Pausing for breath

IT IS mid-morning on New Year's Day at the start of the new decade and close to 30 people have gathered at Ziva Yoga in Tanjong Pagar for a meditation workshop.

Natural light, thoughtfully filtered to minimise the glare, streams through the tall windows of the shophouse space in the financial district; shadows fall gracefully across the wooden floorboards adding to the warm, hopeful vibe in the room.

But the day's agenda goes well beyond the feel-good factor. In a sense, the workshop sets out to demonstrate that there is a place for meditation amid the incessant demands and unyielding pace of everyday life in urban Singapore.