by Claire Taylor

Practicing yoga connects the mind, body and soul unlike any other exercise. The action of intentionally inhaling and exhaling while simultaneously contorting our bodies into elaborate shapes mimics a performance. On the floor, the mat, or the earth, we come as we are to engage in this minimalist artform.

But behind yoga’s modern day popularity, it's important roots in Buddhist and Hindu traditions are usually forgotten. Today, you may only get a glimpse of ancient yoga principles when the teacher mentions terms like sutras, mantras, asanas, savasana or vinyasa. As we see in British records noting yoga poses of Indian people on graphic plates, yoga was introduced to Europeans in the 1800s because of British imperialism, and has since evolved in Europe and the United States.

In 2013, the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art curated the first ever exhibit on yoga in Washington D.C. “Yoga: The Art of Transformation” included artwork from museums in India, Europe and the United States. Works in this collection illustrate changes in representation and reception of yoga over time. There are multiple sculptures of deities, yogis, and yoginis like Narasimha who were central to religious practices in medieval times. The lotus and goddess poses seen in these sculptures exude confidence and power. Bright court paintings of yoginis said to have special powers, anatomical diagrams of the yogi’s body, vibrant watercolors of meditative yogis and magazine covers that illustrate the stereotyping of Indian yoginis in the twentieth century fill the gallery. The exhibit reminds contemporary viewers how yoga was integrally connected to religion and the divine as well as tradition throughout history, but also how it has been misrepresented and appropriated in entertainment culture.

The Rubin Museum’s 2018 collection “The Origins of Yoga: Tracing History Through Art” contained copper sculptures of yogis known for their contributions to specific yoga practices and poses. Chin to chest pose, Jalandhara bandha, is named after Jalandhara whose statue illustrates shared Buddist and Hindu traditions. We also see representations of the Buddha and mandalas used in tantric yoga in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Unlike the Smithsonian collection, the Rubin collection focuses more specifically on the foundations of what we know as yoga today.

But what took so long? Considering the old age of yoga, it is daunting that centuries of yoga-related art only became accessible in museum exhibitions within the past ten years. Perhaps the most obvious answer to this question is related to the intended audience of the high art industry in the Western world. American interest in yoga has skyrocketed since the turn of the century, and part of this popularity is directly attributed to the Internet. Platforms like YouTube provide free access to multiple levels of yoga practices suitable for anyone to try at home. While this makes testing out yoga mindlessly easy, understanding yoga on a deeper level (as something that holds a rich pre-modern history and cultural importance), despite whether or not this includes examining exhibitions, allows for true appreciation of this art form.