Numbers Bones and Yantras

At yoga recently I was asked by someone who came, why do we count back from 26 in Yoga Nidra. My answer was I have no idea, however I would be happy to get back to you. I didn’t find out why we count back from 26 however I did find out that we have 26 bones in the skull, 26 bones in the spine and 26 bones in each foot.

I also found out from another yoga teacher friend that we are more likely to count back from 27 ….108 (4 x 27 I know, I’m so good at maths!)

Ancient yogis believed that we can attune ourselves to the rhythms of creation by completing practices in rounds of this sacred number 108. Such as chanting Om. The number 108 holds much spiritual weight and there are 108 beads on a japa malas to repeat a silent mantra to.  Although I have never done breathing techniques for this long Pranayama is said to be most powerful  if completed in 108 cycles. 108 sun salutations are often completed in nine rounds of the 12 asanas or yoga postures.

108 is sacred in mathematics, geometry, astrology, numerology and in many world religions and spiritual traditions and the Fibonacci sequence. Each number in the sequence is the sum of the two numbers that precede it. So, the sequence goes: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, and so on.

108 has a way of representing the wholeness of existence. The Fibonacci sequence is also related to the golden ratio. The spiral arrangement of leaves or petals on some plants follows the golden ratio. It’s been called "nature's secret code," and "nature's universal rule." Fibonacci didn’t in fact discover this mathematical sequence instead it was in India by ancient yogis prior to Fibonacci by centuries.

108 also relates to the planets earth sun and moon and the distances apart at certain times of the year and the diameters of the planets.  I know right!

108 nadiis converging to form the heart chakra. One of them, sushumna leads to the crown chakra, and is said to be the path to Self-realization.

 There are 12 zodiacs and 9 planets and when multiplied, we get 108.

Then I found Yantras O mi….

The Shri Yantra: On the Shri Yantra there are marmas where three lines intersect, and there are 54 such intersections. Each intersection has masculine and feminine, shiva and shakti qualities. 54 x 2 equals 108. Thus, there are 108 points that define the Shri Yantra as well as the human body.

It would appear as it the number 108 and 27 have a great deal to do with a lot. Did I copy and paste a lot of this information from the internet. Yes I did however I still think it holds much spiritual significance. It doesn’t really have anything to do with the number 26 though but finding out about the 26 bones in skull, spine and the foot was enough to find some sort of pattern. That didn’t stop me though did it. I found something fascinating from one question. And I found Shri yantras that I feel will form the basis for some of my art work and my a brain is always open to the wonderful stuff around me which I am so grateful for. Thank you for the question!