The Meaning Of Dekhana

       I began working on my logo shortly after getting settled into the thought of being my own boss.  With no idea what message I wanted to convey, I decided to go to Central Park every morning after teaching my group classes. I'd leave the studio and read some books by Paramahansa Yogananda, namely "Autobiography of a Yogi" and "Man's Eternal Quest".   I would then meditate for at least 30 minutes with  the intention of understanding my purpose.  Meditation led me to realizing that I wanted to help people change from within, which is exactly the same journey I was on and will continue to be on because I do not believe I will ever be perfect but I can always be better and grow as a person.

        Yogananda's teaching had a strong influence on my decision because he was responsible for introducing the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga to millions of Westerners.  What I gathered from his teachings was that the practice of yoga was a way to get in touch with your inner self.  Yogananda was from India and practiced Hinduism, therefore I decided that I would use a word in Hindi to represent my business.  That's how i decided on Dekhana, because in Hindi it means "to look" and my goal was to get to help people to look within

      Once I had found my purpose and business name, it was time to determine how to express myself visually.  I remembered attending Paul Chek's Holistic Lifestyle Coaching Level 2 course, with his wife Angie as the instructor.  We were given cards with images and quotes on Day 1 that we would get to keep.  I received a picture of an eyeball and the card read, "Divine Wisdom Guides Me".  I loved that and I continue to keep that card on my bookshelf in the training studio in Harlem.  To me, the eye and writing on the card is a message to look within to discover my true path and guide myself.  

       Prior to the course, I had recently finished reading the "Wheels of Life" by Anodea Judith which gave me a deeper understanding of energies and helped me realize how powerful we could be if we spent some time understanding who we really are.  I felt that, in society, we would walk around trying to be someone we were not because of the pressures of our peers, social media or whatever we would see on TV.  One example I could use goes back to  when I was in college.  I was initially enrolled at NYU-Polytechnic as a mechanical engineering major and I had the opportunity to do a paid internship while in school. That experience gave me an opportunity to understand what I would be getting myself into in the work force in my field.  Luckily, although it took me a few years of ups and downs mentally and emotionally, while doing the internship I realized I would not be truly happy in the engineering field because my true passion was in fitness.  

       I left that job and dropped out of school to pursue a career in fitness, which at the time was just exercise but has since evolved into a complete exercise, nutrition and lifestyle approach.  If I never searched from within to understand that I was truly unhappy and was forcing myself to finish school and embark on an engineering career just because I was trying to prove to others that I was smart and "successful", I would be working at a stressful job, trying to figure out why I was so miserable. I would still be in good physical shape on the outside but really be what they call a "fit-sick" person on the inside.

      I wanted the entire logo to mean something, from the design to the colors, so I took time sketching out a bunch of ideas in the park before deciding on this one.  The eye in the logo is not only to encourage others but to also remind myself to look within for the answers when life is either going in the wrong direction or just reflect on the positive things going on in my life because it's all about the balance and there will always be ups and downs.  Thus, I used the Yin-Yang symbol in my logo to represent the balance in our lives which will help us to get through the tough times or overcome difficult challenges.

      The indigo represents the third eye or sixth chakra, which in turn represents imagination, clairvoyance and psychic abilities.  To me, this means helping people to imagine what they could become if they decided to take control of their lives and fully live out their dreams. 

      The violet represents the 7th chakra, which is the crown chakra, representing spiritual connection, oneness, understanding, knowing and bliss.  This to me represents Dekhana perfectly because I want my clients to truly know themselves.  That will help them to understand why they are coming to me for exercise, nutrition or lifestyle coaching.  Only then can I truly help someone change.