Reaching Beyond

Former professional basketball player and Atlanta yoga teacher, Jason Anderson. When I photograph a yogi, I approach the photoshoot with the intention of capturing their individual practice. Each one is unique in its own way. Jason and I went to the beach at sunset on a gloomy June evening. The beach is always bustling with people and tonight was no different. I asked Jason to roll out his mat on the boardwalk and to just begin his practice. I advised him to pretend he was alone and just do whatever sequence he felt like doing. He looked nervous and a bit apprehensive as he took in all the people walking and hanging around. With little conversation we both went to work. I chose a long lens which meant that I needed to be about 20-30 away to get his 6’7’ body completely in the frame. I positioned myself flat on my stomach on the sandy boardwalk while Jason began his practice. His practice was breathtaking and as I clicked frame after frame I got chills.

When he was finished he looked completely different. Calm and radiating this confidence that I hadn’t seen in him before we started shooting. After a few minutes, Jason confided that he was really nervous and self conscious when we started the shoot. He chose to push past the fear and doubt, focus on his breath, and soon everyone around him fell away. He admitted that it was a challenge for him to get past his comfort zone but when he did it was incredible and liberating. He was absolutely vibrating!

To this day, this particular photoshoot is one of my favorites and yielded some of the most powerful and soulful yoga portraits of my collection.

This image is part of the “Inside the Warrior” series.