Once again, the annual Global Mala Project will happen on Sept. 26, 2015. This year it will be held at WhiteSpace Manila and falls on the United Nation’s Day of Peace and the Fall Equinox. Manila will be participating simultaneously with cities that include Los Angeles, New York, London, San Francisco, Tokyo, etc.
Teresa Herrera-Anthony, a well-renowned model, environmentalist, and yoga teacher, brought the Global Mala Project to the Philippines many years ago. I just checked my blog and realized that I had written about Global Mala as far back as 2007! Here is the link to that 2007 post.
Why is it called Global Mala Project?
The Global Mala Project is dedicated to promoting peace and positive change through yoga. It also seeks to raise social consciousness as well as funds for noteworthy causes. Its founder, Shiva Rae, happens to be Teresa’s yoga mentor – the very reason why Global Mala was able to reach the shores of the Philippines in 2007 and every year since.
In traditional yoga, mala is a set of beads (much like a Catholic’s rosary beads) used to focus awareness during meditation.
Wooden mala beads (from www.trich.org)
The traditional mala beads have 108 beads. In a Yoga Journal article, Shiva Rae explained why there are 108 mala beads:
The number’s significance is open to interpretation. But 108 has long been considered a sacred number in Hinduism and yoga. Traditionally, malas, or garlands of prayer beads, come as a string of 108 beads (plus one for the “guru bead,” around which the other 108 beads turn like the planets around the sun). A mala is used for counting as you repeat a mantra—much like the Catholic rosary.
Renowned mathematicians of Vedic culture viewed 108 as a number of the wholeness of existence. This number also connects the Sun, Moon, and Earth: The average distance of the Sun and the Moon to Earth is 108 times their respective diameters. Such phenomena have given rise to many examples of ritual significance.
According to yogic tradition, there are 108 pithas, or sacred sites, throughout India. And there are also 108 Upanishads and 108 marma points, or sacred places of the body.
The earlier Global Mala Projects worldwide had yogis doing 108 sun salutations, one for each mala bead. However, in recent years, Global Mala Project in Manila has evolved from just the 108 sun salutations. Because of the growing yoga community in the country, together with an ever-expanding number of practitioners and yoga styles offered, Global Mala Project Manila is now a day-long event divided into different classes with different topics and yoga styles. Yoga teachers, kirtan musicians, health & wellness resource speakers, and life coaches will be coming together to offer a whole range of class choices. Participants can choose to attend any class among 4 simultaneous tracks or themes from 8AM to 10PM. All proceeds of the event will go to this year’s beneficiary – Children International.
Here’s the schedule for the Sept. 26 Global Mala Project at WhiteSpace Manila (8AM to 10PM):
Schedule of Global Mala Project 2015 (click to enlarge image)
Where to get tickets?
Global Mala tickets are priced at PhP 750 each and are available at the following outlets:
Sprout
Ground Floor, Signa Designer Residences,
Valero cor. Rufino Street,
Salcedo Village, Makati City
Certified Calm – Shangri – La Branch
Level 3, Shangri-La Plaza
Mall (Main Wing), EDSA cor.
Shaw Boulevard,
Mandaluyong City
Certified Calm – BGC Branch
Two Parkade, 30th Street
cor. 7th Street, Fort Bonifacio
(BGC), Taguig City
A Space Manila
every Monday – Friday between 1PM-5PM
c/o Collective 88
5F Aboitiz Building,
110 Legazpi St, Legazpi Village, Makati City
See you there!
With Teresa Herrera-Anthony (2nd from right)
About Global Mala’s Beneficiary – Children International
Children International is a non-profit humanitarian organization founded in 1936 with the mandate to provide support to the children and their families living in poverty around the world. The organization provides support to more than 335,000 disadvantaged children in 11 countries – Chile, Colombia, The Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Mexico, the Philippines, the United States, and Zambia.
To learn more about Global Mala Project Manila, follow them here:
Facebook Page: Global Mala Project Manila
Instagram: @globalmalamanila
Twitter: @globalmalaMNL