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The Story of Sulley. The Story of the Human Cell.
The following romanticized story forms part of the Yoga Teacher Training programme—specifically, the Yin Yoga training. This is because a basic understanding of the cell is key to unlocking the magic of Yin Yoga. To grasp what the cell does—in general terms—I believe it’s important to first understand the story of the cell, a story of survival through stress.
I often say that stress, by itself, is not bad. In many ways, stress is the defining feature of our species—more specifically, how we have adapted to stress.
In this training, we look at the cell through a romantic lens and try to unlock its mysteries, exploring what it does. We aim to understand it not scientifically (as this isn’t a medical degree), but through metaphors, so we can appreciate how complex it is and what each cell needs to survive—and thrive.
The answer, to give away the ending of the Yin teacher training, is Oxygen.
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Excerpted from the Yin Teacher Training Manual
Welcome to Lesson 3: The Story of the Human Cell
Welcome to one of my favorite lessons from the Teacher Training programme—learning about the human cell. Now, before we dive into the depths of Yin Yoga, let me get a little poetic and share with you what is, in my opinion, the most important story in the history of life itself. It’s a simplified version, so apologies to any cellular biologists out there. But the goal here isn’t to make this complex. We’re not studying for a medical degree. We don’t need to know too many intricacies or, what the endoplasmic reticulum does. What we need to do is understand, and sometimes that’s easier when we use metaphors to bring it to life.
So, let’s rewind to billions of years ago. Picture life underwater—nothing more than a single-celled organism, the size of…well, let’s say a piece of LEGO. Now, think of us humans today as made up of 37.2 trillion pieces of LEGO. But back then, life was just one little piece—one cell, floating around in a world that was as hostile as it was fascinating.
This is where things get exciting. In what might be the most important moment in the history of life, this single cell (let’s call him Sulley) decided it wasn’t ready to call it quits. Sulley valued his existence so much that he did something miraculous: he duplicated himself. Every piece of what made Sulley “Sulley”—his DNA, his structure, his tiny internal processes—was copied perfectly into a second cell. This incredible process is known as mitosis, and with it, Sulley gave birth to the next chapter of life.
But Sulley was just getting started. He didn’t stop at one copy. He kept duplicating, sticking together with his new clones like a biological chain reaction. Before long, Sulley wasn’t just a single cell anymore—he was a whole colony of cells, like a spongy little creature. Still Sulley, but now made up of thousands of individual cells, all working in harmony, like a primitive version of a fish.
Sulley had become more than just a lone survivor; he was a pioneer.
As millions of years passed, the pressure to survive in the deep ocean intensified. The harshness of the environment, the threat of being devoured by bigger organisms, and the constant challenge of finding food drove Sulley to adapt. In response to this stress, Sulley developed specialized cells—eyes to see, ears to hear, and a sense of touch to detect danger and opportunity. Every adaptation was a response to stress, the driving force behind evolution.
Sulley needed energy to survive, and he discovered how to draw in nutrients from the water around him through his outer layer of cells. At this point, Sulley’s existence was a constant push and pull between survival and adaptation. Life was good, but Sulley’s curiosity was greater than his comfort. He wasn’t content with just floating along in the water. He had his sights set on a new frontier.
One day, Sulley decided to take the ultimate risk: leaving the water and venturing onto land. Many before him had tried and failed. They dried out, starved, or simply couldn't cope with the new challenges. But Sulley was different—stubborn, resilient. Slowly, his outer cells toughened to protect him from the harsh rays of the sun. His DNA, the master code inside each cell, adapted to ensure his survival on this new terrain.
Life on land posed new problems. For one, Sulley could no longer absorb oxygen through his skin, which had thickened to protect him. But Sulley, true to his nature, adapted yet again. Over millions of years, he developed a respiratory system that allowed him to draw oxygen directly into his body. This was a game-changer—Sulley could now breathe air and thrive in ways that would have been impossible before. And as his body became more complex, he faced another challenge: how to get oxygen and nutrients to all his newly formed cells.
The solution? Sulley evolved a heart. This new organ acted as a pump, sending blood rich with oxygen and nutrients to every corner of his ever-expanding body. What started as a single cell had become a highly complex, multicellular organism with specialized systems designed to survive in a whole new environment.
Fast forward billions of years, and here we are—Sulley’s legacy. That single stubborn cell has multiplied into the complex organism we call the human body today, made up of 37.2 trillion cells, each with its own purpose.
When we look at ourselves in the mirror, we’re actually looking at the story of survival and adaptation. We are a living reflection of how life has evolved in response to stress, driven by the same stubborn determination to live that Sulley had billions of years ago.
Now, here’s the deeper lesson I want us to think about. Each individual cell values life with everything it has, fighting to survive. But as a collective—us, as humans—how often do we lose sight of that? How often do we devalue the life we have, caught up in the stress and struggles of the modern world? It's a philosophical reflection that our cells can teach us: individually, life is precious. Together, we should honour that same value.
Of course, this is an oversimplified story. I’ve left out a lot of the scientific details, but the purpose here is to marvel at the miracle of our existence. To understand that from a single cell to who we are today, we are all a product of adaptation, survival, and, yes, a little bit of stubbornness.
As we move forward in this Yin Training course, especially when we start exploring the art of breathing, I want you to remember this journey. Every breath we take is part of that ongoing evolution, that same resilience that got Sully onto land. It’s not just about how we breathe, but understanding why we breathe the way we do—and how we can harness that knowledge to guide ourselves and our students into a deeper connection with life.
So, let’s celebrate our cells, our history, and our journey—and remember, we are a biological miracle in motion.
Zahir Akram - Eternal Seeker
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