How Photo Organizing and Yoga are Alike

A new yoga studio opened up in my small town and I joined at the beginning of the year. I’ve always loved doing yoga. It seems so simple, but then you do it and it can be really challenging. I always feel better having completed a practice.

Of course, during a class, my mind might wander away from my downward dog or Warrior 1, and one night it did. It wandered straight to what I think about all day… photo organizing! I started thinking about all the ways that photo organizing and yoga are alike. 

Just show up

Our yoga teachers frequently remind us to “just show up” for the practice. Even if you spend the entire class in child’s pose, you are doing something and it’s good for your soul.

With photo organizing, we frequently recommend that people just do “something” with their photos. Usually, it’s something like “If you only do one thing, please backup your digital photos.” Or it could be printing a favorite photo, sticking it in a frame, and finally enjoying it on a daily basis.

It’s your practice

Our teachers also remind us that we don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. It is my practice. I can’t do a lot of poses that put all of my weight on my wrists (like crow or a headstand) because of an injury. And that’s ok. I do an alternate move and I’m ok with that. For some strange reason, I’m really good at pigeon pose, while others aren’t. And that’s ok. I do what works for me, you do what works for you.

It’s the same with your photos. I love using Apple Photos, but maybe you really like Google Photos. I’m a Mac person, you are a PC person. I like to add keywords to my digital photos, you like to put descriptive info in the file name.

None of this is wrong, none of it is 100% right. It is doing what works for you and makes sense to you.  You don’t have to do what anyone else is doing. But to go back to the first point, just do something.

We all show up where we are at

When I go to an evening class, I may have had a long, frustrating day of dealing with technology. My teachers prompt us to show up where we are at. I might be stressed, and that’s ok. I might be really in the groove and dive right in. Wherever I am at, whatever I can give, it’s ok. And I don’t need to compare myself to the person next to me.

The same goes for your photos. You might show up with absolutely no technical knowledge but you want to organize your digital photos. You might have the knowledge but not the time. It’s ok. Do what you can, and don’t compare yourself to someone else and their photo organizing journey. Here’s a secret. None of our photo organizing journeys are the same. Trust me, I’ve seen a lot!

Ease into it 

We don’t start a yoga class in a headstand. We start with some deep breathing or an easy pose like child’s pose. Slowly we ease into our practice warming up our bodies as we go.

In order to start organizing your photos, don’t feel like you have to start by mastering Lightroom or knowing exactly how the end product is going to look. That is an easy way to become overwhelmed. Instead, start with an easy task like deleting screenshots from your phone or tossing duplicate print photos. Warm up those organizing muscles and then move forward.

It’s ok to get help

In yoga, sometimes you need some help. Maybe your foot needs an adjustment or you need someone to spot your headstand. Perhaps your balance isn’t great so you need to stand next to a wall to do tree pose or you need to use a block in triangle pose. Getting help and using tools is ok and encouraged.

It’s the same with organizing your photos. If you are struggling, get help. Have your daughter help you disassemble your photo albums. Ask your aunt to help you identify who is in those photos. Engage a photo organizer like me to help you at any point in the process from organizing to scanning to creating photo books. Getting help and using tools is ok and encouraged.

The best part is at the end

At the end of every yoga practice, we do savasana or corpse pose. We lay on the floor with our arms and legs relaxed and our eyes closed. It is a time of total relaxation and the best pose of every class. You know you’ve done good work and this is your reward.

Once you have organized your photos or at least done “something” with them, you can begin to enjoy your photos. You can print them out, you can make a photo book, or you can simply scroll through the pictures on your phone because you got rid of the junk. Every little step you’ve taken has brought you here. You’ve done good work and this is your reward.

Happy organizing and Namaste!

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