Sparks of Yoga: Reconsidering the Aesthetic in Modern Postural Yoga

In this article, I consider aesthetic experiences in Ashtanga Yoga practice. Yoga has become extremely popular, a part of everyday life. Yet, Using somaesthetics and everyday aesthetics, I argue, that the aesthetic is essential in practicing yoga because of the performing body, environment-like uniting of postures, and the experiences of liminality, sacredness, liberation, and asceticism. Furthermore, I show that recognizing the aesthetic dimension in yoga doesn’t require approaching yoga as an art form, and that balance and beauty can be considered parallel.