Yoga & Economics

I spent the better part of 11 years, from the age of 19 to 30 training diligently in a very traditional style of Karate. Far from being a Japanese martial art, Karate originated on the small island of Okinawa, part of the Ryukyu chain of islands off the south coast of Japan. And far from being simply a Japanese outpost, Okinawa was originally ethnically and politically independent, with its own culture and language and strong sense of identity.

Ryukyu translates as ‘like a short length of rope thrown on the floor’, the shape of the rope resembles the shape of the chain of islands. Those islands became strategically important during the second world war and the Battle of Okinawa was one of the hardest fought and most costly for both sides. Much of the island’s cultural heritage, including many of the next generation of Karate-Ka were lost.

I was trained by a very senior instructor who placed much emphasis on physical conditioning, including stretching and flexibility. He himself took inspiration from many additional sources including a close personal friend of his who was a very advanced Yogi. Consequently we would regularly practise elements of yoga including the ‘salute to the sun’.

This is how I came to be speaking with Hanna and Pete. Hannah teaches yoga and was doing the salute to the sun, or at least a version of it, on the beach in between skimming stones and enjoying the sunset. Seeing her flexibility reminded me that I used to be similarly limber; heck youth is just so wasted on the young!

Peter is currently studying economics. They are an interesting couple and I wonder what they will make of their lives, how well their plans will go, whether they will stay together or find different people to spend their lives with.

The light was fading pretty quickly and hadn’t been all that good the whole day. In the last moments of the afternoon the breaks in the clouds on the horizon where the sun sets allowed enough light to filter through. The red and yellow buoy made a perfect prop, adding colour and giving them something to recline on.