They downward dog. They warrior pose. They most certainly chaturanga. These are the zenned-out men of yoga, brought to you by photographer Amy Goalen.
Goalen started a steady yoga practice in Los Angeles a few years ago, which subsequently inspired the Los Angeles-based artist to create a yoga photography series. While researching for the project, she came upon a realization: while there were plentiful images of women engaging in the practice, men were actually quite unrepresented. Hence "Inside the Warrior -- the Masculine Side of Yoga" was born.
Goalen soon teamed up with writer and devoted yogi Julian DeVoe for the project; she took photos, he interviewed the subjects on their relationship to the ancient art. "I tell everyone 'You don't have to be 25 and ripped to be photographed by me,'" Goalen said to The Huffington Post. "I want to photograph men with a dedicated practice. Period."
Working in both black-and-white and color, Goalen captures a variety of male subjects striking a (yoga) pose, their minds, bodies and spirits immortalized in a single moment of peaceful athleticism. You can watch the body assume shapes that border on surreal, stretching and bending like a work of human origami. Yet beyond the men's bodies, Goalen captures something deeper, what she calls the "soul of a yogi," the "depth of heart, sensitivity, courage, integrity, and a self-awareness that comes through." Take a look for yourself in the photos below.
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