Yogini Hanny Chandra in Añjali Mudrā

My last days living in New Olreans were spent preparing for my big move to NYC, and getting in some final NOLA YOGA PHOTO Project portrait sessions. Many of those sessions have yet to be edited and posted, but this session with Hanny Chandra, which was the last session I did, is getting special treatment since it is a paid assignment (the rest will be coming soon!).

I got a call from Hanny’s boyfriend William a couple weeks before. He lives in Austin and she in NYC, and they were planning a rendezvous in New Orleans. She loves yoga and he thought it would be nice to surprise her with a photo session. I delayed my departure by two days to accommodate this happening, and am glad I did because it was a wonderful experience, and it turned out I needed some extra time to tie up loose ends anyway. The universe is always looking out for me. Give thanks.

Yogi Derek Goodwin photographing yogini Hanny Chandra – photo by boyfriend William Sandler

William arranged for Hanny to come to a Swan River yoga class with my teacher Keith Porteous, which I was also attending. It was a special class for me because I was saying goodbye to Keith. At the end of class William introduced me to Hanny and she was wonderfully surprised to find out about her gift. We took some initial photos at the Swan River Mid City Mandir while William took his motorcycle to bring us coffee. Not sure how he managed that but I was duly impressed.

William had the idea to have Hanny pose on his motorcycle so we tried some fun stuff with that, and then moved on to City Park to get some really wonderful images there. Hanny told me that she is not comfortable having her picture taken but she was actually one of the most fun and experimental subjects I have worked with.

The other neat aspect to this story is that Hanny lives in NYC (and practices at the Yoga Room) so I will have the opportunity to photograph her some more in the big apple. What a wonderful world!

Thanks Hanny & William, for the fun time and amazing images!

This is me at the New Orleans Museum of Art doing a version of Vasisthasana – side plank pose

This post is for you, my friends, family, teachers, and community. Today I paid for my Jivamukti yoga teacher training thanks to the generous donations and support I have received from you!

About a week ago today it looked like I was not going to make it. I had put all of my faith and hope in the universe providing for me, but as the rush of Mardi Gras wore off I saw that I was still quite far from having the money that I needed to pay for the training. I had my moment of doubt.

I posted an event on facebook asking for donations, and many of you came through with small and large donations. My mother, who follows me on the site, gave the biggest of all. I was not going to ask my parents for anything, they have helped me so much in my life. But there it was. Thanks mom!

The biggest relief came today as I called the Omega Institute to make a payment and was surprised that the total amount due was much less than I had expected. It turns out that the Jivamukti scholarship I was awarded by Jivamukti founders Sharon Gannon and David Life was almost four times what I thought it was! I am so grateful to them for extending this opportunity to me, and am making a vow to pass their compassion and spiritual wisdom on to everyone I can as I walk this path.

I would also like to thank everyone who participated in the NOLA Yoga Photography Project, donating money to my teacher training fund in exchange for photographs. The project will continue, and when I return to New Orleans in the fall I will be putting together an exhibit of the photographs I have made at Swan River’s Mid City studio.

To show my gratitude I am posting my favorite photos from the yoga photography sessions I have done so far (hard to narrow down, but am posting one of each), for y’all to enjoy. Blessings to you!

AcroYoga at the Fly in Audubon Park

This was not a commissioned photo shoot, but this was the first one that was exclusively yoga and going to be included in the portfolio. This is AcroYoga, a combination of acrobatics and yoga. Aaron Lind is ‘basing’ Libby Bryan, who is ‘flying’. Aaron and Libby are both teachers at Swan River Yoga and also dear friends to me. The shoot took place in Audobon Park, and the complete set of photos is here.

Mary Kuzmovich doing Hanumanasana in the French Quarter

This is my friend Mary Kuzmovich, one of the first people to take me up on the offer. We went to a building in the French Quarter and took some shots up on the roof, as well as this one on the fire escape. I love the stockings! See all the pictures here.

Dana Shamas doing Urdhva Dhanurasana in City Park, New Orleans

Dana Shamas teaches Jivamukti in Houston, TX. She contacted me after Swan River sent an email to their mailing list out about my project. We went to City Park and had a nice time trying out some different settings and poses.  love the way the curve of her body mirrors the trees behind her. See Dana’s lovely face and the rest of the photos we took here.

