'Urban Yoga' Reveals the Human Element in Cities

"The Urban Yoga Photo Book" is a new, Kickstarter-funded photo book that blends the beauty and grace of yoga with the grit and structure of urban settings.

1 minute read

January 16, 2015, 6:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


"Created by Slovenian architect and athlete Anja Humljan, the practice of urban yoga grew out of a dual fascination with human-oriented architecture and the space-exploring tenets of yoga and modern dance," explains Megan Barrett in an article for Urbanful.

Urban yoga is the subject of a new book called The Urban Yoga Photo Book, featuring Humljan in various yoga poses in urban settings like New York, Madrid, Paris, and Ljubljana.

Barrett explains further what the yoga poses bring to the urban setting: "Humljan’s urban yoga approach takes the practice out of the studio and into the streets, compelling dancers to reexamine how their bodies inhabit urban places. The ultimate intent, Humljan says, is to breathe new human-oriented life into the efficient and industrial world of urban architecture and design."

Wednesday, January 14, 2015 in Urbanful

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

June 18, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of Shirley Chisholm Village four-story housing development with person biking in front.

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning

SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

June 8, 2025 - Fast Company

Yellow single-seat Japanese electric vehicle drivign down road.

The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs

The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.

June 6, 2025 - PC Magazine

Close-up of cracked and damaged two-lane roadway with double yellow stripes on a bright sunny day.

Engineers Gave America's Roads an Almost Failing Grade — Why Aren't We Fixing Them?

With over a trillion dollars spent on roads that are still falling apart, advocates propose a new “fix it first” framework.

6 hours ago - Transportation for America

Group of e-scooters messily parked on street in London with black cab in background.

The European Cities That Love E-Scooters — And Those That Don’t

Where they're working, where they're banned, and where they're just as annoying the tourists that use them.

7 hours ago - Bloomberg CityLab

Map of Western U.S. indicating public lands that would be for sale under a Senate plan in yellow and green.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands

For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

June 19 - Outdoor Life