The other day, the 10th of September 2022, I was at the Sai Ghat by the Ganga, Rishikesh. I recorded the audio file for the YouTube channel of mine.
Some days before that I had a photo shoot for this webpage. Just before I vent to the river for recording the audio file I met a couple who had done a pre-marriage photo shoot. This is one of the favourites for the whole marriage photo business, one must have pictures from the River Ganga.
The photographer and I agreed immediately on not doing the infamous profile picture of a yoga student sitting full lotus with the correct yoga mudras and seemingly meditating. So my friend and I got to work, and I think the result is good. You will find portraits of me elsewhere on this webpage.
So what is the issues about the “full lotus, correct mudra, meditating” photo? One point is that most pictures are taken in the midst of the day, the better light you know. For all the time I have been here, it is only for the pictures, those 2 minutes, no one else is doing it.
Another issue it that it is simply too hot. Don't do it. Find a private place and less noises in the shade if you want meditate midday by the river.
And then there is the point of the sitting in the full lotus, most people cannot sit in that position for the duration of 20-30 minutes or an hour of meditation. It takes years of training and daily practice. The risk of hip, knee or ankle injuries is high. The time for restoring the injury is weeks or months, for some years. It is not worth it even for the famous meditating picture by the river picture. Again, do not do it.
People do meditate by the river, they do that in the early morning or by sunset, they look carefully for places without ants, scorpions and snakes. They find places to sit hidden between the stones or go upstream to places with no disturbances. I have had my share of meditations by the river Ganga and the people in the rafting boats often have to be extra loud and yell when they see the meditator. So meditation by the River is early morning or by sunset. Just a short insert here, sitting on a stone is painful for your butt. Additionally the stones are so un-even that you can not sit with at straight back. The result is both butt and back pain adding to the potentional knee injury.
This rant on photos of the yogi/yogini meditating in full lotus position by the river could easily develop into the discussions of the kinds of spirituality as I find it here in this traditionally respected and holy place. That will be another day.
Go to Youtube for the spoken version of the above, guaranty for differences: https://youtu.be/MqDzlINTrgI
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Info:
YouTube: PonderingConsciousness
photographer: IG @pratim-arora