Aaron Lind doing Adho Mukha Vrksasana, or handstand

This is Aaron Lind doing Adho Mukha Vrksasana, or handstand, at the Swan River Marigny studio. This picture was taken for more utilitarian purpose than artistic, and I hope to do some more artistic ones with Aaron soon. He needed a picture of himself doing a handstand for his AcroYoga teacher training application and this is the one he submitted. You can see by the electric conduit going up the wall behind him how perfectly vertical he is! Aaron has been a great friend and inspiration to me. He plays in a kirtan band and teaches AcroYoga and Swan River yoga with an Anusara influence. The yoga community and my life in general is full of amazing, strong, and beautiful women so it is great to have a male friend and mentor like Aaron to balance that energy.

Another photo taken at the Swan River Marigny studio – this is Heath Stevens ‘basing’ Rachel Geffen while Ethan McElhinney looks on. Heath has been a good friend and AcroYoga partner and had me take some photos to promote a class he was teaching uptown. We have spent many hours practicing AcroYoga together and we will be doing another photo session soon, but for now I want to include this one to honor his contribution to my growth.

Keith Porteous doing Goddess pose in Audubon Park

This is my beloved Jivamukti teacher Keith Porteous. What you might not notice in this photo is that she is nine months pregnant! I took other photos that show her belly, but the expression on her face here is what really moves me. The compassion and love Keith has shown me since moving to New Orleans has had a deep influence on my life. I feel her recommendation for me to read the book The Diamond Cutter: The Buddha on Managing Your Business and Your Life” helped me come into a better relationship with my money and business, and possibly made all this possible. I love you Keith! See our entire photo shoot here.

Lily flying on my feet

When I first started the project I was not getting much response, so decided to go to the Model Mayhem website to see if there were some models who could do yoga to get the portfolio going. For this I did not receive any donation to the project, but got a chance to work with some great people and make some fun images. This is Lily, and in exchange for helping me out I gave her an AcroYoga lesson. Here she is ‘flying’ on my feet while I take the photo, which was a bit difficult for me! I love the expression on her face and the sunlight refracting in the lens. See our entire session here.

Andy Craig in Trikonasana

Andy Craig wanted some photos of himself so that an artist friend could paint him using them as references. After a yoga class we went to my house and did these in the back yard. Much of what I love about New Orleans is the old houses and peeling paint. The background is actually a shed that one of my roommates lives in. I hope to add more stuff like this to the portfolio.

Steph Smith in tree pose at City Park

I had a fun session with Swan River teacher Steph Smith. We took some photos on her back porch and then headed to City Park, where this image was captured. Steph is a wonderfully genuine person and we had nice conversations and got to know each other a little better. Here she is doing tree pose, Vrksasana, in front of some gorgeous trees.

My Jivamukti teacher Libby Bryan

One of the coolest jobs I got from the project was a chance to photograph the Lululemon Athletica ambassadors. Lululemon is a store that sells clothing and accessories for yoga and other sports. The company looks for outstanding yogis and athletes in the community to represent the brand. Lululemon is socially responsible, environmentally sensitive and community oriented. Their clothes are pricey but super comfortable, stylish and sweat-absorbing.

This photo is of my Jivamukti teacher Libby Bryan, who has been one of my main pillars of support as I move towards my teacher training. She runs the Swan River Mid City yoga studio and organized a benefit class there to raise money for my training. She also had me photograph her wedding, the very first shoot for this project. Beyond all that she has been a great friend, and an inspiration as a teacher. I love you Libby!

Cat McCarthy, lululemon ambassador and Anusara certified teacher

Cat McCarthy is another one of the Lululemon ambassadors. She teaches Anusara yoga at her own studio, NOLA Yoga. Anusara is a style that I have studied a bit at the Yoga Sanctuary in Northampton, MA. It is focused on proper alignment and celebrating the joy of life, and I will definitely be integrating it into my practice. I was blessed to have this opportunity to meet Cat, and we will be doing another photo session soon. I love how the root of the tree in this photo mirrors the arch of her back. Thanks to Lindsay Leaver and all the folks at Lululemon for hooking me up with this job! See the whole Lululemon shoot here.

