Instead of looking back on the year, I decided to look back over the years…
Here is a collection of some of the yoga photo shoots I have done over the past decade and a half. If you’ve been around for a while, maybe you remember some of these?
Looking back on these, so many external things have changed, namely my body, my hair, my fashion (questionable), my practice, my relationships, my home… but something has remained the same.
This is what yoga aims to remind us of when we chant the mahāvākyāni (great sayings) “so’ham” and “tat tvam asi” (among others).
I am THAT.
I am not this body, I am not this mind.
I am that which is changeless, that which is eternal. That inner guiding light.
So my wish for 2025 is this –
May you (the outer you) continue to change, and may the part of you that is eternal be revealed.
🌀
Photos:
1. 2011 by my dad
This was taken at the Jivamukti Yoga School that existed very briefly in Alexandria (Sydney), where I had my first ever regular classes. I remember both my parents had come to this class (along with one other student). I asked my dad to take a few pictures after class, and this was my first ever yoga “photo shoot”.
2. 2012 by Al Bowd
This was taken by my girlfriend at the time (who also photoshopped the galaxy into the sky). We took the shots at Carriageworks. I felt so badass practicing yoga in an urban landscape while wearing shoes!
3. 2013 by Simon Guthrie
This series was taken by Simon who was practicing with me at the time. He offered for my friend Anna Greer and I to have pictures taken by him in his home studio. It was fun, relaxed and yet felt very professional. I love all the pictures from this shoot. I didn’t know what I was doing, or how to pose, but he made me feel really comfortable.
4. 2014 by Gabriela Fearn
Gaby is such a good friend of mine and was my housemate at the time these photos were taken. It was the early days of Instagram when yoga “challenges” were very cool, as was āsana in front of street art. I’m wearing a Yogeeks singlet, which is my old yoga clothing brand that I had for a few years with my ex partner Al.
5. 2016 by Jones King
This is maybe my favourite picture of me, ever? We shot this at Waverly Cemetery as the sun was setting. I was wearing a ponytail extension, a necklace I borrowed from a friend, and the goth skirt lent to me by another friend. It felt like a very collaborative shoot. This “money shot” was literally a split second of me being balanced on the grass in bird of paradise – I fell out of it the moment after the shutter went off.
6. 2017 by Sam Stephenson
This shoot was done by Sas’ brother Sam, who is an incredible artist. The whole series is such an awesome snapshot of Sas and I in time. I love the contrast in this picture of black/white, up/down, front/back. It was also really fun to do a shoot featuring someone else, especially my love.
7. 2017 by Jones King
This shoot was done by a church in Newtown. I’d recently cut off all my hair and dyed in blonde. I felt really badass in these pictures, but I feel like I look a bit sad?
8. 2020 by Sam Stephenson
Ah, the at-home covid photoshoot. This was the first shoot I did where I did not do any āsana. It was very reflective of the time, and how our practice had evolved as a result of the pandemic.
9. 2021 by Kristina Yenko
After the second lockdown in Sydney (which lasted over 3 months), I once again cut off all my hair and dyed it blonde, and had an incredible 2 hour shoot with Kristina Yenko. I have SO many photos from this session and I love to look back on them. There were costume changes, props, so much direction from her. I truly felt like a model during this shoot, and I’m so grateful to have all these photos.
10. 2024 by Ella Lucy
First shoot in Tassie! New state, new hair, an additional family member… this photoshoot was a return to the outdoors, but in the Tasmanian environment. There was a bit of āsana, but also a great deal of family shots. I love how Ella captured this present moment in time. It’s a real reflection of where I am now.
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