Edmonton yoga teacher Tori Lunden strikes a pose
amidst the recent exhibition by Chris Cran at the Art Gallery of Alberta.
A first reaction to the notion of people in Lycra twisting themselves into yoga pretzels in art galleries might be disapproval. Are these institutions really so desperate to bump attendance figures?
But maybe yoga classes can help build audiences for art. To paraphrase the late critic, Robert Hughes, people can enter the nave of art without feeling obliged to pray. And surely to discover a work of art – or an entire exhibition – by accident, rather than overt intention, does not diminish that experience. Chance encounters have spawned some of history’s richest and most innovative inventions. Canadian artist David Milne once said a painting glimpsed even for a second through the crack of a door could influence one for life. So why not one seen upside down and between one’s legs while doing Downward Dog?
A person holding a yoga pose must focus their gaze on something stationary to stay balanced – what better than a painting, drawing or sculpture? And looking at art while doing yoga would allow a slower gaze than is often achieved walking through an exhibition. In this, the aims of appreciating art and doing yoga coincide: to be completely focused and present in the moment.
Public galleries in Western Canada that offer yoga classes include the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton, the Glenbow in Calgary, the Southern Alberta Art Gallery in Lethbridge, The Reach in Abbotsford, B.C., and the Audain Art Museum in Whistler, B.C.
Yoga in galleries seems to be trending. Why not join in? It’s BYOM – Bring Your Own Mat. I’ll see you after Shavasana.
Liz Wylie is the curator of the Kelowna Art Gallery.