2018 Essay Contest Finalist

Entry by Caden Longwater

Since the creation of yoga in India, nature has been a primary inspiration for it’s different poses and forms. Breathing patterns coming from seasons and high/low pressure fluctuations, as well as poses derived from natural landmarks. These different aspects of nature are viewed as the origins of Yoga, but even they were created by something, and that something is the systems of earth science.

When doing yoga, breathing patterns are used to calm yourself down and reach your inner zen. These calming breaths are derived from the systems of the atmosphere and weather. The flow of warm weather to cold weather from season to season is represented in the constant rate of slow, measured inhalations and exhalations that are so important to yoga. These breathing patterns are also represented in the yearly fluctuation of high- and low-pressure areas throughout the world. When these fronts are viewed on a map in time lapse, they seem to expand and contract, like the lungs when breathing (Prentice Hall, 2003). These atmospheric patterns over time represent a fundamental part of Yoga.

Along with breathing patterns, poses are a primary part of Yoga. Many of these poses were inspired by natural landmarks. These landmarks were in turn created by the systems of the geosphere. A primary example of this connection is the mountain pose, which was inspired by the sturdiness and height of a mountain (Yoga Journal Editors, 2007). The mountains this pose is mirroring originated from the movement of tectonic plates beneath the earth’s crust. These movements cause tectonic plates to rub against each other which forms volcanoes. These volcanoes erupt to form mountains (Williams, 2015).

Since the creation of yoga, nature has influenced its basic parts. Landmarks have influenced poses and atmospheric patterns have influenced breathing. All of these influential parts of nature got their start from earth science.