hu·mil·i·ty

noun hyü-ˈmi-lə-tē, yü- : the quality or state of not thinking you are better than other people : the quality or state of being humble

Warrior 1

I started practicing yoga about two years ago, and the beginning was a love/hate relationship. It wasn’t easy for me, but I forced myself to go. Prior to beginning this practice, I had suffered serious back pain, so it took a lot for me to do simple moves such as forward folds. The back pain effected my balance, as well, so lunges, triangle, and warrior poses were hard for me, but they got easier. I practiced more. I learned to clear my mind and concentrate on my breathing.

It helped that my friend, Malinda, decided to go to the same studio, Feel It Burn in Gahanna. Armed with Groupon deals, an entire month of yoga would be planned in advance, and both of us would be there. It was rare that either of us would cancel on our commitment. Eventually, after our Groupon deals had run out, I started trying other studios. I was learning and getting better at my practice: trying binds, attempting crow, working harder at chaturanga, and pushing up into upward bow (wheel). I felt good, but I wanted to better for me. I knew that would come with time.

Most recently, I talked Eric into going to yoga with me at Columbus Commons. (Classes are free, so there really is nothing to lose.) Initially, he thought yoga was just stretching for an hour, but he quickly learned that there was more to it. Holding poses requires flexibility, strength and balance. He also learned, most importantly, other men practice yoga. At the end of class, as we rested in shavasana, I began conceptualizing a project I was working on. My mind should have been clear, but thoughts and images kept racing through. I listened to all of the sounds around me. I realized that the experience of shavasana was my project.

Digital Media

Practicing digital media. It’s what I do, and it’s what I’ve been doing for the past ten years. So, when I saw an opportunity to take a digital media class as a way to explore creative thinking and put my own creative texts into a digital form, I took it. First class of introductions, we talked about our comfort level with using technology and programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and iMovie. In a digital world, I am a yogi.

Project 1

Create: a simple Flash animation combining a photo, text and music.

Concept: As I try lay in shavasana, I gaze up at the sky and then close my eyes. I hear the yoga instructor and tell myself to clear my mind, but it’s not possible. Random pictures pop into my head. I begin thinking about work. I realize what I’m doing and tell myself to stop, but the wandering continues. Finally, I wake up and the day continues.

Video: The entire video was created in Flash and exported as a movie. Text looks like simple sayings to myself, but I wrote it down as a haiku. Music was created with loops in Garage Band. The second audio track at the end was taken after yoga practice at Columbus Commons. All pictures were taken by me. The cloud images were created in Photoshop. There are no movie clips. It’s all animation.

Critiques on Drafts: I shared a draft of my video with two of my fellow classmates earlier in the week. Both gals are brand new to learning Flash, and they were amazed that my project was done and that it looked polished. I felt bad! Of course, I reminded them that I’ve been working with Flash for a while. I watched both of their drafts and gave them a few ideas when they asked for feedback. We were all quite pleased with our works because there was a different creative mind and creative strength behind each one.

My technical skills are better than a beginner’s skills, but I was there once too. And, there are people who are better than I am so there’s nothing to brag about. In a creative field, there is a lot that I still need to learn and to do.

If I keep practicing yoga, one day, I may be able to do a headstand or crow pose, but it’s going to take some work to get there. It will take a lot of practice, falling, getting up and trying it again.

[B]eing humble has many benefits. Humility can help you be more content with your life, and it can also help you endure bad times and improve your relationships with others. It’s also essential to being an effective learner. If you think you know it all, you won’t be open-minded enough to seek out new knowledge. Humility is also, somewhat counter-intuitively, an excellent tool for self-development in general. After all, if you feel superior, you have no incentive to improve. Most of all, being humble allows you to be honest with yourself. (6 Ways to Be Humble, www.wikihow.com)