We don’t usually post a lot of videos like this but we’re sharing this one for two reasons: 1) While the yoga and yogi appear to be the focus at first, it’s the people walking by that quickly become the real main subject. 2) Time-lapse video is pretty fantastic in its juxtapositions of time. This one set on London’s iconic Millennium Bridge draws together an interesting parallel of new and old, ancient and modern, and a paradox of finding stillness and flow while existing in the middle of busy life.
The time-lapse of yogi Helen O’Shea was filmed on London Millennium Bridge September 2014. We asked O’Shea about whether or not people (or authorities) had asked her to move along at any point.
“Surprisingly no,” she said. “No one told us to leave and we were there about 2 and a half hours! I was waiting for it to happen but it didn’t, I think, [because] we carefully left enough space that we weren’t obstructing it too much.”
Do you need to practice yoga in the middle of a crowded bridge to prove a point? No. Of course, we don’t recommend going ahead and plopping yourself down in traffic because you want to test your concentration and pratyahara. But next time you’re standing in line at the supermarket or waiting for the subway, we hope this imagery will serve as a subtle reminder that you don’t have to be consumed by it all. In fact, you can just flow along with it. We’re all just passing time.
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Earlier…
I loved this video when I first saw it as it illustrates how much Yoga can benefit our lives in the midst of life or in this case, London’s busy-ness. Becoming too focused on one thing, i.e. succeed or putting bread on the table, can be overwork, it can leave us feeling drained and it can seriously interfere with our capacity to live well, to be curious, to look around. Taking time out to enjoy the landscape, the sky, the river, the Cathedral, the Tate Modern, is a real eye + soul opener. Well done Helen.
What I loved about this video is her yoga flow mimics and is really a part the busy flow of the bridge traffic. When she is in shavasana or meditating, she seems out the activity, yet present. Well done.