It must have been in 2000, when a wonderful mom at one of our retreats taught us a hand gesture. We called it Heart Mudra. It was instantly adopted by the tribe as our greeting for the whole week, and became a permanent part of CircusYoga culture. The heart is formed with your thumbs and pointers. The other 6 fingers form the wings. You can greet another by making a Heart Mudra in front of your “heart center.” You can connect hearts with someone by joining your half with theirs. We’ve made up dances by rotating around the axis of our co-created heart. And we’ve blended Heart Mudra with the circus tradition of “Style & Smile” to make “Heart Style”—this is when you open your Heart Mudra into a gesture of “Tada!” The adaptations continue to take shape. We invite you to make Heart Mudra your own.

With this beautiful illustration by my sister Kristin Mele Bortles, we created the CircusYoga t-shirt. Our intention in the design of this t-shirt is to offer this image without words, allowing the viewer to connect directly to their experience of it. It feels a bit like walking around with a gift on the front of your shirt.

I can’t begin to recall how many times someone has stopped me to take a closer look at the image. Sometimes I notice people figuring out how to form their fingers in a heart, before I remember what shirt I have on. Often I get to teach them Heart Mudra. It’s better than a handshake and more versatile than a hug!

rebuilding lives one shirt at a time...

In our quest to find a printer in 2005 led us the San Francisco-based nonprofit Ashbury Images. Though they are across the country from us, so are the USA-made, super-soft t-shirts that we print on are. Either way the tees would be shipped. The best part is their mission—Ashbury Images provides employment opportunities, job training and hope to individuals recovering from substance abuse and homelessness. I’ve talked them up over the past years because I love what they do, so if you are looking for a printer, please support them. And now until December 2009 your first order is 10% off if you mention CircusYoga (and CY will also get 10% off our next). It’s all good!