On the history of this exhibition on beauty
Asana photos by Heinz Grill, B K S Iyengar, Sivananda Yoga Center and others
An artistic way of yoga
Finally, in search of the beauty of the āsana, I came across the artistic images of Heinz Grill, which at the center of their statement express more the inner creation of a sensation and represent a different kind of yoga, an artistic kind of yoga.
After some time, the English speaking yoga teacher Gita came to me for a visit and we talked about the formative backward-bending movements of B.K.S. Iyengar. In these reflections and conversations, I first noticed the sovereign dynamics of Iyengar in the chest area. I think you have to learn to perceive the art of formation, which ultimately leads to a beautiful and complete expression in yoga āsana.
In the course of many years of studying the topic of āsana, I first became aware of the hidden sense of beauty that lies in the human body and its movements. Beauty is not just a given reality, it has to be developed in yoga. In light or difficult āsana, this can be developed. It is the merit of Swami Sivananda Radha that in her book on the symbolism of āsana she emphasizes this aspect of an artistic yoga.
Not every person is looking for the beautiful
When I became concrete for the first time about an exhibition on āsana, it came as a surprise, like a dark opposition arose: a woman Marianne Buchmann began to mock about the yoga, insulted me and many others. She admitted that she did not understand the matter of yoga practice, but that she was in contact with the agent of the Catholic Anti-Cult Movement in Munich. This Marianne Buchmann spoke in the ugliest way against my project and after I could not follow her in my opinion, I was quite simply put up as completely stupid. Not everybody wants to have beauty, in my experience.
At any rate, these opposing agitations strengthened my conviction that I wanted to show all the more the beautiful possibilities of the āsana. However, the following exhibition is not only intended to be a walk between esthetic bodily formations, but also to stimulate research and questions: how does beauty develop on the human body, and how does it manifest in the quiet moment of a yoga position?
You are also welcome to send me pictures of beautiful yoga positions. They do not necessarily have to be the hardest. I will publish them after suitable selection. If you write a content shortly, this could be a supplement to the medium of photography.