Some of you might already have seen the video starring the international yoga teacher Briohny Smith did for the US fitness chain Equinox some six years ago. At the time the clip caused quite an uproar (mainly in the US, not sure if anybody in Europe cared…) as some considered it to be portraying yoga in an overtly sexual way, not representing the “true spirit” of the practise and exploiting the practise we all love for commercial purposes.
It is said that how we interpret the things we see reveals a lot about ourselves. We can choose to see this video as a sacrilege to an ancient practise, or we can see a beautiful asana flow that clearly has taken years of dedicated, daily work.
It is also up to ourselves to decide if videos like this make us feel somehow less skilled or worthy practitioner of yoga, because our bakasana-to-handstand-press-to-tripod-headstand transitions (hell, any of those asanas individually, never mind the transitions!) are quite not as smooth as Briohny Smith’s. Or, if we choose to see this as an inspirational clip of what the human body is capable with focused, consistent effort.
So, have a look and decide for yourself (and notice the impeccable aligment she has!) Do also check out the parody video below: It might say “parody” in the title but I for one think that guy must have one solid, kick ass practise going on!
