18 Amazing Vintage Yoga Photos

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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!

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