(We are keeping it light with our humour. There is no intention of offending anyone with our post).
Any person who has studied marketing will tell you to brainstorm on a multitude of names, symbols, jingles, colours, smells, etc. We were no exception. We spent a lot of time thinking about meanings and values and creating something simple and unique - that's exactly what Yoga is about!
There were lotus flowers, vector icons of yoga poses, and the familiar names and symbols you might see around. We thought of pink, gold, orange - of course; thin and thicker shapes, florals, funky industrial looks, eternal Indian Temples... a female, or male, character or even a sleek Ardhanarishvara - Shiva and Shakti as one.
After all the Bhrama(tic) creative moments, there was a hard time eliminating all these good ideas.
We decided on a descriptive name and a simple symbol away from the yoga cliches of lotus flowers - we do love those, though, so please do not take offence.
But from the beginning, there were ideas that were springing out again. Concepts we learned in our authentic teacher training and from our beloved teachers. And they were:
- the oneness of Yoga;
- the one activity which offers all we need in our daily life: physical exercise, breathing reeducation and mental focus - more than that if you are more advanced in your Yoga.
- the one philosophy theory with a proven set of values and a behavioural system, mental discipline, and a way of working on good conditioning of our complicated brain and consequent personal development;
- the one theory working on integration - which in Yoga we call becoming one with everything around us, individually, socially, nature, and - we love to say- "one with the universe"!
- the one practice which aims at helping us with our emotional understanding and dealing with suffering and death - yes, we all die, so better be emotionally ready for the inevitable.
- the one practice which is suitable for all of our one-self! Yoga, the one... YOGA1!
What colours should we pick?
Yoga1 takes inspiration from the Vishiddha Chakra, which is your throat chakra - your (energetic/focal) place for expression - try to point that in your brain? A bit difficult! And now try to point that in your throat area - focus on that area, and we hope the right areas of the brain will light and develop. Hurra!
But let's go back to the meaning of our Vishudha chakra: expression, which is what we offer: Asana - a physical scientific practice which becomes (expressive) artistic the more advanced you are; something which works directly on our confidence, personal delivery, and interaction through the practice of Hatha Yoga. We are using the body to reach the mind and vice-versa.
Of course, we made our blue a bit more modern by tinting it into a turquoise shade - we promise we were not trying to make ourselves posh like the Fortnum & Mason! We go well without the caviar and champagne!
The circle,
means the wheel of Yoga, a cycle, a continuation.
For us, a reminder that Yoga is a daily practice because we are always in a cycle of swings, destruction and repair, stress and calmness. A reminder that we are constantly aiming and working to keep a balance.
The Y,
is very self-explanatory, a Y for Yoga. Also symbolises the three main activities (limbs) of Yoga1, Asana (physical practice), Pranayama (breath and vitality) and Dharana (focus and mindfulness). Remember that we do not do meditation as we understand this to be a state induced by all other limbs of Yoga, just like bliss. We motivate you to get your bum down, focus inward and... good luck and enjoy it and feel this inexplicable feeling of ecstasy, more enstasy, really!
There we go! after 300 different symbols, fonts, etc, we got to it pretty easy.
Sometimes we put the chakra behind it, other times we add the copyright or text. When we believe we can we call ourselves a studio - hold that thought! - but mostly, we just have our beautiful and simple symbol - just like we aim to be.
Come and visit us
We are at Jetts Fitness, Farnborough - by the VUE cinema inside the Kingsmeads
2 hours of free parking - bring your ticket.
Is the door closed? Just ring the bell.
We have an ALL You Can Join Introduction Offer (unlimited plan within our limits). Only £35 - a bargain, now available in situ or online!
Come and join us - we are very competitive for what we offer: eternal salvatiooooooooon!
kidding, we offer you the tools to live a meaningful and healthier life. Take it!
Shall we have a jingle?
In our tradition, we give a strong emphasis on music therapy through our loved bhajans.
We always start with the Ganesha Sharanam - the of disperser of all obstacles. A clear reminder that nothing in life is easy - Ganesha Sharanam gives just the push we need for the day!
We confess this one is not our favourite bhajan. Still, we needed to make sure we would have Ganesha on our side to take us through the challenge of creating a space for Yoga - clearly, he missed COVID-19, but we have to forgive him!
And, there we go, we got the midi keyboard out, selected the "Steinway" piano sound and recorded a few chords! We cannot believe it only took us a couple of minutes to do it! Ganesha Sharanam Sharanam Ganeshaaaaaaaaaa