How you discover what reincarnations means

...is revealed by yoga master Reza Singh.

„From the moment of conception, all entities are subject to a process of continuous change.”
Visitors are greeted by this quote from the Dalai Lama when they enter the reception area of a yoga school. The sweeping letters of the saying in warm, discretely interwoven shades of red adorn the wall behind a wooden bar counter. Here, Reza Singh, the guest teacher from India, and the owner of the institute are fortifying themselves with a tasty smoothie. (Photo: fotolia/ jd-photodesign)

„I find it simply fascinating that car rims can be produced from aluminium trays, window handles from aluminium beverage cans and engine blocks from aluminium tubes – and without any loss in quality.”

“With aluminium it is more a case of the material being used than consumed. This is evident from the fact that some 75 per cent of the aluminium produced in the last hundred years is still in use today.”

Fascinatingly renewable

The furniture is very original, comprising individually designed items of furniture, some made from construction timber. It appeals to the Indian yoga master.

“Change and sustainability are not only important principles for an individual experience at a yoga school,” says the guest from India. “In Germany I am learning more and more about recycling.” He removes a small, burnt-out tea-light from the colourful mosaic glass candle holder standing in front of him. “I find it simply fascinating that car rims can be produced from this small aluminium container without any loss in quality or that window handles can be made from aluminium beverage cans or engine blocks from aluminium tubes. And sometimes used aluminium packaging is turned back into new packaging,” he adds. The owner gets a new tea-light from the cupboard behind the counter, lights it and lets it drop into the pretty glass candle holder, which now glows softly. The yogi gazes into the flame. “How much energy is needed to recycle aluminium?” he asks.

The yoga instructress smiles. “During aluminium recycling, 95 per cent of the energy that was needed to extract the aluminium in the first place is saved”, explains the well-informed lady. She talks about the foundation of her studio. “Health, the environment and acting responsibly are important for me.
So from the very start I took experts in sustainability and recycling on board and they advised me on equipment and fittings and on the use of consumable materials,” she tells her Indian guest. “With aluminium it is more a case of the material being used than consumed,” she says. “This is evident from the fact that some 75 per cent of the aluminium produced in the last hundred years is still in use today.”

Team player aluminium foil: the guarantor for a stable partnership

The outstanding barrier protection of aluminium results in a whole host of knock-on benefits. The longer shelf life at room temperature of foodstuffs packaged in aluminium reduces deterioration or wastage. There is then no risk of losing the resources used to produce the foodstuffs, which are often several times greater than the resources needed to produce the packaging.

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Germany is recycling

The studio owner disposes of the aluminium coffee capsule that she has just used, putting it in a yellow sack. “The industry and we consumers must ensure that aluminium is returned to the material loop. This functions very well in Europe, especially in Germany.”

The next yoga session starts. The exercise room in the annex of the old villa is glazed on three sides. In this room it is as bright as if one were standing in the middle of the park-like garden.

The yoga master closes the floor-length curtains to avoid disturbing the yoga pupils’ concentration. Pleasant light filters through the orange material. Like the rays of the sun, mustard-yellow yoga mats encircle the burning candle in the centre of the room. Pranayama. The art of breathing. There is controlled breathing in keeping with the sinuous movements of those exercising und this supplies the stretched muscles with oxygen. “Try to be light,” he says. In doing so he thinks about aluminium. It is strong but at the same time flexible and light. Just like the body of a yogi should feel. The yoga instructor gives instructions to change poses by announcing their names: the cobra, the eagle, the tree, the mountain or the half moon. A continuous metamorphosis. His thoughts turn again to the conversation he has just had about aluminium recycling as he says, “Everything is continuously changing. A loop. Hold your breath and keep the energy flowing.”

Aluminium is a valuable material resource

Aluminium completely retains its abundance of attractive properties even after it has been used in a product. The energy used to produce the aluminium remains stored in aluminium packaging, which is why packaging can be described as an energy bank. With suitable processing, the metal can be recycled time and again without any loss in quality whatsoever. Because the metal retains its high intrinsic value, at the end of the utilisation phase it is also worthwile economically to collect,process and melt the aluminium before using it as feedstock for a new life cycle. Aluminium accrues as a secondary raw material during its processing or at the end of its product life, and there is a high worldwide demand for it. The recycling rate of the light metal is very high,particularly in Germany. In the packaging sector it now amounts to 89 per cent, and it is a high as 96 per cent for beverage cans with a deposit.