Beloved Friends and Family,

From the bottom of my heart thank you for your support and blessings. Your contributions to Yoga Aid 2008 have helped raise close to $50,000 for education in India! To me, all of you are yogis/yoginis because serving and sharing is true yoga not standing on your head for a few hours, touching your toes to your nose or doing 108 Suryanamaskaras! I've done a few Yogathons in the past and it always takes a little more than 2 hours to complete the 108 Suryanamaskaras but this time I didn't even notice how long it took because I just felt so loved and blessed because I have so many supportive friends and family that truly understand that living is giving and every small action makes a difference. What counts in being a true yogi/yogini has nothing to do with asana and everything to do with what is in your heart. A teacher of mine would say, "Doing Sirsasana is great but ask yourself, how do you live your life?" When yoga becomes your life then you see the same unity and divinity in all (including the environment). When you see the unity and divinity in all then how can you not contribute to making the world a better place in any way you can?

This trip to Rishikesh was most magical and I didn't think that was possible considering how special my trips before were. For me the evening Arati's were like a "divine happy hour" where people from all over the world, from all walks of life gathered to give thanks, rejoice and sing devotional music on the banks of Mother Ganga.

There is a very special energy on the banks of the Ganga and spending the first day of my 28th year doing sadhana (spiritual practice) there was unforgettable and I just felt so incredibly lucky. Children from the orphanage smothered me with hugs and sang Happy Birthday and my eyes were filled with tears of gratitude and joy. At that moment, in my heart, I knew that my dream of starting a school that truly teaches students to live in an ethical, ecological, spiritual manner will eventually become a reality some day. I came to Rishikesh alone but have never felt so much love and unwavering faith in the universe. All of the dedicated practice and studying from the past years are really coming together and I know the dots will all connect somehow :)

I heard there was a Lama from Arunachala Pradesh who started a school for disabled orphans visiting Rishikesh. I trekked all over Rishikesh trying to track him down because I knew that for some reason I had to meet him. I was having no luck but finally 40 minutes before I had to leave Rishikesh to get to Haridwar to catch my train back to Delhi one shop keeper knew where they were staying and I had to run with my bagpack and Ganga jal from Ram Jula to Lakshman Jula and I finally found him at the Jaipur Inn Hotel and luckily didn't scare him off even though I was drenched in sweat. I have never met someone so filled with compassion. He grew up very poor and worked as a school teacher for six years and saved every penny he had so he could start a school for disabled orphans. His students are some of the warmest, kindest, caring and huggable children I have ever met. He told me that his educational philosophy is quite simple--LOVE. Love is what is missing from schools and many homes. With Lama Thupten Phuntsok I have found yet another role model, mentor and brother in Dharma to keep me going and keep me inspired. Shortly after meeting Lama Thupten Phuntsok I saw a man wearing a shirt that said, "It is much easier to build strong children than repair broken men" and I couldn't help but think about the importance of encouraging the heart in my classroom no matter how draining it can be at times. I also spent a lot of time this past weekend with a group of awesome 11th graders from a school in Amritsar. Most of the students are American and the school is steeped in Sikh philosophy. The way in which the kids interacted with me and each other (they were so loving and friendly) just reaffirmed the importance of values based education. The school actually plays the American Embassy School in sporting events and they do yoga before all of their games! I am hoping to visit the school the next time we head up to Amritsar for a game. Students from the school also wrote beautiful songs and one of my most memorable experiences was singing with them on the banks of the Ganga, tears of happiness streaming down our faces as we all embraced…"To be confident…that the infinite…will take care of it…we're so fortunate." I just couldn't believe that these were high school students! I had a great conversation with them about how almost everything comes down to fear and the importance of fearlessness and living in spontaneous fearlessness and accessing one's svadharma and really, truly loving oneself. These are some very special kids! I wish I was thinking about that stuff when I was in high school!

I am in the process of organizing/directing Delhi's first ever Yogathon to take place this September. I will be raising money for Lama Thupten Phuntsok's school (www.manjushreeorphanage.org) and an orphanage for children in Rishikesh started by a very special devotee of Ramana Maharshi (http://www.sayyesnow.org).

I leave for West Bengal the weekend after next for a conference at Shantiniketan in honor of my dearest friend and mentor, the late Professor Gandhi. While his death has been difficult for me I do feel his strength and guidance at all times and I feel like his spirit is behind everything. Of course going to Shantiniketan has been a dream and Tagore is another hero of mine! The weekend after I am taking the Middle School Principal at the American Embassy School on my yearly Yatra down South in honor of some of my spiritual heroes (Ramana Maharshi, Sri Aurobindo, J. Krishnamurti) so we can also discuss how Indian philosophy might better improve educational systems and then I am off on a much needed meditation retreat for 10 days :)

I may go to Arunachal Pradesh to visit Lama Thupten Phuntsok at Manjushree Vidyapeeth and might be in England as well taking a course on enlightened activism/engaged Buddhism at Schumacher College. Oh well, everything will happen as it should :) If any of you are interested I am definitely attending the Gross National Happiness Conference in Bhutan next November and as soon as I get details I can forward them along. Together thinking will evolve and we will make the world a better place. I had students come to my classroom after school yesterday inspired to make change after watching "The Story of Stuff" (if you haven't taken 20 minutes to watch "The Story of Stuff" http://www.storyofstuff.com please do) and now we are working on an action plan to eliminate excess waste in our school community—my kids are amazing and they continuously teach me and keep me going.

Thanks again for your support and friendship. I am always wishing you eternal blessings.

With Love and Gratitude,

Meena