Lynn Austin at City Park

One of my favorite sessions so far has been this one with Lynn Austin. We hit City Park just as the sun was setting and caught some of the beautiful golden lighting of late afternoon, and then kept going on into darkness. This image is of Lynn in the crook of a huge tree that extends out over the water (I was balancing above the water to take it). The branch over the water had partially split from the tree and created this cool clamshell, and I had Lynn pose in a way that was organic to the shape. One of the great things about the project is getting to meet the people in the yoga community, and Lynn and I hit it off over the course of the session. Lynn also took the photo of me at the top of the page! There are so many great pictures and you can see them all here.

This is the last session, with another of the Model Mayhem models, Emily. We went to the Botanical Garden at City Park and spent a nice afternoon taking photos. I have not edited them all yet, but this one is one of the ones I like best so far. Emily was very sweet and fun to work with, and we got to climb a tree together as well. I love my work!

This is my beloved teacher Michele Baker in her home. Michele is my “Jivamukti Sistah”. Those who know her do not really need much explanation, she is just a sweet, loving, dedicated and compassionate light to the yoga community and to New Orleans. When I first arrived here and took her classes the New Orleans Saints were working their way toward the Superbowl and her dharma talks often included them. I was in a sad space and this integration of sacred and mundane filled me with happiness, and taught me much about being a yogi. More recently, ss I was facing the possibility that I wouldn’t have enough money to make the teacher training, she counseled me and helped sooth my anxieties with practical and loving advice. Michele is the co-founder of Swan River Yoga, which currently has four locations in New Orleans. I love you Michele, thank you so much for being a light to us all!

I would also like to thank Sarah Quintana, Nathalie Croix of Shanti Shala Yoga, Gregory & Vincent from Deity Arts of the Orient, the mysterious Sparro, and Sean Johnson at Wild Lotus Yoga, all of whom had me take photos of events and beautiful subjects that don’t fit into the yoga asana portfolio, but contributed to my yoga fund. Thanks to all of you for helping me on my path!

I hope you have enjoyed these photos, please leave some comments for me on this post. Thank you all so much for your support! If anyone would like to set up a photo session please use the contact form on this site. Lokaha Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu – May all beings everywhere be happy and free!

Jacksun Slaughter leads class while Libby Bryan gives an adjustment

This morning I was blessed to have a yoga class at Swan River Yoga’s Mid City Center given in my honor. I do not have any words to fully express my gratitude to my teacher and mentor, Libby Bryan, for organizing the class. She has been a champion of my cause, a light who gives me hope and strength, and the example of what I aspire to be as a yoga teacher.

This class was led by Libby and her friend and fellow yoga teacher Jacksun Slaughter, who I got to meet through this process. Jacksun is an activist and gave a beautiful dharma talk before the class, about the power of giving and the emergence of a gift economy that we are all pioneers in creating. The proceeds from the class are to go to my Jivamukti yoga teacher training. I am but a monk holding out a begging bowl at this point in my life, taking a giant leap of faith and believing that the universe will catch me.

Libby Bryan demonstrates the peak balancing pose

I used to wonder about the spiritual seekers of the East, wandering with their begging bowls seeking alms. To the Western mind this seems like a selfish way to live, expecting others to support you while you follow your bliss. In the East, however, there is the wisdom that we are all connected by our karma. When we help another person on their path we receive benefit on our own. The more selfless we are, the happier we become.

We will play with a child or scratch a dog’s belly because it gives them pleasure, and also gives us pleasure. It is much the same with helping each other in more profound ways. For example, when playing music, we can become shy and nervous when we think of how other’s perceive our talent. If instead we play with the thought that the music will bring happiness to others, or that we are playing in devotion to the divine, then we lose the inhibition and our hearts open, and our music becomes beautiful. It is in selflessness that we reach our highest potential.

