Western society mostly considers space to be an objective, geometrically-defined, and accurately measurable construction of physical elements, or “a construction of physical elements on the surface of the earth, as well as above and below it, to where the direct influences of human activities reach.”1
Heidegger addresses the problem of the default definition of space in Western society, saying that when we speak of people and space it sounds as if they are divided, each on their own side. He maintains that space is neither simply an external element nor solely an internal experience.2 We live in a world where the actual, the remembered and the imagined blend completely into one another. The reality we actually live is not grounded in the rules of time and space as defined by science.
The Urban Yoga advocates a complex concept of space, founded on the intersection of two equally important and inextricably linked levels of space, specifically the physical, geometric space, and the existential one that we experience: Smell, touch, taste, see and listen. How does your city feel?
For more, check out The Urban Yoga photo book. Together we can revolutionize the way that we relate to space!
Enjoy yourself. Enjoy your city.
~ Anja
1 The Spatial Planning Act (ZUreP-1)
2 Martin Heidegger in Juhani Pallasmaa, The Eyes of the Skin, Architecture and the Senses. (London: John Wiley & Sons, 2005).