The human brain can process images up to 60,000 times faster than words. If information is presented orally, we remember about 10% three days later. However, if a picture is added in, that figure goes up to 65%. "A picture is worth a thousand words" is an English language adage which essentially means something extremely complex in written word can be conveyed instantly and concisely by one still image.

With the arrival of Facebook 15 years ago, we are all now subjected to looking at each others vacation photos, pets, and kid accomplishments. Instagram compounded that and in 2013 "selfie" was the word of the year. I watch my kids so confidently snap photos of themselves and it still feels absurd to me. I thought I could bypass the wave of the Instragram yoga photos. But here we are, many of us (including myself) pivoting how we can conduct our business online and the most efficient way to advertise online is with a good photo or two. (Pro tip: Hire someone Shelby Kroeger Photography).

Looking at photos of yourself is weird and I am sure some people are more comfortable doing that than others. How we obsess over a tiny detail that no one else even notices. Or how empowering it can be to look at ones self and see what someone else sees. A brilliant story on NPR this week showed how using photography at this senior center empowered its residents to see themselves as iconic rock stars. Check it out.

Can you allow all the parts of you to be seen? This week on Facebook I noticed a mother who posted pictures of her with all of her kids on a beach, sun setting behind them. They were perfect....the photos and the people. In the comments she wrote "you should have seen them and hour ago, hair unwashed for days and ketchup all over their faces." I kind of wished she had posted those photos too. The beauty is in being human, not perfect. Every picture has story - you don't only have to pick the polished ones. Careful we are not curating our lives to be seen only in one dimension.

Within the philosophy of yoga, there are several maps of inquiry that we can examine to help us gain a clearer understanding of who we are. The Koshas are an energetic concept that we are made up of 5 sheaths or veils. The Koshas allow us to examine that we are not just a physical body, but within that have a vibrancy and aliveness. We have a mind that can think, imagine and create. We embody wisdom and intuition deep in our being. And lastly the natural grace or bliss that we were all inherently born with and made up of. Yoga practice works in such a way that it allows to to examine each of those layers as we practice. Sure the posture is a physical expression of the body, but when we pair our breath and allow the pose to expand and contract, when we use our minds to imagine and feel different areas of the body, when we allow ourselves the confidence to make choices and trust our inner wisdom to move deeper into a pose or back off completely, and lastly when we tap into that part of ourselves that allows us to feel at peace...happy.

We are complicated beings us humans. SEE and celebrate all parts of yourself.

Please join me online for practice through Zoom as this continues. I also now have a class through CH/LL Chicago that you can download the APP and practice along with. Click any of the links below to take you there.