Over five years ago, a friend said, “You should write a blog about what you are creating as your vision”, i.e. living in community. I took her advice.
Not knowing the first thing about creating a blog, about what content to put on it, or even what the heck I was doing it for, nevertheless I carried on…and on. “Yoga with Eve Grzybowski and “The Ville” blogs probably comprise nearly 1,000 posts by now.
I used to be so shy about revealing myself that most of my early posts displayed only photos. It took a while but I got over being timid. Nowadays I try to tell the truth about what’s going on in my life, partly because I think it’s good yoga practice to be vulnerable and honest. Especially as a yoga teacher.
Since the late nineties when “web logging” started coming into its own, the medium has spread its fingers like a giant amorphous amoeba into every nook and cranny of society, including politics, brand advertising, as well as my style of personal diarising.
I enjoyed reading a recently published piece in the SMH Good Weekend Magazine called “Pret-A-Portal. It features keen followers of fashion who have channeled their passion on line through their blogs. Instead of being slavishly devoted to fashion magazines and the world of catwalks, these intrepid bloggers focus their attentions on people on the streets – taking shots of “real individuals and everyday street style.”
I wonder what would happen if the same kind of exposure were given to real people doing yoga. The covers of yoga magazines, calendar photos, and book images wouldn’t show perfect bodies doing perfect poses, but rather “normal” people doing poses according to varying shapes and sizes and ages. It might give more space for a variety of expressions and less need for competition.
I read and enjoyed the same SMH article! And I often think of all those svelte, lycra-clad bodies when I’m in my trackies with babies nipping at my heels as I attempt to do yoga amid the mess.
The great joy – and danger – of blogging and the associated social media and bookmarking that goes along with it is the way we get to ‘know’ strangers and develop emotions and relations with them, though we may actually have never met in real life. Although it’s a very vulnerable thing to open yourself up to strangers via blogging, it can invoke great affection and inspiration from others. Anyone willing to put their neck out and share themselves with others in a positive way is to be applauded for their courage.
I read and enjoyed the same SMH article! And I often think of all those svelte, lycra-clad bodies when I’m in my trackies with babies nipping at my heels as I attempt to do yoga amid the mess.
The great joy – and danger – of blogging and the associated social media and bookmarking that goes along with it is the way we get to ‘know’ strangers and develop emotions and relations with them, though we may actually have never met in real life. Although it’s a very vulnerable thing to open yourself up to strangers via blogging, it can invoke great affection and inspiration from others. Anyone willing to put their neck out and share themselves with others in a positive way is to be applauded for their courage.