In a world fractured by chaos and uncertainty, Yogmata Keiko Aikawa strikes with the stillness of somebody who has already arrived: Within the 5,000 yr historical past of yoga, Aikawa is the primary non-Indian and the primary—and solely—lady in historical past to earn the title of Siddha grasp, the best stage of non secular enlightenment. She holds the title of Mahamandaleshwar (Supreme Grasp of the Universe), conferred by Juna Akhara, India’s most influential non secular establishment, and her books have offered over 1 million copies worldwide. This yr, the globally acknowledged meditation grasp is bringing her observe all over the world, presenting a sequence of unique meditation experiences throughout Cannes, Paris, and New York.
Aikawa In Shivpuri
Photograph Courtesy of Science of Enlightenment
Born in Yamanashi, Japan in 1945, Aikawa started her journey within the cultural facilities of Tokyo, the place she based her personal yoga college within the Seventies and taught asana to hundreds. Her observe reached a turning level in 1984, when distinguished Himalayan saint Pilot Babaji got here to Japan to movie a tv program and invited her to coach with him within the Himalayas. Seven years later, in a distant area of the Himalayas above 5,000 meters altitude, she attained “Samadhi,” a state of human consciousness that transcends bodily and psychological boundaries to realize non secular enlightenment. (Samadhi is taken into account a harmful ascetic observe that’s beforehand resulted in fatalities.)
Shortly after, World Growth Parliament, a world consultant yoga and meditation group of the Indian authorities, formally bestowed her the title “Yogmata,” which means “Mother of Yoga” or “Mother of the Universe,” and Aikawa has carried it ever since. From then on, Aikawa has turn into a globally acknowledged meditation grasp, publicly performing Samadhi in India 18 occasions between 1991 and 2007 to advertise world peace and provides proof of reality all through India.
India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, receives a blessing from Aikawa on the United Nations
Photograph Courtesy of Science of Entlightenment
Over the past decade, she’s additionally graced the United Nations a number of occasions, first talking as a visitor of honor on the Worldwide Day of Yoga on the UN headquarters in 2016, and showing usually as a particular visitor within the years following. In her go to final June, throughout the summer season solstice, Aikawa shared the next message: “Yoga is not just physical exercise—it is the path to knowing the true self and ultimately reaching Samadhi. When people remember their essence and live in harmony with heart and body, that is the first step toward peace.”
This spring and summer season, Aikawa is embarking on a world tour that spans a number of the most culturally resonant locations on earth. In the course of the Cannes movie competition this yr, she hosted occasions on the Mondrian Resort and the American Pavillion, sharing secret Himalayan teachings that rework seekers, as she places it, “from charcoal to diamond.” A particular expertise at Soho Home Paris adopted, the place Aikawa introduced Himalayan Siddha meditation to filmmakers, creatives and cultural leaders.
Aikawa addresses United Nations meeting
Photograph Courtesy of Science of Enlightenment
Lastly, Aikawa will return to New York for her last cease at Soho Home New York on June 17 earlier than settling again in at her personal meditation dojo in Manhattan. Positioned on the thirty fourth flooring of Olympic Tower, the area serves as a sanctuary of stillness above the hustle and bustle of Fifth Avenue—providing an intimate area for practitioners to expertise genuine Himalayan meditation in an accessible metropolis setting.
