The Space Inside the Lotus

My favourite thing to share with students is a passage from the eighth chapter of the Chandogya Upanishad.

This text focuses on the heart center. Inside of the heart is a city, and inside of the city is a temple, and inside of the temple is a lotus, and inside of this lotus is the space, and inside of the space is everything that has ever existed, and that will ever exist. All the elements, all the stars, all the planets – past, present, future. And this space is inside of every single being, every single thing that exists.

This passage presents such a rich idea of interconnection, and when we bow to each other and honor each other in our yoga practice, we are bowing to that space inside of each of us where we meet, where we realize that we are truly one.