Here I am, halfway between Shoulder Stand and Plough Pose, stretching my knee and hip in elephant leg position, from my trip to Pathos. There’s a broad range of knee movements in yoga poses from stretching, to straightening the leg and tightening the kneecap, to rotating the knees, to holding 90° leg positions as in Warrior Pose, strengthening the surrounding muscles. The human body is designed to move, and our legs, knees, and hips propel that movement. Most of our evolution we’ve been hunter gathers roaming around, and there’s no doubt that travel has an uplifting effect on human consciousness. But is there actually anywhere to go or are we simply walking in circles back to ourselves? This is a deep conundrum in the human condition. Do we need to see through our dreams and let them go, or do we need to make our dreams come true? Is there nothing to prove or everything to do? Is life an endless wheel which we need to either transcend or stop, or is the wheel moving forwards going somewhere? Eastern spirituality emphasises the wheel of causation which we need to step off, and the western spirituality emphasises the linear journey towards the New Jerusalem. In the end wisdom sits in both camps at the same time, and the most powerful symbols are ones that bring both dimensions together. There’s a time to breathe in and stop the wheel, and there’s a time to breathe out and move that wheel forwards. Blending the two together, stretching those circles along a line of progress, we create spirals of ascent. Yoga uses movement to inspire profound stillness, which then inspires a more wonderful next step. When I get into a state of flow in meditation, which is blissful in the present, I also get my best inspirations and energy to move forwards. Those ideas are not a distraction. They a gift and a fruit of meditation.
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