Dear All,

As you might have already heard, I have embarked on a new venture- Twin Heart Yoga (Thy). It is my initiative to explore and promote the science and philosophy of yoga. It is a platform for the practitioner to “Experience Mindful Transformation” The mission of Twin heart Yoga is to offer holistic wellness in all seven dimensions: Physical, Occupational, Emotional, Spiritual, Intellectual, Environmental and Social. Remember the POESIES I wrote in one of my blogs earlier. I had sent friend requests from my Twin heart Yoga Facebook page a while ago. Some of you accepted and some rebutted with a, “who is this yogi with two hearts”; now you know- Thy Jay.

I am starting our signature THYFLOW in Naperville in the first week of October. You may find the details in the attached flyer. The core of THYFLOW is you and your ability to transform yourself: Physically, mentally and spiritually.

I want to thank my wife Bindhu; and friends (Roopa, Mohan, Shobha, Vinesh, kamala, Sailesh and Monika) for their thoughts and inputs into the design of the logo to capture the vision of Twin Heart. Monika was able to detain our views in all its subtlety, “softness of those dynamic hearts” as Monika mentioned once. The two hearts represent the physicality and spirituality in you. Yoga is a balance. The red color of “O” in YOGA represents you: the center of Twin Heart Yoga. The red color is the base chakra that makes who you are; and how stable and healthy you are. You are flanked by your significant other represented by orange (Swadhistana chakra); and the community represented by green- Anahata or Heart Chakra. The green color also represent the love, compassion, service, joy and peace residing in you and the community. At the end of the day, yoga is a journey to discover and unearth that peace. The blue triangle in the end represents A. It also depicts tristana yoga (pose, breath and the focus.) The color represent the truth- visudha chakra.

The yogi in the center is supported by two hearts; or, sitting at the center of a lotus. I am big fan of lotus. I still remember those young days during the monsoon season (in India); after-school hours are spent in flooded paddy fields with gracious blooms of beautiful lotuses; fragrant and often elusive. The lotus telecast a wonderful message, “I have been into the deepest of muds; look at me now” It’s a testimony for transformation. Seed physiologists say that lotus seeds are the oldest well preserved viable seeds on earth! A wonderful lesson to learn from lotus.

I am working on twinheartyoga.com and is still in the delta version (a version farther from beta!). Wish I had a method for technological wellness! Hope to see you some time in my class.

Thy,

Jay

The fruit of silence is the union with the Divine

      “The fruit of yoga is samadhi- the pinnacle of yoga.” We hear this, often, in yoga. It intrigued me; I never understood what it meant while growing up in India. Our school field trips included samadhis of revered gurus- often, their tombstone area. Naively, Samadhi connoted those resting places. What is the point of being a yogi if the goal is “this” Samadhi?. Samadhi signifies more than we could comprehend. I find it hard to explain this as the final stage of union with divine in a yoga class where many seek physical fitness. It is more than fitness; it is beyond wellness and exaltation. A similar yogic term that intrigued me was brahmacharya.  Our convenient translation of brahmacarya to “moderation” did not justify the depth of this yama (commitment to nature as defined by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras). Brahmacarya and samadhi are related; we could practice it; we could live it- here and now.

In Indian tradition brahmacaris were celibates even though the ancient Hindu Ashram system defined brahmacarya as the first stage of human life based on age (other stages being grihasta, householder; vanaprasta, forest dweller; and sanyasa, renunciation). I always wondered why brahmacarya cannot be practiced in family; in friendships; in dating; in spousal bonds; parent-child and teacher-student relationships. To address this deeper one need to understand the roots of the word: brahma means divine and carya means stay or move. Collectively it becomes move with the divine or stay with the divine. If divine is love; living that love is brahmacarya. What is that divine love? I borrow the definition of love from late Pope (Saint) John Paul: Love is free, total, faithfull and fruitful. This love emanate from faith and prayer. As mother Theresa puts it, “the fruit of silence is prayer” When you are on the yoga mat listening to your breadth; submitting your strengths, weaknesses, imperfections, dreams and belongings; listening to your heart with love, compassion, service, peace and happiness you are moving with the divine. When you do not steal (astheya), kill (ahimsa), do not demand more than what you are eligible (aparigraha), speak the truth, and do not misuse of a relationship (opposite of love), you are in the realm of divinity; and close to it when we follow the attributes of that love.

Sama means equal; dhi means reflection. Samadhi also means a balance of happiness and sadness; it’s a balance of masculinity and feminity; it’s a balance of creativity and retrospection; it’s a balance of sun (ha) and moon (tha) in you. It’s in the balance we live with what have been given to us. The fruit of silence is the music of your breath- an intelligent music that does not have any parallels (Hathayoga prathipika, 1:45). This intelligence is the beginning of your journey to good karma, brahmacarya and samadhi.

Jay

(I would love to hear your thoughts)