BackFoot Notes | Twists with history
A show charts yoga's journey from the primal world of deities and demons to a trendy workout
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I’m a yoga junkie. Not only have I practised yoga for about eight years, but I am one of those nerds who actually attend out-of-state yoga festivals and participate in multi-day conferences on yoga. So when I learned that the world’s first yoga exhibition was opening at the Smithsonian museum in Washington, DC, I knew that’s where I wanted to go on my birthday in January.
The US capital is about a 4-hour, cramped bus ride from New York City (NYC), where I live and work. Even though early mornings make me cranky, I awoke eagerly at 6am on a chilly winter day to make a trip down to DC for the weekend with my boyfriend.
I mean, who knew that in the early days yoga practitioners (or yogis) were depicted as blood-sucking gods with fangs who could fly? Or that yogis doubled as spies and soldiers, and were later thought of as wizards and princes? Or that cremation grounds were considered an ideal place to practise yoga (yet practising in hot places was not advised, sorry Bikram yoga)? I also had no idea that after the British colonization of India, yoga became completely discredited as charlatans appropriated the supposed supernatural powers of yogis (lying on a bed of nails might come to mind).
But it was while staring at a fanged 13th century sculpture of a snake-wearing goddess that I considered how far the practice has evolved from its roots. It’s gone from being meditative to active in some styles such as power yoga, even though the practice of linking postures didn’t emerge until the early 1900s (however, some poses, including the dreaded handstand, have been around for ages).
That seemed to sum up a common attitude I’ve encountered among people who have limited experience with it and view it as just exercise. But ancient yogis were on to something and the exhibit conveyed that well.
Maybe the woman I overheard missed the centuries-old illustration where a man is levitating in a seated position while holding his nose. Perhaps that pose is a bit hard to believe, but that’s not the point. The point is that physical practice helps you control your mind. And once you learn to control your mind, anything is possible.
Even a non-stop, four-and-a-half-hour bus ride back to NYC.
Yoga: The Art of Transformation is on at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco till 25 May and will be displayed at the Cleveland Museum of Art from 22 June–7 September.
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