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18 Amazing Vintage Yoga Photos

Aging | Health

Yoga selfies are all the rage these days—all you have to do is check out Instagram to appreciate just how far yoga photos have come.

But as it turns out, capturing awesome asanas to show off to your friends is anything but new. These vintage yoga photos prove that yoga has always looked cool on camera.

1. Athletes use partner yoga techniques to get ready for the London Olympics—long before the invention of yoga pants, 1908.

Credit: Odd Stuff Magazine Credit: Odd Stuff Magazine

2. Two ladies practice yoga at La Garoupe Beach in Antibes, France, proving that beach yoga photos have always been cool, 1926.

Credit: Identical Eye Credit: Identical Eye

3. A group of kids try out cobra pose on a pebbly beach in England, 1934. Beach yoga already seems to be a trend!

Credit: Weather Credit: Weather

4. Vera Richardson proudly demonstrates her bow pose at a “keep fit” meeting, 1938.

Credit: Weather Credit: Weather

5. James Hay-Kellie makes yoga look ultra-classy in black and white, 1940.

Credit: Weather Credit: Weather

6. Pamela Fawn warms up with yoga at Turnbridge Wells ballet school, proving you don’t need a fancy yoga mat to deepen your practice, 1949.

Credit: Weather Credit: Weather

7. A dancer relaxes in Child’s Pose—in heels, 1950.

Credit: Weather Credit: Weather

8. Joe Clemendor uses his yoga skills to impress Parisian audiences with feats of astounding flexibility, 1956.

Credit: Weather Credit: Weather

9. Marilyn Monroe works on her flexibility yogi with Indra Devi, 1960. Together, they brought yoga to mainstream America—and made yoga glamorous in Monroe’s many yoga-inspired photo shoots!

Credit: Andrea Alves Credit: Andrea Alves

10. Actor Anthony Quinn delights Valentina Cortese with his awesome headstand, 1963.

Credit: Relax and Release Credit: Relax and Release

11. Laszlo Szabo performs yoga for the Hungarian public on Budapest TV, 1963.

Credit: Weather Credit: Weather

12. Snapshots of classes like this one in London, taken in 1964, show the growing popularity of yoga in the West at the time.

Credit: Weather Credit: Weather

13. Yoga is a “girl thing?” These gentlemen practicing yoga at a park in the Middle East in 1970 disagree.

Credit: Weather Credit: Weather

14. Violinist Yehudi Menuhin practices yoga for the camera, 1970. His hard work paid off when he directed an orchestra using his feet in 1982!

Credit: Weather Credit: Weather

15. Roseanna Campbell learns Ashtanga Yoga from the founder himself at Shri K. Pattabhi Jois’ school in Mysore, India, 1973.

Credit: Wild Yogi Credit: Wild Yogi

16. Singer Kristine Sparkle multi-tasks at her home in England, 1974.

Credit: Weather Credit: Weather

17. Yoga meets high fashion as Khati models this groovy knitted pantsuit from the Autumn and Winter collection by C & A, 1976.

Credit: Weather Credit: Weather

18. B.K.S. Iyengar teaches yoga at an international yoga convention in London, 1993. Good thing he’s a great teacher—this class is so packed that one wobbly yogi could create a literal domino effect!

Credit: Weather Credit: Weather

Which vintage photo is your favorite? Take your own vintage-inspired yoga photo and share it with us!

Featured in New York Magazine, The Guardian, and The Washington Post
Featured in the Huffington Post, USA Today, and VOGUE

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