Jacksun Slaughter in Warrior pose

I have a gift inside of me. I am a teacher, a healer, and a visionary. I say this with an inevitable tinge of ego, certainly, but also with infinite humility and gratitude. I follow this path of a yogi to temper my qualities and teach me to be a peaceful warrior. I have found such a wellspring of love in this community, and hope to give back. To deepen and share my wisdom, to honor the sacred web of life that connects us all. To save the animals, the humans and the planet.

This morning’s class was so amazing. I hardly knew anyone that showed up. At first I felt a blue note that none of my closest friends were there to support me. Then I realized how auspicious it was that this room full of strangers had come on my behalf. My friends support me every day in my happiness. These people came to help a stranger. Between the two I am infinitely blessed.

At the start of the class I sat to the right of Libby, with Jacksun to the left, to sing kirtans. Libby said that when we help one person amongst us on their spiritual path it lifts us all up. I am humbled to be in this position, and hope that I will uplift those around me on their path. I hope I can return the support I have been given exponentially to this community. I am in love with all of you. My heart and life for you. I am your warrior and servant, your friend and companion. I bow to the light in you, and am here to help keep it burning bright in all of us. Namaste.

Om Bolo Sat Guru, Bhagavan, Qi. Jai!
(God is the only Real teacher, Alluleulia!)

Libby and Jacksun, thank you so much for all you do.

Swan River Jivamukti teacher Keith Porteous poses in lotus position at the Marigny studio ten days before her baby is due

Today I woke up in a state of bliss. The sun was shining as I walked to the Green Project to get some hardware for my Mardi Gras costume (The Human Photo Booth). I had the new Radiohead album playing on my iPod, Thom Yorke’s sweet familiar voice soothing my soul. As I walked balanced on the railroad tracks alongside of Press Street I slowly waved my arms up and down as if they were wings, feeling the strong winds blowing on my bare skin from the Mississippi River.

This thought occurred to me; “I am exactly who I was meant to be.” I felt goosebumps move across my skin. It was a feeling of pure love, of being held in the arms of the universe. One verse, one love, one me.

The second deep blessing of the day came during my thursday Jivamukti class, held at the Swan River studio in the Marigny and taught by my dear teacher Keith Porteous. Keith is 10 days from her pregnancy due date, and it was one of the last classes she will be teaching for a while. I asked to accompany her on ukulele for the kirtan (sacred chant) before class and she happily obliged me. I suggested we sing Bhajamana Ma, a chant for the Divine Mother, in honor of her pregnancy.

The chant in Sanskrit is “Bhajamana Ma Ma Ma Ma. Ananda mayi Ma Ma. Ananda rupa Ma Ma.” ~ translated by Swan River co-owner Michele Baker, in English it means “I give all of my love to the Divine Mother. Take from me all that is not free, and allow me to experience eternal bliss, dearest Mother.”

It is beautiful that the word “Ma” means the same in modern English as in ancient Sanskrit. A sound as simple and profound as Aum. In western religions the mother is downplayed and the father is the ultimate expression of divinity. I believe that this imbalance has led us down a destructive path. We all need the compassion and nurturing nature that comes from the feminine aspect of divinity to heal the toxicity and war that we have wreaked upon the Earth.

I have been blessed in my life to be surrounded by strong and beautiful women. They are all my teachers in their various roles in my life; Some as friends, some lovers, some strangers who share a moment, some mothers and grandmothers who have brought life through their bodies into the world. They are all manifestations of the divine.

As a photographer I get to ask people to do silly things and they often do them. This makes us both happy.

As I practice yoga asanas I strengthen my connection to the Earth, the mother of all life as we experience it. Asana means “seat”, and somehow these postures that we work on day after day connect us to the Earth. The illusion of separation from the source of life slowly fades as our hearts open and we learn to “sit” in alignment with the divine.

To see my beloved teacher Keith with her mamma’s belly so big and round fills my heart with love. What a blessed child to be born with her as a mother. What a blessed soul I am to have her as a teacher. How blessed we all are to have each other. Share your gratitude with the mothers in your life, and you will find the blessings returning to you, the flowers of wisdom blossoming all around you, and your connection to the Earth becoming stronger.

Please visit my NOLA Yoga Photography Project to see more photos of I have taken of yogis and yoginis, and to find out how you can help me on my path to becoming a yoga teacher.

