Soul's Code

We asked readers to submit photos of themselves doing their spiritual thing — yoga, pilates, meditation, whatever — anywhere but where we'd expect to see them.

We received scores of terrific entries — a guy perched atop a hotel banister, a couple poised along the ridge of a canyon — so cool, that we were called to feature our favorites in a new Soul's Code slideshow, Meditation Junkies.

We love the Times Square yoga-pose because the setting is so counter-intuitive. Where do you quiet a busy mind? Of course! In the busiest place on earth :)

The spiritual teacher Ram Dass had a saying that goes something like: 'If you think you're so enlightened, go spend a week of vacation visiting your parents.' You can issue a similar challenge using Times Square as the benchmark: try maintaining a space of detachment and serenity there, of all places!

Sachin Kandhari, who lives on Long Island, did just that -- and as Ram Dass' aphorism invites us to try, did it with his parents! Sachin picked them up at JFK Airport (they had flown in from Dubai, where they live) and drove them straight to the Summer Solstice celebration at Times Square in Manhattan this past June 21. His father, himself a yogi, took this shot of Sachin doing a headstand, called the sirsasana pose.

'Besides simply having a good stretch in the city,' says Sachin, 'one of the goals is to practice meditation in the busiest place on earth.' Namaste, dude, and thanks for sharing your image!

NEXT: When heaven meets earth, and earth meets heaven