It’s often easy to get wrap up in the stunning photographs we see of people doing yoga poses including our own yoga selfies. They are definitely beautiful and wow-worthy to look at. However, these photos are usually done in a professional manner and with the ultimate goal of looking good for the camera and not with the intention of doing a mindful pose or yoga practice. The result of the photo is months or years of practicing that pose and being able to show it to the world. But it’s not really our yoga practice.
I feel it’s important to educate others, in particular, those people that really want to learn and get inspired by what yoga truly is. So in addition to the yoga selfies that we love to look at and post, I think it would be great to also post photos of what goes beyond yoga selfies, whatever that might be for each individual.
The aspects of yoga that a photo doesn’t communicate is what people new to yoga need to see more of I feel. A yoga selfie won’t show how a person is staying in the moment for instance, or how yoga practice is the means to help us understand and ultimately transcend ourselves through various supportive techniques and disciplines – not only the physical techniques like the poses or asanas but also the concentration, attention, breathing, etc.
Personally, beyond those amazing poses, I feel I am practicing yoga when I am given feedback by my teachers correcting my alignment, or when I am able to be nonreactive to others in my day-to-day relationships if someone says or does something that is off. I am also practicing yoga when I meditate in the morning and/or in the evening, or when I am studying or reading something that furthers my understanding and knowledge of yoga, or when I get up early in the morning with the intention and happiness to go to a yoga class.
So, if you feel moved and want share what practicing yoga means to you or you have a photo that shows what yoga practice means to you, feel free to share below in the comments area.
Happy practicing!
In Sanskrit, the word OM is made up of the three syllables A-U-M. The sound “O” is a diphthong written as “AU”. Each letter represents the 3 divisions of time or psychological states, and visually, the symbol OM consists of three curves, one semicircle, and a dot. The large curve at the bottom symbolizes the waking state or A, the middle curve signifies the dreaming state or U, and the curve at the top is the symbol for the deep sleep state or M. The dot is the fourth state which symbolizes the transcendental state of consciousness also known as Turiya. The semi-circle at the top, which separates the dot from the other three curves, represents Maya or the veil of illusion.
Whether I am chanting OM at the beginning or at the end of yoga class, or in a meditative setting, or in the midst of everyday life, I can really feel the impact this mantra has when I deeply feel its meaning. It’s such a primal sound prior to everything and anything that as I begin to tap into its essence, which is nonseparate from the universe, consciousness or myself, I can really just let go and tacitly know that OM is all there is.