-shirts in high school and eventually built a billion-dollar company around a shared passion – yoga.
As this article explains, for Harris, yoga was his “lifeline” and the way that he managed his anxiety. For DeMarco, back surgery at the age of 11 eventually led him to take up the practice for healing, but later admitted that yoga “got me to do things that would change my life.”
The two took this passion for the healing power of yoga to new heights. As this Forbes article explains, Danny Harris and Marco DeGeorge “set out to design apparel that elevates and promotes the healing and transformative powers of yoga” and designed an athletic clothing line that could be worn from “studio to street.”
This was how ALO (stands for air, land, ocean) was born, with one of its goals including “bringing yoga to the world” and “[t]aking the consciousness from practice on the mat and putting it into the practice of life.”
Now a billion-dollar enterprise, the company has many tentacles, including the ALO Foundation which counts among its projects “enabling access to yoga for children and their caregivers, initiatives that promote the mind-body connection to promote mental and physical health and emergency relief for communities . . .”
Their Wellness Clubs are designed to be “at-home” or “on the go” studios and their sanctuaries are stores that feature studios and serve as “vital hubs for ALO’s community and culture.”
Even though it was originally focused on yoga, the line has expanded to include a broader luxury activewear brand, skincare and footwear. Celebrities such as Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid are among its clientele.
Although clothing is just that – clothing – it’s obvious that ALO is about a lot more than just high-end athletic attire, which means the Catholic must decide if they wish to support a company that actively promotes engaging in non-Christian spiritual practices such as yoga and mindfulness.
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