Artful pose - yoga amidst beauty

(24 Mar 2019) LEAD IN

At the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels masterpieces are not just for viewing.

Paintings also take centre stage at a series of yoga and mindfulness sessions offered by the museum.

The idea is that art's evocative influence can contribute to relieving stress and encourage positive thinking.  

STORYLINE

Looking for a cultured day out in Brussels? Well don't forget to bring your yoga mat!

The Royal Museum of Fine Arts in the Belgian capital is spearheading a new trend of blending art with physical and mental well-being.

Renowned for its Flemish art masterpieces the institution is running a yoga class in front of "The Raft of the Medusa", a series of five paintings hosted at the museum's temporary exhibit space.

The conceptual artworks feature words and heavy black strokes on white canvas by Danish artist Serge Vandercam and Belgian artist Hugo Claus.

Between downward dogs and sun salutations, Spanish yoga teacher Laia Puig Escandell says abstract art offers a valuable tool to yogis, enabling them to take their practice to a new level:

"I think art can help the students to relax more or to focus their mind in a different way. And also to open their minds to something new, to what this can be. Especially when it's abstract art which is what we've been faced in this exhibition."

The yoga sessions takes place twice a month. The initiative was launched in 2015 and continues to attract a regular following of people of all ages and levels, both locals and foreigners, according to Escandell.

Brussels-resident Sylvia Karadarevic frequently attends the lunchtime session. She says the paintings offer her a chance to distance herself from difficult emotions:

"You have the opportunity to release your emotional roller-coaster into one painting that looks quite messy and sometimes our emotions are like that too. And with the voice of the yoga teacher it all makes sense in kind of a way, you know?"

New Yorker Alexandra Pace is here for the first time. After relocating to Brussels she decided to try the class, intrigued by the idea of practising yoga in an unusual setting. She says art made it easier to reach a peaceful mental state.

"You're focusing on something that's not moving, you're trying to block out all other thoughts that come running into your brain", Pace says.

In a different hall of the museum another group of people is meeting for a class combining art with personal well-being.

Taking place in front of "The Emmaus Disciples", a 17th century artwork by Dutch painter Abraham Bloemaert, is a session of mindfulness.

The practice encourages participants to focus on the present moment and the body's sensation to calm the mind and help deal with negative emotions.

Beate Truck is the owner of "Brussels Mindfulness", an organisation offering mindfulness sessions and workshops.

"You can be interested to practice yoga in a place that's stimulating for you. And in mindfulness we use different anchors; we use sometimes the breath as an anchor, or we use sounds as an anchor or body sensations.And if you do that in a museum then the painting becomes your anchor," she explains.

Much like yoga, mindfulness has gained popularity in recent decades.

The Royal Museum of Fine Arts is the first museum in Europe to host mindfulness sessions. The brand new initiative launched in February in collaboration with Brussels' "Institute Mindfulness" founder, Marjan Abadie.

Aurore Capitani travelled from out of town to be here today.



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