om body
Yoga A-Z
And so, friends, we come to
the end of the alphabet, letter Z.
By Carole MoritzZ
is for zero. It’s neither positive nor
negative, it just is; it’s formless nature,
without beginning or end.
Zero denotes the cyclical eternity of
birth and rebirth in its circular shape.
Pythagoras, the revered Greek mathematician and
scientist, best known for the Pythagorean Theorem,
thought zero as the starting point of all numbers
that follow. Notice how in the numerological system,
when counting 1 to 9, we start again with zero in
10, 100, 1,000, and so on. The property of zero is a
central aspect in separating positive and negative
numbers on a number line. Zero in its numerical
value is indivisible; multiply anything with zero and
the answer is zero.
Zero on its own represents the absence of things.
To ancient civilisations zero represented the spirit
finding its way back to source, freed from the
limitations of the material world in its wholeness and
nothing. In Hinduism, zero represents the eternal
mystery that bridges the physical and metaphysical,
what stands for us between reason and faith.
But what does zero have to do with yoga? The
limitless nature of zero as infinity
represents the birth and rebirth of
our practice every time we step
on the mat. Zero’s meaning as
potential can be applied to the
journeys we take, stepping
into the unknown when we
attempt a new shape. And
then we start all over again,
triumphant in our learning, our
consciousness magnified as we
reach a higher plane of physical
and spiritual awareness.
As our bodies change with age, so must
the nature of our practice. So that when it’s time
to leave our body behind, our practice is not lost, but
is safely stored in our consciousness, and continues
on in another form.
Thank you for coming along on this journey with
me. It’s time to start again. I’ll see you on the page.
Namaste.