We have now reached 108 Facebook fans!!! Our beyoutiful community is growing, how exciting!!!!! A good opportunity to thank you so much everyone for being part of this enriching journey, thank YOU! 108 followers is somehow an important milestone! In Yoga, the number 108 has long been considered a sacred number. You’ll notice that on a mala, or set of mantra counting beads, there are generally 108 beads, or some fraction of that number. You may also have heard that number pop up as the magical number of sun salutations to complete. Why is that??! Well, while the number’s significance is open to interpretation, I have put together some of the reasons or facts that could suggest the number 108 is not such a common one:

** 9 times 12: Both of these numbers have been said to have spiritual significance in many traditions. 9 times 12 is 108. Also, 1 plus 8 equals 9. That 9 times 12 equals 108.
** Powers of 1, 2, and 3 in math: 1 to 1st power=1; 2 to 2nd power=4 (2×2); 3 to 3rd power=27 (3x3x3). 1x4x27=108
** Harshad number: 108 is a Harshad number, which is an integer divisible by the sum of its digits (Harshad is from Sanskrit, and means “great joy”)
** Desires: There are said to be 108 earthly desires in mortals.
** Lies: There are said to be 108 lies that humans tell.
** Delusions: There are said to be 108 human delusions or forms of ignorance.
** Heart Chakra: The chakras are the intersections of energy lines (the Nadis), and there are said to be a total of 108 energy lines converging to form the heart chakra. One of them, sushumna leads to the crown chakra, and is said to be the path to Self-realization.
** Sanskrit alphabet: There are 54 letters in the Sanskrit alphabet. Each has masculine and feminine, shiva and shakti. 54 times 2 is 108.
** Pranayama: If one is able to be so calm in meditation as to have only 108 breaths in a day, enlightenment will come.
** Upanishads: Some say there are 108 Upanishads, texts of the wisdom of the ancient sages.
** Pentagon: The angle formed by two adjacent lines in a pentagon equals 108 degrees.
** Time: Some say there are 108 feelings, with 36 related to the past, 36 related to the present, and 36 related to the future.
** Chemistry: Interestingly, there are about 115 elements known on the periodic table of the elements. Most of those, around or higher than the number 100 only exist in the laboratory, and some for only thousandths of a second. The number that naturally exist on Earth is around 100.
** Astrology: There are 12 constellations, and 9 arc segments called namshas or chandrakalas. 9 times 12 equals 108. Chandra is moon, and kalas are the divisions within a whole.
** River Ganga: The sacred River Ganga spans a longitude of 12 degrees (79 to 91), and a latitude of 9 degrees (22 to 31). 12 times 9 equals 108.
** Planets and Houses: In astrology, there are 12 houses and 9 planets. 12 times 9 equals 108.
** Goddess names: There are said to be 108 Indian goddess names.
** 1, 0, and 8: Some say that 1 stands for God or higher Truth, 0 stands for emptiness or completeness in spiritual practice, and 8 stands for infinity or eternity.
** Sun and Earth: The diameter of the Sun is 108 times the diameter of the Earth. The distance from the Sun to the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Sun.
** Moon and Earth: The average distance of the Moon from the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Moon.
** Silver and the moon: In astrology, the metal silver is said to represent the moon. The atomic weight of silver is 108.
** Numerical scale: The 1 of 108, and the 8 of 108, when added together equals 9, which is the number of the numerical scale, i.e. 1, 2, 3 … 10, etc., where 0 is not a number.
** Meditations: Some say there are 108 styles of meditation.
** Breath: Tantra estimates the average number of breaths per day at 21,600, of which 10,800 are solar energy, and 10,800 are lunar energy. Multiplying 108 by 100 is 10,800. Multiplying 2 x 10,800 equals 21,600.
** Smaller divisions: The number 108 is divided, such as in half, third, quarter, or twelfth, so that some malas have 54, 36, 27, or 9 beads.
** Hinduism: 108 is said to refer to the number of Hindu deities. Some say that each of the deities has 108 names.
** Buddhism: Some Buddhists carve 108 small Buddhas on a walnut for good luck. Some ring a bell 108 times to celebrate a new year. There are said to be 108 virtues to cultivate and 108 defilements to avoid.
** Stages of the soul: Said that Atman, the human soul or center goes through 108 stages on the journey.
** Dance: There are 108 forms of dance in the Indian traditions.
** First man in space: The first manned space flight lasted 108 minutes, and was on April 12, 1961 by Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut.

Soooo…… convinced?!! ;-)