Isalayam celebrated the International Day of Yoga at the Mall of Travancore. The celebration included a public talk on The Essence of Yoga according to Swami Isa, a demonstration of asanas, and a class. Young and old yoga lovers from all walks of life showed up for the evening, and were treated to an experience of mindfulness in a most unlikely setting.

“Yoga is union with Total Consciousness, or Total Happiness, or the Divine,” the gathering was told. The eightfold path of yoga, or Patanjali’s ashtanga yoga, helps us to attain that unity.  These steps are Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. Reducing one’s energy frequency to the bare minimum is the culminating step of samadhi, which leads to union with Total Consciousness, the state of no vibration.

Isalayam yoga trainer Rima and her assistant, Jasmine, demonstrated difficult asanas and explained the benefits of them. Following that, they led a class in some of the more basic asanas that are easy to do and a joy to experience.