Aaron Lind doing a scorpion handstand

My friend Aaron Lind came from New Orleans to take the immersion also. Aaron is a yoga teacher at Swan River Yoga which is where I practice Jivamukti and Anusara yoga while I am in the Big Easy, as well as the Swan River style. Aaron was the one who first introduced me to AcroYoga through a class he teaches called Symbiotic Yoga. It was fitting that I got to practice with him at the immersion. I also secured a place for him to stay while he was there, at my friend Brian’s apartment.

On friday night after the immersion was over we found ourselves up on the roof of Brian’s building. As was our usual routine by this point, we started practicing asana. I realized it was a great photo op and got my camera and started photographing Aaron. After a while we switched roles and he got some nice photos of me. The glowing light balls in the photos are my LED glow poi, which make for nice portable lighting…

If you would like to see photos of the AcroYoga immersion check out my flickr photo set. I am about to begin a yoga photo project here in New Orleans that I will reveal details about soon, so stay tuned!

A photograph I took at COSM Fire 2007

i was already there before i took the mushroom. the soft hairs on my skin were bristling to the invisible pull of the future, there was a subtle energy running through me. i could not see the future but i could feel it, that something was about to come over me. like watching a storm move across the ocean, perched on a column of stones being misted by waves that thrust against the shore.

i had always imagined that i would have to memorize thousands of pages of my own writings to understand myself. the universe whispers, it leaves signs and traces. i have known for some time that i am more than me. i have waited for the manifestation of my higher self. thoughts flow through me like water, from a spring eternal. i have read and forgotten scriptures, buried them in me like dead sea scrolls. the god that can be remembered is not the true one. there is nothing we can hold on to.

i find the trouble with writing any miracle down is i. i is ego. where to put i in the midst of the miraculous? i wants to be the miracle. i wants to say “i am the one who manifests this!” yet the miracle dissolves as soon as it is described. i believe that last night i channeled the divine. i ingested a hearty dose of medicine and the universe poured into my being. or perhaps i just imagined it did.

the COSM fire was beautiful, with mushroom sculptures burning inside of a perfect sheath of flames, beckoning the autumnul equinox. it was a fire that drew me to it before it was lit. when i was unable to find a ride i decided to rent a zipcar so that i could be beside it. i drove two and a half hours bristling with energy. something deep was running through me.

for some time i just sat with the flame, a little closer than anyone else present. where normally i would have been extremely uncomfortable from the heat i instead felt nourished by it. i heard people around me talking about me, and realized they were talking about themselves. they projected onto me who they thought i was. or perhaps i projected onto them who i thought they thought i was. crossing my legs i moved closer to the flames.

fire ritual new years eve 2006

soon the asanas began to work through my body. mudras shaped my hands and fingers. i began to sing. this sound that has come to me before. deya. deya. i found that i could stare into the intensity of the fire without blinking. i could feel my eyes healing themselves. my shoulders that had been aching and damaged for years began to heal. i twisted myself into shapes that helped me heal. i sang for everyone there, to heal them too.

i had a bottle of water next to me but felt no thirst. i found that i could breathe or not breathe for long moments as i chose. the circle of souls around the fire were watching me, enraptured in whatever it was that was coming through me. i sat beside myself, feeling the divine. i closed my eyes and sang. i could feel the entire universe. i could hear the voices speculating about my condition.

i feel the path has chosen me. the years of practicing hot yoga. the years of purification through veganism and whole foods. the fearlessness i have for ingesting quantities of medicine that most people don’t trust their consciousness to endure. the fire sign, aries, that i was born unto. emerging theories of evolution cycling through my mind in daily epiphanies. the practice of ahimsa, so strong and deep.

fire ritual new years eve 2006

COSM is a sanctuary on a sacred ground. nearby there are other sacred sites. the woodstock farm animal sanctuary. right down the road from there is the home and ashram of jivamukti founders sharon gannon and david life, who i was recently blessed to meet. this trinity of places and people, my heart and destiny belongs to all three. i feel a purpose to build the connection between them.

