Sunrise Beach Meditation

THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN SUSPENDED

By Belinda Mall

At first, just a tinge of pale pink wafts through the sky. Then very slowly the underbellies of the clouds begin to take on a rich shade of coral. The sky becomes brighter and brighter. Finally, the tip of a glowing orange ball appears. In what seems mere seconds, the ball grows larger and larger and larger until it pops from the confines of the horizon.

Sunrise, and you have become one with it. It's an experience everyone has the opportunity of sharing.

Sunrise meditation is shared every Sunday morning on the beach (just over the Lake Worth Bridge on the beach about 100 yards north of John G's Restaurant) in Lake Worth. Conducted by Bharata, director of Yoga & Inner Peace in Lake Worth, the service offers a chance to learn or practice the participant's own meditation techniques, or simply to absorb the marvels that nature has to offer.

As meditators sit silently on the beach, the waves dance before them in an uneven chorus line. Plover birds scamper along the shore, ever avoiding those waves. Pelicans fly overhead in search of breakfast. Hermit crabs skitter across the sand from one hiding place to another. A distant sailboat makes it way past the rising sun.

A calm serenity settles over the participants. Contentment comes as worries are forgotten.

"Jaya Ganesha, Jaya Ganesha, Jaya Ganesha, Pahimaam." The chanting has begun. "Sri Ganesha, Sri Ganesha, Sri Ganesha Rakshamaam."The chanting is in Sanskrit, but the benefits transcend the language. The five to 10 minutes of singing serve to add to the inner peace the participant may feel.

Both those who have never meditated as well as those who have practiced for years are welcome to the sunrise meditation. Both groups will gain for the experience. The services are held in Kruesler Park, just north of John G's Restaurant. They begin promptly at 6:00 a.m. and are held every Sunday, weather permitting.

Belinda Mall, a former teacher at Yoga & Inner Peace, is a former reporter and copy editor with The Palm Beach Post and a reporter with The Miami Herald. Her husband, Bob, has been teaching at YIP for over 14 years.