HOLGUÍN._In various parts of the Eastern Cuban city of Holguin there are people of all ages who habitually dedicate some portion of their recreational time to meditate for peace, love, our environment and the unity of mankind.
Speaking with Prensa Latina news agency in this tourist city located about 800km east of Havana, Rufino Pavón, who is a practitioner of Yoga (an ancient ritual which is increasingly popular in the modern world), said that those who integrate the practice into their lives enjoy a better and more fulfilling spiritual life.
He recalled that the meditation group began in a family apartment many years ago and that the participants “became conscious of changes taking place in their lives, sleep patterns improved and there were improvements in general health without resorting to medication. Many of those here today are founding members and they never miss a class”.
Pavón emphasized that their happiness stems from a sense of usefulness, adding that their Yoga practice has made real what once they could only aspire to: “a spiritual realization and a way to organize one´s life. Everything changes as one becomes a better, less self- centered and more tolerant person.
He recalled that Spanish teacher Sadhvi Yamuna Puri, who came to Cuba in August 2001 to support the project, encourages people to devote at least one minute per day to practice this science and to transmit thoughts of peace and love.
Yoga is considered by some to be a movement for peace, harmony and unity and “what better way to make real such beautiful concepts than through meditation!” Mean while, Issis Hernández, who became a practitioner of Yoga for Everyday Life three years ago, is of the view that the practice of this more modern school, which is in an inception stage in Holguín, will flourish.
She remembers that things began through contacts with the Barcelona Centre in Spain and that as a result the Spiritual Master Sadhvi decided to visit Holguín, widely known as the City of Parks, to lend her support and guidance and that instructors are now always trained under her tutelage.
Industrial electrical systems specialist Alejandro Peña said that there were nine groups in the city with a membership of between 15 and 25 and that many were senior citizens with health related issues who practiced Yoga as a means to improve the quality of their lives.
He added that Yoga is a science of the mind, body and soul which incorporates breathing control and meditation to balance the mind, the body, the soul, the aura and the spirit.
“When this state of equilibrium has been attained the person has then become the master of his/her own being. I have reached a degree of emotional balance, I am responsible for my own actions and I consider myself to be a happy man”. He began practicing Yoga when he was diagnosed with diabetes and he thought that was the end of the world, but through Yoga the day came that he no longer required medication. Project promoter, Mercedes Lores, called on the more than thirty members from the groups to participate in a joint meditation for world peace in Calixto García Park. She concluded her remarks by saying that meditation was a perfect way to communicate to everyone a message of peace, tolerance and universal love, as the most fundamental expression of that philosophy.
Lázaro Najarro, The Havana Reporter
