A
lot of people now associate me with my love of taking yoga pictures. For
example, I asked a friend in the coffee shop in town the other day to take a
picture of my girlfriends and me. As I handed him my phone, he automatically
said, “Time for a yoga picture?” As hilarious as that is, it’s actually pretty
true. To me, yoga pictures are a great way to “spice” up what could be a plain
ole scenic picture as well as an artful expression. I have tons of pictures
from travels and day-to-day life that are either solely scenic or where I’m
standing awkwardly smiling in front of some mountain or shop. Popping a yoga
pose in there instead of a posed smile makes it more fun and interesting! As a
student of art history, I love envisioning a composition; I enjoy playing with
the pairing of colors and patterns to my surroundings and picking an
appropriate posture for the image I’m seeking to create. It doesn’t always come
out the way I see it in my mind, of course. But I, along with as many people as
I can recruit to join me as possible, have fun trying. And that’s the most
important part.
The
Instagram yoga community is expanding exponentially. There are so many ways to
share inspiration, between the hashtagging system and all of the pose-of-the-day
challenges. These challenges are a great reminder to try to practice every day
and to try to capture a shot or two of that practice, whether it’s of a quick
pose at work or while on a beautiful exotic vacation. I’ve found yogis and
yoginis through these social media pathways that are all over the world, and
I’m lucky enough to be sharing tips, “likes,” and inspiration with them. The
creative representation of such great physicality in various locales (again,
whether in the grocery store or on an exotic beach at sunset) never gets old to
me. I find it simply beautiful and I love starting my day with a scroll through
my Instagram newsfeed. I love being reminded that there are always new places
to take my yoga practice: not only literal geographic locations, but also new
variations of poses that I’ve been practicing for years. Taking yoga pictures
and interacting through them on various social media sites is an exercise for
keeping my creative juices flowing and for keeping my yoga practice fresh. Not
to mention I really enjoy playing around with filters!
Pictures are also a great way to see what you're feeling. I know in my pinchamayurasana scorpion my toes feel like they're an inch away from my head. However, in pictures I see that I'm about 2 feet away! They're a great way to track progress in a posture as well as a way to coach yourself in a pose. You can see the tweaks you need to make for the posture.
