I traveled a lot this fall: Utah; South Dakota; Boston; Asheville and Charlotte, NC; Vancouver, BC, Toronto, ONT; as well as teaching some local workshops. It’s been great, but I can’t say I’m sorry for a little downtime.
Right now I’m in Massachusetts for Thanksgiving holiday celebrations and recalling the great group I worked with during a 25 hour teacher training at Back Bay Yoga in Boston.
At this workshop someone asked me how long I thought Yoga has been in the world – which gave me the opportunity to consolidate some thoughts I’ve had about Yoga and its place in human society. I don’t think anyone could know exactly when Yoga started, but I am pretty sure when it couldn’t have been happening: before our forebears had the use of fire, around 400,000 years ago.
Yogic pursuits probably started with people sitting around a fire. Which meant they weren’t spending all their waking hours and energy chasing food, or being chased as food. Fire permitted our ancestors to fend off predators and put down roots. It helped allowed us to have homes, as opposed to being hunter-gatherers.
Considering the enormous power that fire imparted to mankind, it’s understandable that it was worshiped as a divine force – both externally and internally. It’s no coincidence that the Rg Veda begins with an invocation to Agni.
This is why I love the interaction with students in workshops – you never know what someone will ask, and I never know how I’ll answer until the moment arises.
