BKS Iyengar: Our duty to Adapt to Nature

I love this quote by BKS Iyengar, prominent yoga teacher and yoga practitioner of 60+ years. It so deeply touches on the reciprocal relationship of health between humans and nature when humans are willing to adapt to the natural world, rather than coerce nature to adapt to us in the short term.

"As mammals, we are homeostatic. That means we maintain certain constant balances within our bodies, temperature for example, by adapting to change and challenge in the environment. Strength and flexibility allow us to keep and inner balance, but man is trying more and more to dominate the environment rather than control himself. Central heating, air conditioning, cars that we take our to drive three hundred yards, towns that stay lit up at night, and food imported from around the world out of season are all examples of how we try to circumvent our duty to adapt to nature and instead force nature to adapt to us. In the process, we become both weak and brittle. Even many of my Indian students who all now sit on chairs in their homes are becoming too stiff to sit in lotus position easily." BKS Iyengar, Light on Life

This quote, while certainly a challenge to us all, illuminates how clearly our energy imbalances are seen through the eyes of a person who has endeavored to live in harmony with nature for a lifetime. It serves as another reminder that the simple ways of integrating with nature, may hold the most joy, and health for us all.