there are really no words. words just grasp at truth. i am often dissolving, feeling things i can not quite comprehend or describe. i feel a unity between all creation. beyond all our fear there is something profound that binds us.

i cherish this divine in the other. this spark we all share. felicia, who came to offer me water and suggest that perhaps i was too close to the flames. another man came to draw me away, and i hugged him and told him it was ok. when i was ready to retreat from the fire the universe brought jason to escort me. my face today is as red as if i was in the sun all night. my eyes today glow like embers. the spark is everything.

there is of course the possibility i dreamed the whole thing. in this dream i move a bit closer to believing some of those stories of the sages and gurus of india, pulling jewelry from thin air, infusing objects with fragrances, walking over coals. yet i resonate more with thic nhat hanh’s quote “the miracle is not to walk on water. the miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive.” that we are here, breathing and conscious, is so beautiful and strange.

fire ritual new years eve 2006

our consciousness and our biology are  rooted in the dream we dream. they evolve by the will of our whims. we can all find the way to dissolve the boundaries that limit our imaginations. there are sacred plants all around us. there is wisdom in the soil. we are woven into the fabric of an everything reacting to even the fluttering wings of a butterfly. how delicious the mango that we let ripen. how wonderful are the teachers all around us. with merely our minds we can turn particles to waves in an endless sea of possibility.

just as the everyday is truly miraculous, so the miraculous is the everyday. there are those who doubt that the human race will ever lose our violence. there are those who doubt that the world can ever know ahimsa. they chant mantras of “free range” and “humane meat” to keep truth at bay. deep in our hearts we know these words are illusions attempting to conceal violence. this is the time for us to evolve beyond the i and towards the we. we can share a vision of the future . abhaya. anicca. ahimsa. a deya!

108 sun salutations under a sacred oak tree in City Park, New Orleans

At City Park in New Orleans there is a giant oak tree with oversize wind chimes hanging from its branches. The sun shone on the tree this morning, with strong winds blowing the chimes into a cacophony of sound. A group of yogis and yoginis gathered beneath the sun and the tree, their mats forming a loose circle facing inward. I rode my bike up to join them, feeling a reverence for the life so vibrant all around me.

In this circle we were joining a community of yoga practitioners all around the world who were taking a stand against human trafficking in India by offering up monetary donations and 108 sun salutations. The money will go to an Indian-based  organization called Odanadi, which means ‘soul mate’. The Odanandi web site Yoga Stops Traffic claims that “over the past 20 years Odanadi Seva Trust has rescued and rehabilitated more than 1850 children, carried out 57 brothel raids and brought 137 traffickers to justice.“

The New Orleans event was organized by Jessica Blanchard, who feels that India has given the west so much, and this is a way for us to give back. I came by way of my yoga school, Swan River. Several of my teachers were there, taking turns with teachers from other schools leading us in the sequence of asanas that make up the standard sun salutation.

The number 108 is sacred in many traditions and mythologies. For instance, the chakras are intersections of energy lines, and the heart chakra has 108 energy lines converging into it. I have been living from my heart lately, or at least striving to. This morning my heart was full, nourished by the sun, the wind, the beautiful people gathered around in the circle, and by the sound of the chimes mingling with the voices of the teachers.

I reached my hands up to the sky over and over again, and each time the sun had risen a little closer to being in my palms. There was a dog sitting in the grass behind me, and each time I bent down into downward dog and looked out between my legs I saw her sitting there enjoying the day. To my left was a new friend, who later went out to tea with me at Fair Grinds Coffeehouse, where we shared little pieces of our lives.

I am in love. In love with this city, with this life. I felt tears welling up inside me thinking about the people sold into slavery as I practiced my asanas. Are we all just manifestations of the same spiritual matter? Could I be them, could they be me, could any one of us be anyone else? What is the veil of ignorance that makes us forget such an obvious truth, exponentiating the suffering in the world? Every day I spend trying to understand and to weave the understanding into the fabric of my being so I won’t forget.

Namaste. Ahimsa. May all be free from suffering. May all feel the sunshine of a perfect spring day in New Orleans, shining upon them as they raise their hands up in prayer, and lower their faces to the ground to honor the earth. We are one.