Ashtanga Yoga
Let’s think of temple architecture. Of silent, twinkling, dimly-lit confined spaces that appeal to soul-searching. Let’s think of simple forms, of arrangement and structure, of echo, air, wind, sunlight, of breathing body shapes, of spaces brimming during practice, essential for looking inward.
“Let the light come in and brighten the practice… without dazzling it...”
“Light is a line dividing house from school, glowing the room from below, as if it was hanging from this line. Light is a line which tells of the passing of time, the hours of the day, the year seasons. Where light enters is also where air comes in and out, where breathing takes place.
“Light tells us about the passing of time. It affects objects as it builds time. It’s through light that we are aware of its endless course, of its linearity and cyclic nature. Not just light: lit matter is also necessary. Therefore, the importance of shade. Because pure light blazes. It burns it all and makes a desert. In a desert, there’s no shade to neither cool our eyes nor give us relief, and time stops ruthlessly (it gets unbearably broad), and life ceases. Excess of light is death.
J. A. F. S. A Conscious Use of Light in Architecture.