Need help posting fliers

We're busy gearing up for the India trip in February. If anyone is interested in posting fliers in their town or at their yoga studio, please contact us. We are looking to branch out of our box and get some people signed up from new cities around the States.

We know that the economy and gas prices are anything but helping us right now. But we hope that with enough time, you can save your money and plan for a life moving adventure. Staying home is sometimes the most realistic way of dealing with forces outside our control. But branching out and meeting new people and learning about a new culture is way more enlightening in the long run. The economy will pick up eventually. In the meantime, how cool would it be to use this crazy time as a soul searching adventure where you never know what's around the corner? Where each day is a new beginning. Where each place you go is a totally new sight to behold.

With this down time comes an up time for personal growth. Or maybe it's time for a break from your family, your job and your regular routine? Life is full of twists and turns. Traveling in India makes you think each day about something you have never even considered. India teaches you to react quickly, to be always on your toes. The decisions you make could have a transformational outcome that often times changes the course of your trip. It's these surprises that make it so special. One second a person is trying to cheat you out of a rickshaw, the next second you meet someone who wants to discuss the meaning of life and totally transforms your entire outlook on Indian culture.

You'll never know until you try....lucky for you, we'll deal with all the logistics to make your experience one to remember for a lifetime.

Message from Swamiji

Embracing Life’s Challenges So We Can Soar High

There once was a man who noticed a beautifully woven cocoon on a tree outside his home. He carefully watched the cocoon every day in order to catch the first glimpse of the beautiful butterfly he knew would emerge. Finally, one day he saw a tiny hole in the cocoon that grew quickly as the hours passed. He sat watching the butterfly break her way out of the cocoon. However, suddenly he noticed that it seemed the butterfly had stopped making progress. The hole did not get any larger and the butterfly seemed to be stuck. The cocoon was bouncing up and down on the branch as the butterfly tried to squeeze herself, unsuccessfully, through the hole she had created.

The man watched in dismay as it seemed his butterfly would not be able to emerge. Finally, he went inside, took a small pair of scissors, and carefully cut the cocoon, allowing the butterfly to emerge easily. However, the butterfly immediately dropped to the ground instead of soaring gracefully into the sky as he imagined she would.

The man noticed that the butterfly’s stomach was swollen and distended her wings were small and shriveled, explaining her inability to fly. He assumed that after sone time, the stomach would shrink and the wings would expand, and she would fly in her fullest glory. However, this was never to be.

The man didn’t know that it was the very act of forcing her body through the tiny hole in the cocoon that would push all the fluid from her stomach into her wings. Without that external pressure, the stomach would always be swollen and the wings would always be shriveled. The butterfly would never fly.

In life, too frequently, we avoid the challenges, looking for the easy way out. We look for people who will “cut our cocoons” so that we never have to work and push our way through anything. However, little do we realize that it is going through those times of difficulty which prepares us for the road ahead. The obstacles in our path are God’s way of making us able to fly. With every bit of pushing and struggling, our wings become fuller and fuller. Without successfully navigating our challenges, struggles and hurdles we never learn how to fly. We never are able to leave the chains that bind us. We never become that beautiful, final product that God has envisioned for us. A butterfly’s ultimate destiny is to soar gracefully and beautifully, yet in order to do so she has to push herself through a tight cocoon. We can never know our own ultimate destiny is to soar gracefully and beautifully, yet in order to do so she ahs to push herself through a tight cocoon. We can never know our own ultimate, highest destiny unless we are prepared to face and overcome the struggles that life puts in our path.

So frequently, people come to me and say, “Oh, why has God given me so much strife. Why has He put so many obstacles in my path? Why is he punishing me?”

We must realize these are not punishments. Sure, karma plays a large role in what we receive in this lifetime, but even the things that seem like “bad” karma, are actually opportunities for growth. Even an extra small hole to squeeze through is actually an opportunity for our wings to expand to great lengths.

So, let us learn to take our challenges for what they are, rather than looking around for a “different” hole, or for someone with a pair of scissors. These things may help us pass quickly through the cocoon, but we will be unable to fly in life.

With love and blessings to you all.

In the service of God and humanity.

Swami Chidanand Saraswati

Kashmir Update

We have sadly decided to postpone the Kashmir trip. Kashmir is so incredible that will continue to offer it again next summer. We hope this allows for enough time to plan ahead, get in shape and save your money!

Please read the lead story I wrote called Finding Solitude in Kashmir on www.yogayaya.com

For more reading about Ladakh, Pico Iyer wrote an incredible article in the New York Times recently about this fascinating place.


Click here to download New Yorker article.