Linda Dahlqvist’s Street Yogi exhibition is a beautiful example of one of the most prominent expressions of the yoga community – showing support and love for every human being.
You don’t have to know much about yoga to know that it is an art and lifestyle that promotes peace and love. In my own yoga practice I have seen first hand how loving, open, and welcoming the yoga community is. And how the yoga community is eager to come together to give back.
This expression of giving back was once again confirmed when I attended the Street Yogi exhibition in Stockholm.
Photographer and yogi Linda Dahlqvist created the Street Yogi photo exhibition to profit the Swedish organisation Ung Cancer. The series features 11 inspiring yoga teachers and practitioners from different cities in Sweden, each of them snapped mid yoga pose in their urban environment.
Linda’s idea for the photo exhibition came from very personal experiences. In 2014 she battled cancer and was able to use her own yoga practice to get through it. To contribute to the Ung Cancer organisation she used her talent for photography in combination with the yoga practice that helped her through her cancer. The outcome is her beautiful Street Yogi photo series.
I took the opportunity to talk to Linda during her exhibition at Yoga Shakti in Stockholm on March 5th and ask her a couple of questions about her work with the project.
What inspired the idea for Street Yogi?
I had the organisation Ung Cancer by my side the entire time during the year of 2014 when I went through hell with my cancer diagnosis. They supported me and made my day-to-day life easier through their knowledge, experience and encouragement. I’ve always had an interest in photography and fell in love with yoga when I was 18 years old. Ung Cancer brought the two together. I wanted to give something back to Ung Cancer and at the same time express how I had personally felt in my bubble during the time I was sick.
How did you select the yogis you photographed for this project?
They are both friends of mine and my role models in yoga and overall in life.
Do you have a “dream yoga person” you would love to photograph?
I was able to include some of my biggest role models in my project. However, Ulrica Norberg, if you are reading this, you are welcome to get in touch with me and stand in front of my camera.
In what ways was your own yoga practice able to help you through your cancer?
At the worst times during my chemotherapy, I couldn’t do anything but lie wrapped up and still in my bed and just breathe. The yogic breathing was my saviour, it helped me focus within myself and collect the strength I needed to cope with the horrible pain that was one of the worst side effects of the treatment. But most of all it helped me regain my strength and mobility in my muscles after the surgeries, yoga is the best rehab training for me.
Aside from the Street Yogi tour this year, do you have any other yoga related projects planned?
Yes, there will be a continuation to Street Yogi. What it is I cannot yet reveal, but it will contain both text and images.
Prints of the 11 different photographs can be purchased via Linda Dahlqvist’s website, and 20 percent of the profits will go directly to the Ung Cancer organisation.
Ung Cancer is a non-profit organisation that supports young adults and their friends and relatives in their battle against cancer. The organisation was established in 2010 by the two friends Julia Mjörnstedt and Hanna Wekell after Julia had been treated for cancer and the two friends saw a need for a supportive community for young adults battling cancer.
