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When the Mind Became Still
When the Mind Became Still
After thirteen years in the corporate world in Turkey, my wife and I decided to leave our home country in search of a different kind of education for our children. We believed that travel itself could be one of the greatest teachers.
Our journey took us to Beirut, where we lived for four years. Among the beautiful cedar mountains of Lebanon, I attended a silent retreat—a deep dive into myself.
For as long as I can remember, my mind had been a great navigator. And, frankly, it had served me well. It had helped me make decisions, solve problems, move forward.
The Awakening
The Awakening
But in those mountains, I left my mind alone.
With nothing to read.
No one to talk to.
Nothing to distract it.
And for the first time, I realized that I had a body. And a soul.
My mind, confronted with its own vulnerability, did not try to take control. Instead, something unexpected happened.
It invited the body and the soul to come together.
A union of mind, body and soul. That union was yoga.
A union of mind, body and soul. That union was yoga.
“I am because we are.”
“I am because we are.”
I began practicing yoga deeply and intensely at our next stop, South Africa. And there, I met a wise Zulu woman who introduced me to the philosophy of Ubuntu.
“I am because we are.”
She taught me that who we are is not defined only by ourselves, but also by the compassion, kindness and connection we share with others.
And suddenly, I realized that something was missing.
If yoga was the union of mind, body and soul, there was one more essential element:
You.
You.
Because a union that exists only within ourselves is not yet complete.
Yoga becomes something greater when it is shared. When one practice becomes two. When two people breathe together, move together, support each other and simply become present for one another.
This is where Ubuntu Yoga Union began.
A union of mind, body, soul—and you.
Because I am, because we are.
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