Circles, Spirals, and the Art of Returning (again, and again)

In yoga, we often talk about balance—root to rise, grounding and lifting, inhale and exhale. These opposites give us structure. But sometimes they trick us into thinking life is linear. That there's a right way forward, or a final goal to reach.

But life doesn’t move in straight lines.

And neither does nature.

It spirals. It loops. It circles back.

This month in class, we’re exploring spirals—not just as a metaphor, but as something that lives in the body. The way your spine twists. The way muscles wrap around bone in corkscrew patterns. The way energy moves through fascia in arcs and waves.

Even your DNA spirals.

Movement isn’t mechanical. It’s organic. It curves. It flows. And when we move with that in mind, something softens. We stop trying to “get it right” and start listening instead—through breath, through sensation, through the way we revisit familiar shapes. Not to perfect them, but to feel what’s different this time.

Because spirals aren’t just pretty patterns in shells and galaxies. They’re nature’s way of building strength and flow. Energy moves best when it’s allowed to spiral. Maybe we do too.

Yoga philosophy calls this vinyasa krama—progression that’s intelligent, but not linear.

More like a spiral staircase than a ladder. Each turn brings us back to something we know, but with fresh eyes, a deeper layer.

And then there’s samsara—the cyclical nature of life. We revisit lessons, situations, even challenges. Not because we’re failing, but because each loop gives us the chance to meet them differently. To grow in the return.

In practice, that might look like your fifth Warrior II of the evening. But you’re not the same person who stepped into it the first time. The breath is different. The shape is different. Something’s shifted—a deeper exhale, a clearer gaze, a new awareness in your hip or hand.

You’re not going in circles. (And if you are, maybe they’re just really elegant ones.)

So this month, we’re flowing through spirals, arches, and patterns that repeat. We’re not trying to “nail” anything. We’re noticing what shifts. What softens. What wisdom shows up each time we return.

The universe pulses. So do we.

You’re not stuck.

You’re spiralling forward—with presence, with purpose, with breath.