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By Ian Gardiner
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One of the easiest ways to achieve happiness naturally in life is through stretching. In “Save Yourself,” an unscripted performance that solicits audience participation and interaction, I positioned myself underneath the Washington Square Arch with flyers in front of me and demonstrated stretching positions to “Save Yourself” on a single yoga mat.
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The flyers described how stretching can benefit one’s health and mental disposition; explaining how after twenty-five to thirty minutes of stretching, the brain releases endorphins into your bloodstream, which act as natural anti-depressants.
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By performing these stretches in public, I encouraged others to join me and consider healthy ways to improve their lives through stretch. As the great Bikram Choundhury once said, “Stretching is the perfect vehicle for change of yourself. First by creating a strong and powerful body, and mind. It is a starting point from which you can begin to realize your human spirit.”
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My inspiration for this project came the positivity I’ve gained from stretching as well as the Cambodian artists Svay Sareths and Khvay Samnangs who both employed performance as a medium for their art. In Svay’s art, practice is, “a way to tell his story while continuously processing its impact.” In Khvay’s art, performance “responds to the locations and conditions where it is enacted.”