Padma is one of the names for the lotus, and its symbolism can shift the manner in which we choose to live our lives. The lotus flower is purity and beauty, growing out of the mud. The roots of the lotus are underwater, and the stalk rises to the surface. The lotus blossom never touches the water, but it is created out of the water.

The lotus represents what our human lives could become. The stalk symbolizes the spine, as it rises to meet the beauty of the flower atop the stalk that blooms, receiving the light. The bloom awakens with the light of the rising sun. The stalk (spine) is always connected to the earth, giving it stability and life.

In this classic seated pose, the yogi lifts out of the earth through the thighs, buttocks, and lower back, rising to embody the light and extend energetically to the infinite from which we come. The yogini lifts out of the energy of attachment to live in the world yet be unattached to it. All actions shift once we truly understand we are eternal beings and always connected to the light.