Sharath's video ' Guru to go' - "If everything was easy, there would no charm in that". Plus other videos from Alessandro

Still catching up on what I missed while I was away.

This video on Sharath came out made by Alessandro Sigismondi who I met on Manju's course last week, he was there shooting a documentary, this time on Manju. Alessandro is a lovely guy, you can't miss him, tall, really tall, just don't put your mat behind his as you'll be paranoid every time he jumps back to chatuaranga. He knew my blog too and asked me out of the blue how I was after the kidney stones, really sweet of him to ask.

Favourite quote from the video

"If everything was easy, there would no charm in that".

Not sure I will ever get the vast numbers on these world tours, or in the Mysore shala itself but what's the answer, turn people away? Sharath is in London today, I should have gone, perhaps I would have surprised myself and loved the atmosphere. I should go next year, just to see, perhaps it'll change my mind about Mysore too.

Merchandise, hmmmmm

 Second favourite quote

"When someone needs help, skip practice and go and help them".

Still uncomfortable with the whole 'Guru leading you to the light' thing, did cringe a bit at this shot.

"Only a guru can remove that ignorance in you and take you towards the brightness". 

Here's the full video, but you've seen it before right....

While I was in Rethymno, Crete another video came out, again beautifully shot by Alessandro. This was shot in and around the sights of Rethymno so loved that, M. and I watched it, getting excited at the places we'd already visited, days sometimes hours before.

And yet it made me uncomfortable. Make-up and Yoga makes me uncomfortable, Slinky evening dresses and practice makes me uncomfortable, Focusing attention on the Advanced, the more gymnastic/acrobatic postures makes me uncomfortable when perhaps we're trying to get passed that a little and suggest that the humblest of postures can also be the most advanced with a focused breath and attention. And asana in public makes me uncomfortable ( says me who once posted a picture of myself with my legs beghind my head in a bar as well as the fancy Advanced series shots I've posted here occasionally - hypocrite). But what made me most uncomfortable was the the shot towards the end where Sophie slips the straps off the dress and it falls to the ground..... Making Ashtanga sexy, presenting Yoga as Sexy, really? Is that necessary? I don't care how much sex sells, promotes, attracts interest

But then perhaps I'm being unfair, Alessandro's day job is advertising I believe, creating a little controversy is part of the game, it's not sex that sells perhaps but controversy. Ask yourself, every time a blog post pushes your buttons, if it was perhaps intentional and if your indignant response is playing right into that.

Alessandro and I had hoped to sit down together to do an interview for the blog, I wanted to ask him about the videos as well as what it's like following Sharath and Manju around, being behind the scenes as it where.... next time.

I love you really Alessandro please don't include a shot of my Utthita hasta Padangusthasana in your Manju video : )

Here's Alessandro's 'Lady in Black' Rethymno Video with Sofia Xirotiri

Sophia was practicing in the shala while I was there, a drop in I think rather than on the course, although perhaps Rethymno is her home shala. She has a very powerful 3rd series, strong and stable, amazing handstands. I'm sure I went through a couple of postures and with my slow breathing too only to find her still in the same handstand.

Here's Sophia again, this time in my beloved Athens, but shot by George Charisis·


And yet another from Alessandro, shot in Mysore this time....now practising asana in a busy Mysore Market make me well, you know, uncomfortable but I kind of love these too, damn fine asana beautifully shot, great colours, music whats not to love but can we have one shot at 3am while Mysore sleeps, nice and discreet...oh wait, Mysore never sleeps.

This last one though is perhaps my favourite of all these with the beautiful Anuraag from Ashtanga Yoga Ibiza as well as Gianrenato Marchisio from Yoga Sutra Studio Torino. I'm pretty sure I saw Gianrenato in Rethymno just finishing his practice before our first session with Manju Started.

Look at me the home ashtangi, name dropping



But all these Ashtanga videos....what's going on?

Is this a good thing?

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Here's Alessandro's Blogwebsite Digital Drishti

http://alessandrosigismondi.wordpress.com

his FB page

https://www.facebook.com/digitaldrishti

and Youtube channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGrYPGZabSjx0gSdszbhrgQ

....back to transcribing Manju's Q and A

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UPDATE
I still prefer those simple videos shot in actual shalas, the best ones are those where the room slowly fills up as the light comes in, no focus on any particular practitioner, each asana equal to any other.... just the objective gaze of a video camera stuck in the corner with the record button pressed. Endlessly fascinated by those, I guess by the practice itself, can watch hours of them... these I struggle to watch all the way to the end which is curious. By trying to show the extraordinary we're left with the ordinary. Sophie's practice for example is extraordinary, I've practiced a couple of mats away from her, the concentration, the focus but how to convey that, you'd think a shot of her holding some intricate posture would do it and yet it somehow distracts.... to hold the posture with such steadiness it's the breath, the bandhas, the mental discipline and yet we can't show any of these things, just the external form and even then it's the end result of all the hard work that gone into it,something else not shown....no wonder the videos become boring, all that is powerful in this practice is absent.