N.B. resident provides proper practice of yoga
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer

Acharya Girish Jha

NORTH BRUNSWICK — Although most people think of yoga as a religion, a renunciation or a means of exercise, Acharya Girish Jha is trying to bring about the truths of this ancient form of transcendence into human excellence.

Jha, a North Brunswick resident, said that the fundamentals of yoga direct individuals to the path of self-discovery by trying to reach a summit of consciousness. Human excellence manifests as health, harmony and happiness, as well as personal, professional, social and spiritual excellence, in addition to peace, prosperity and success.

"When you evolve spiritually, when your mind evolves, the mind gains these powers, but that does not mean yoga does magic or tricks," he said.

Therefore, Jha holds several classes and workshops to teach the art of yoga. For private instruction, classes range from 30 to 150 minutes and are divided into sessions of individualized, specific practices from the 52 different groups of authentic yoga practices. He also teaches shanti meditation, corporate governance and management, corporate stress management, youth stress violence management, healthy aging, women awakening, grief and suffering management, integral holistic therapy and intensive meditation.

"You do the physical practice of yoga to bring out the synergies of the body, of breathing and of the mind," he said. "It integrates your body, mind and emotions that result in inner harmony."

He also develops curricula for New Paradigm of Living, research projects related to the consciousness, and undergraduate diploma programs on yoga, human development and stress management.

He also volunteers regularly at the New Brunswick Senior Center in the Healthy Aging program; he taught a corporate stress-management program for Rotary Club International in New Brunswick; he helped incorporate a program for IBM in India; and he said he led a stressmanagement program for the Central Bureau of Investigation in India.

Jha's path to the study of yoga dates back to the age of 14, when he visited various religious places. At 23, depressed as a result of not joining the army, he went to the Himalayas in search of truth. At 25, he discovered a mentor there and began learning from more than 100 masters in India who belonged to different beliefs. Living without any food or clothing for days at a time, he said he learned to discover truth in silence.

At 35, Jha joined a diplomatic service, teaching and conducting programs for ambassadors and diplomats for over three years. He worked for 25 years with the government of India in management, research, education and administration. At age 47, he received an Extraordinary Ability Visa to come to the United States and began to work for New Paradigm of Living, which combines yoga, science and spirituality.

Because of the influence yoga has had on his life, Jha's next aspiration is a business social project that could draw upon the $200 billion yoga industry. It will return the resources earned to people in the world while dedicating research for the brain, mind and human consciousness. Jha hopes to find financial backers to help design a program that will train teachers and studies of yoga.

"Who does not want to be a better person in this world, to excel in one's life in this world, to have health, happiness and harmony in one's life?" he said.

For more information, visit www.shreyasyoga.com.