The Secrets of Spiritual Awakening

A great source for Yoga and Buddhist philosophy, Harmonium is a sanctuary in the bustling city of Hong Kong, offering training of the spiritual kind, which is based on the ancient wisdom traditions found in Asia.

Harmonium’s meditation courses and retreats are geared towards our daily demands, based on the belief that a fully awakened body, mind and spirit, lead us to deliver our most supreme work, bringing us joy, abundance and freedom from all our burdens. The teachings guide us and reveal how to live the life we have always wanted to live, eliminating all obstacles to success and true happiness.

“Over the course of the last 10 years I have visited Hong Kong several times a year, and as a city it provides a unique set of challenges and opportunities to really see the growth of a kind of spirituality that has true heart, richness and depth,” says Kristina Pao Cheng, founder of Harmonium. “If we have a light inside, then we have a responsibility to share it where it is needed.”

Cheng’s outer beauty isn’t just a façade, but perhaps a true reflection of her inner being, her beliefs and her goodwill to teach others about awakening their own greatness.

She found her true calling relatively early on, when she met her first yoga teacher, while she was still living in New York City. After that first class, she knew immediately what she was meant to do with her life. She graduated from university and became a yoga teacher, and soon after she met her Buddhist teachers, Geshe Michael Roach and Lama Christie McNally. The teachings of yoga and Buddhism started to merge, marking the birth of Harmonium and the knowledge she shares with her students today.

“The combination of both yoga and meditation together enables me to access a deeper wish to be a good person and make actual changes to improve myself,” she adds. “In addition I am able to develop overall general physical strength, as well an inner strength to pursue spiritual knowledge in this modern life. Through these practices I soon became a vegetarian and have greatly benefited from this practice of ethical and environmental concern. It is the greatest gift to be able to awaken these kinds of results for others. This inspired me to develop a company such as Harmonium that seeks to be a spiritual refuge in a city such as Hong Kong.”

There are many events in the pipeline for Harmonium, including the upcoming “How Karma Works” meditation course, the “Body of Liberation Yoga” series, as well as the “Empowering the Heart and Blessing the Mind” retreat with the Venerable Phuntsok - among others, which will all take place throughout October and November. Furthermore, Harmonium also plans to invite more well-respected teachers, including Geshe Michael Roach, who will return to Hong Kong next year, as well as other notable Buddhists.

“’How Karma Works’ is set up as a meditation course with an added component of Buddhist philosophy,” says Edward Sczudlo, who teaches the courses together with Cheng. “We will cover topics that address directly where things in our life come from, how and why they come into being, and how to plant powerful positive actions for future positive results.”

Only by understanding how karma and the art of giving truly work, will one be able to discover the secrets of spiritual awakening. But the interest in this transformation is definitely growing, and according to Sczudlo it’s just a matter of spreading the teachings and making them available to everyone.

“What we see in Hong Kong now is a lot of people who are truly interested in yoga, wisdom, and meditation. What we also see is no place where a participant can truly get the full breadth of teachings in yoga, meditation and philosophy combined. Yoga without all 8 limbs is only another complicated physical practice. To truly practice yoga we should strive to understand the 8 limbs of yoga, which include practices that range from non-violence to meditation.”

Vivienne Tang

For more information go to www.harmonium.com.hk

Harmonium's event schedule:

How Karma Works: Meditation Course 3 - 8 Week Series, Oct 7 - Dec 2

Body of Liberation: Lady Niguma's Yoga - 5 Week Series, Oct 9 - Nov 13

Empowering the Heart and Blessing the Mind Retreat, Nov 5 - Nov 7