Mickey Mehta and Krishna Khunti turn the spotlight on the first-of-its-kind yoga and life spirit festival, Zambhala, at Goa.
Wellness and holistic living assume priority at Mickey Mehta’s 360˚ Wellness Temple at Babulnath Road, the ideal setting for a holistic session. Last weekend, the studio, run by the holistic health guru, witnessed a huge inflow of people, who were there to attend Zambhala Connect, a pre-cursor to the first-of-its-kind yoga festival to be held in Goa on December 22-23.
Dressed in tracks and a T-shirt, Mehta—much to the photographer’s delight—turned out to be the coolest subject at the workshop.
“Zambhala will bring together some of the greatest yoga experts, spiritual teachers, practitioners, healers, musicians, and artists from across the world,” said Mehta, talking of the festival at Goa.
Going by the great turnout of enthusiastic SoBo residents keen to embrace their spiritual side at Zambhala Connect, Mehta’s workshop seems to have set the tone for the festival. “There has never been such a gathering of yoga, spirituality, music, expression and dance in a festival context in India,” he says. There is little doubt that yoga, music and spirituality cut across barriers of age, race, religion, nationality, and social status and Zambhala hopes to provide an opportunity for people and practitioners to widen horizons, experiment, express, participate and educate themselves with like-minded people.
It is about getting in touch with your inner self and channelising your energy in a positive and constructive direction, which could lead to a more balanced life. “We are all enthusiasts; social engineers of change hoping to build a society of values and well-being. The festival is a celebration of the good. It will stimulate your senses, strengthen your consciousness and help you realise the core of your existence,” said Mehta.
While Mehta hopes to celebrate his holistic approach at the festival, there are others who will be flaunting their inner healing skills there. Take the case of Krishna Khunti, a downtown based Reiki Master, who loves to meditate and chant. In addition to this, she is a senior level consultant and voice-over artist. “I am from UK and I came to Mumbai three years ago,” said Khunti, who is of Indian origin.
There came a time after her graduation from the University of London that she experienced a ‘quarter-life’ crisis. Renouncing familiarity, Khunti decided to venture into the unknown. She first went to Tokyo, where she lived and worked for almost a year, before deciding to come to Mumbai to teach street children.
Introduced to the profound blessing of ‘Om Healing’ during meditation classes, Khunti trained in Reiki for over five years and qualified as a Reiki Master and teacher with a Mikao Usui lineage. At the festival, Kunti hopes to conduct a Reiki show where more than two people will perform Reiki on one individual. “I doubt something like this has happened before in India. The energy will be stronger and the effect will be there for everyone to see,” she enthusiastically added.
Though Mehta and Kunti feel that the Zambhala festival needs to happen at least twice a year for people to take note of it, Mehta also points out, “But if it happens too often it will lose its essence and novelty,” said Mehta, who has specially penned a song for the festival.
The line-up
Zia Nath - Danseuse, Sufi Whirling
Duncan Wong - Yoga teacher and founder, Yogic Arts
Geshe Lhakdor-la - Director, The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives
The Yoga Institute - The world’s oldest yoga institute
Dr. Newton Kondaveti - Past life regression therapist
Jehangir Palkhivala - Yoga teacher
Deepika Mehta - Ashtanga Yoga teacher
Eoin Finn - Yoga teacher & founder, Blissology
Kishan Shah - Yoga teacher & Ayurveda practitioner
Tarminder Manchanda - Crystal Healer
Swati Mishra - Reiki Master & Yoga teacher, The Bihar School of Yoga
Ruzbeh Bharucha - Author
Shifu Kanishka Sharma - Shaolin Martial Arts
Herbert Quinteros - Amazonian Indigenous Shaman/Curandero
Yogi Adnan Cabuk - Yoga teacher & Ayurveda practitioner
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}