Venus Rising

Yoga for LivingIssue: Virgo 09 - The Climate Change Issue

Poses Poses Everywhere

Global warming is a direct result of human lack of concern for the natural world. We have created the problem through our reliance on fossil fuels, our pollution, and our excess consumption. In order to help fix the problem, we must first learn to respect and appreciate the natural world. If we want to create more care and concern for our environment, we need to find ways to feel connected to it.

Almost all yoga postures are named after animals and elements found in nature. Sun salutes honor the cycle of the sun. Moon salutes honor the phases of the moon. Bakasana (crow pose) resembles the body of a crow. Baddha konasana (bound angle pose) mirrors the angles found in nature. Paschimottanasana (seated forward fold) translates as intense stretch of the west, which describes the back of our body in relation to the sun. Yoga postures are inextricably connected to the natural world. They mirror what exists around us.

Wouldn’t yoga feel different if we recognized that the poses are not just shapes we make with our bodies, but elements of the natural world? Tree pose takes on a different feel when you practice gazing at a tree. Downward facing dog feels more playful when you practice next to your dog. This month, try practicing yoga with the origin of poses in mind. When you do sun salutes, visualize the rising and setting of the sun. In dog pose, visualize a dog stretching. In triangle pose, imagine the angles found when you look closely at a plant. Through our respect for nature, and for where the yoga poses came from, perhaps we will think twice about how we dispose of our trash and whether or not we choose to carpool to work. Every action has an effect. What we do, affects everyone else. Once we all start to take more responsibility for our own actions and contributions to the planet, I think it will change for the better.