Yoga Time-Lapse Videos: The New Selfies?

A few weeks back, I wrote about the growing popularity of the yoga selfie and how to make your own. This week, I’m upping the ante and taking it to the next level: I’m talking about yoga time-lapse videos!

Yogis all around are creating these fun videos, putting them to music, and sharing them with the world via YouTube and social media. I think they’re great, as these videos may interest someone who otherwise wouldn’t to go try a yoga class. And, for those who practice at home, they can see all sorts of sequencing they might not have imagined on their own and try new things.

I first heard about time-lapse videos when one of my students, Raquel, asked if she could record me practicing for a school project. Of course I said yes! You can check out her video on YouTube to see 45 minutes of practice condensed into six. After seeing how fun it looked, I asked Raquel to give me an iMovie tutorial so that I could learn to make them myself. You can find some quick tutorials all over the Internet (here’s a good one!), but in the meantime, check out some of my favorite videos (below).

I made a few mistakes on the first video. Generally, it’s better to film in landscape, not portrait mode, to make sure you don’t get those vertical black bars on the side, so check to make sure your device is set up horizontally. Additionally, I chose Kanye’s “Runaway” as background music without realizing at the time that YouTube will often block really popular songs from being viewed on mobile devices, so to be on the safe side, choose more obscure songs or music (but it’s a good excuse to choose your friend’s awesome band that no one knows about!). This way everyone has a chance to see your videos. Lastly, remember to set your recording device down either on blocks or a tripod and double check that you will be in the frame the entire time.

I still intend to take a class to better learn how to use iMovie, but my friend Raquel gave me enough tips that I could pull this video together a little better than the previous one.

Make sure to record your video in a setting that has good light and a clean background, and to wear fitted clothes so that people can see your form clearly. These videos are also good to do with friends. Tara Stiles and I created the one below (you can tell she edited it!).

The most important thing to remember, of course, is to have fun with these videos. Otherwise, there’d be no point!