A few visuals may spring to mind when conjuring images of yoga: fashionable clothes. Lithe, muscular females. Maybe even a sweaty guy clad in a Speedo.
Not so at the Smithsonian exhibit “Yoga: The Art of Transformation,” where museum-goers are treated to a tour that goes back centuries to India and the roots of the spiritual and physical practice.
As part of this first museum exhibit of yoga’s visual history, tour-goers can put yoga in context and participate in a class in the gallery, complete with mats, blocks and a knowledgeable instructor. Speedo-type attire optional.
The exhibit is on display through Jan. 26 at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, which, with the Freer Gallery of Art, forms the Smithsonian Institution’s national museums of Asian art. The installation explores the diverse meanings of yoga, beginning with its earliest roots.
A recent docent-led tour began with an examination of a trio of life-size yogini (pronounced by the docent as YO-guinea) goddesses from a south Indian temple. The sculptures portray fierce female forms holding weapons and shields and wrapped in snakes, calling to mind the spirit of the Warrior poses performed in modern studios.
The exhibit features more than 130 objects that portray yoga as transcending boundaries of gender and religion, with a nearly equal representation of male and female figures. The exhibit also presents paintings, sculptures and manuscripts that illustrate yoga’s broad religious reach, with roots in Jain, Buddhist, Sufi and Hindu traditions.
Some images from the 15th century depict yogis practicing on mats made from tiger skins, a precursor to the rubber variety that is ubiquitous today. Animal skins, while a more biodegradable option, would not likely be welcome at a modern studio.
Gallery viewers can move through the centuries to witness depictions of the yogic arts as perceived by colonial and early photographers. Photos, posters and even films illustrate the ways in which yogis became despised in the 19th century and how yoga was transformed in early 20th-century India as a democratic practice open to all.
In one room, photographs from the 19th century depict exoticized images of yogis across the globe, often featuring painted jungle backdrops and grass mats to satisfy a transnational fascination with views of foreign lands and people.
The exhibit is free, but for the more adventurous museum-goer, the $15 “Yoga in the Galleries” is worth checking out. After an approximately 45-minute docent-led tour, a yoga teacher leads 15 participants through a yoga sequence in a roped-off area of the gallery.
The all-levels class is appropriate for both the inexperienced and seasoned yogi, as a recent class featured a soft-spoken yogini leading the class through a “generic” sun salutation, an ancient sequence of poses often practiced in contemporary studios. The instructor finished class with a breathing exercise, or pranayama in Sanskrit, intended to balance the chakras — energy centers that are depicted in many of the artworks in the exhibit.
Throughout the demonstration, a screen projected mesmerizing videos of yogis, including master practitioner T. Krishnamacharya performing moves that even an accomplished yogi can only aspire to.
While “The Art of Transformation” exhibit is drawing to a close at the Smithsonian, it will appear in two more cities in 2014. It opens at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum on Feb. 21 and runs through May 25, then moves to the Cleveland Museum of Art from June 22 through Sept. 7.
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