[Applause] landscape is a medallion struck in the likeness of its people I'm a teacher and practitioner of yoga and geography and I think the two disciplines have a special connection I'd like to explain how through exploring the yoga or geography we shape the landscape but equally in striking and shaping that landscape we're also shaping ourselves if we look at this famous vista from our urban environment we can see how it's evolved through time the Tower of London is a relic feature of when William conquered Poland and a reminder not to step too far out of
line alongside it our new demonstrations of power capitalist fortunes that pierced the sky it would be difficult to walk around here and not feel a sense of being a little bit small on a practical level the street furniture also shapes our experience of the landscape lampposts light our way through the city seeking to keep us safe or spencer's provide strategic places to rest and pavements ensure that our pathways through the city are crafted for us the views that we see and the experiences that we have are often much more influence than we realize taking this
idea to a landscape you might consider more natural a National Park for example these landscapes have been shaped by humans also the view of Yosemite that you see here has been molded by conservation efforts this viewpoint has been chosen for us and the pathways leading to it carved with intent continue along this scale to a landscape you might consider the most natural one unmanaged and uninhabited by humans our presence there is still felt through our global influence on the environment just as the flap of a butterfly's wings may influence the breeze it still affects us
to these places where no humans dwell illustrate the geographical determinism in where we travel and where we settle there's a reason why 40 percent of the human population lives by the coast and there's a reason why we don't live there people and their lives on earth are shaped by the earth itself in this way our experience the way that we move the way that we flow through the landscape isn't dissimilar to water as water journeys on land as a river its path is affected by the shape of the landscape itself water always takes the easiest
route but equally as rivers traverse the geomorphology of the land their paths shape and erode it too so in this way the relationship is symbiotic constantly connected and influencing each other rather than humans actively being water though our brains are apparently about 80% perhaps a more accurate analogy is that we're on a raft with an oar in the water unlike the water itself we have more choice in how we shape the landscape stemming from our consciousness as human beings the river doesn't choose left or right it always flows according to the path of least resistance
but sometimes we choose the rocky roads the thrill of the rapids the path less traveled and sometimes we choose to take things into our own hands and create a canal with this sense of consciousness and choice can come a disconnection from the environment a sense of elevation above the ecosystem that we are part of rather than recognizing that were part of it affected by it feeling a sense of interconnection between ourselves and the landscape we separate ourselves from it we try to measure it we try to control it and we try to understand it as
other rather than us as part of it the subject of geography can be guilty of propagating this view famously divided into human geographers colouring in population maps and physical geographers studying oxbow lakes but geography isn't about separation it's about integration the beauty of the subject is the global spective that requires us to zoom out and to see the connections across the human physical divides if we can see how the human and physical spheres relate to each other in external examples then we can start to explore what it means for ourselves as individuals in our everyday
lives how we might be more River and here's where the yoga comes in in Sanskrit the definition of yoga comes in the root of two yoke to join in Union in yoga this is mind and body and for many also our feeling that the practice can connect us to something outside ourselves an essence of life that's in all so if we can integrate our mind and body are internal geography if you like then we can connect ourselves with the environment around us our external geography meaning we can out with presence intention and care and spend
more time in awe of what's both outside us and inside us too Yoga is an opportunity to practice this to embody intentions that we wish to take into our lives off the map so for example when practicing Tripos we learn that stability requires flex that wobble is necessary that balance requires constant adjustment and that also some days and some situations might make us more wobbly than others so what might it mean to be more tree like outside of a yoga class well perhaps it means that in times of trouble we recognize when we need to
flex and sway we know how far our limbs can bow and that when the winds of change get gusty we retain a sense of grounding through connecting to our core our trunk which we know can weather the storm even if some leaves are lost the yoga of geography might mean that as we walk around we take our attention to the soles of our feet noticing the texture resistance formation and support of the earth beneath them or choosing how we view the landscape if we're part of it and it's part of us how are we reflected
in the world that we see what clues might it hold for us what might the pieces we pick out say about who we are the yoga of geography might encourage us to spend more time looking up to notice the rooftops the shapes of the clouds the light as it passes between them and how their colors change depending on the time of day it might mean setting an intention to take a different route to work to sit in a different position and perhaps these altered viewpoints might cause other shifts changing a perspective on how we view
a person in our lives for example the idea of connecting internal and external this constant integration means the yoga of geography can help us to recognize when to allow the current to carry us when to try a little less to sit back on the raft and observe with curiosity about where we're taken I'd like to leave you with what for me is the essence of the ogre of geography whether you're looking up at the stars sitting by the River Thames strolling through the suburbs or eating fish and chips on the beach know that whoever you
are and wherever you are you are connected and you are significant because you're part of the world and the world is part of you returning to our River analogy on finishing its journey on land it joins the ocean so we finish here too with the Sufi poet Rumi you are not a drop in the ocean you are the entire ocean in a drop namaste
