The revered koi

Let’s face it. Most yoga studios have logos with… lotus flowers on them. Or, graceful stick people in a pose. Or, a yoga mandala. And that’s all well and good, but… there’s more to yoga, and to life, than just the meditative zen side. If yoga is about balance, I prefer the symbolism of the Japanese koi.

Koi aren’t inherently Japanese. They were introduced by the Chinese, and were incorporated into rice aquaculture – the koi fertilized the rice, and the rice purified the water. When times were scarce, the koi were harvested and eaten – and since they can breathe air for a short time as well as underwater, they gained the reputation of being ‘the only fish to not quiver on the chopping block’. You can see quite a few Samurai helmets, featuring the unwavering koi!

Anecdotally, a rice farmer noticed an orange spot on the head of his koi, and began to selectively breed them to become the bright, beautiful ones we see today. But besides their outward qualities, there are inner qualities that shine more brightly than their scales. Much like our yoga practice, when our action is on the outside, but our character is built on the inside.

Koi are well-known to swim against the stream, and therefore represent overcoming obstacles, embodying strength, courage, patience, and success through perseverance. They can grow quite large, and live for a very long time; so they also stand for abundance, prosperity, and good luck! Furthermore, koi are also graceful, languid, slow moving swimmers when they’re at rest. Thus, they symbolize tranquility, and peace.

Yoga practice can be about finding the balance between effort, and surrender. We experience muscles shaking on the outside, in order to practice stillness on the inside. We experience life coming at us from all sides, and strive to meet it gracefully, like being the eye of the storm. Always more easily said than done, but – I heard once that if you ask God for peace… God will send you a storm, to learn to cultivate some of your own.

Maybe fish aren’t so dumb after all. If I can learn to work hard when necessary, relax where I can, breathe no matter what the situation, and in so doing live long… I might be learning from the koi how to enjoy being human.