Get Centered with FREE Siddha Yoga and Meditation Sessions in Chelsea
Siddha yoga: kinda culty, totally awesome. I was first introduced to NYC’s Siddha Yoga and Meditation Center when my boyfriend told me to stop being a psycho bitch, and get a little inner peace in my life (okay, he may have used less-harsh terminology to describe my rage-filled state, but I can be honest about it– I was being a major B). Recognizing that the serious anxiety brought on by my quarter life crisis was indeed Not Okay, I decided to take his suggestion and try out this “siddha yoga” business– which you can also do at a FREE Tuesday class (called a “satsang”) held weekly from 7-8:30pm.
So siddha yoga isn’t yoga like you would normally picture it– there’s no putting your butt in the air, or saluting the Sun. Instead, a siddha yoga session consists of meditating, and chanting in Sanskrit while a band of hippies bang on tambourines beneath a giant framed picture of a guru. To an ignorant lady like me, the whole set-up initially seemed a little Hare Krishna-esque, but then I saw that there were “normals” at this thing (a.k.a. people who looked like they had just come from work, people who didn’t try to shove pamphlets in my face, people wearing pants). Honestly, at first I was a little nervous– but once I started singing those feel-good tunes about worshipping the god within myself, I had a major change of heart. The meditation in particular was wonderful, and the entire satsang felt like rejuvenating pit stop on this never-ending, high stress road trip that we call “Urban Living.” I could practically feel my bitchiness melt away after just one hour. It was great, no one cornered me afterwards to ask me to join a cult, and it was totally FREE.
So if you’re feeling like you need to unwind, I highly recommend a Tuesday night mediation sesh at the NYC Siddha Yoga and Meditation Center. ‘Cause, damn– how do you expect other people to love you, if you don’t love yourself?
Evening Satsang Meditation Session
Tuesdays, 7-8:30pm
FREE
Siddha Yoga and Meditation Center
230 W. 29th St.
[Chelsea]
Photo credit: Vedic Odyssey
