Leela means "Play" in Sanskrit & it’s a new Interactive Meditative Gameby Deepak Chopra

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while now, you know that I’m a bit of a gamer, and my husband defines the word. I don’t play, or even like, most of the games he plays. And since I don’t have too much free time on my hands any longer, I don’t really play games unless they’re going to enhance my life in some way, which is why I’m super excited about “Deepak Chopra’s Leela.”

Other than when I’m asleep, I don’t spend much time relaxing. I try to stretch before bed every night but not in an introspective and quiet way, I do so while watching TV, so the idea of a game that forces me to focus, breathe, and practice awareness really grabbed my attention. Using the Kinect for Xbox 360 without clumsy controllers just makes it all the more appealing.

When you turn on the game, you hear the soothing voice of Deepak Chopra, guiding you through the steps with soft background music that resembles the game “Flower” a little. It’s immediately relaxing, and I found myself inhaling deeper than moments before. I felt the tension and rigidity in my body loosen before gameplay had even begun.

First, you create your personal Mandala, which means “circle” and becomes your avatar for the game. There are two main parts of the game: “Play” is active and “Reflect” is introspective/meditative. Under play, there are 7 different movements that align with your Chakras, the way of understanding the way energy flows inside of you, and each movement has 7 levels that, when unlocked, move you forward to the next movement. From the base of your spine to the crown of your head, the levels correspond with Chakras, aligning mind and body to the spirit of the universe.

Beginning with Origin, gameplay forces you to slowly move your hips back and forth to tilt and rotate the planet towards the rain or sun to plant seeds and grow trees and grass. The second movement, “Life” focuses on the chakra just below your belly button and pelvis and is fertility-based. By twisting your hips one way and the other, you move and connect seeds to pods to nests creating what resembles sperm and eggs. With my difficulties getting pregnant, I particularly like this movement and hope it will bring a sort of calm to my uterus and a fertile breeding ground for babies. But if nothing else, there is a sense of meaningfulness while playing, and it is 100% relaxing with an element of playfulness and fun.

I’m currently still on the “Life” movement, breathing and twisting and rocking myself into a calm awareness that is surprisingly peaceful. I’m excited to continue playing every day for at least 30 minutes to just center myself because it has done wonders so far. I have felt more balanced and focused since beginning to use it. Deepak Chopra said he thought games like Leela could “accelerate neural development and biological evolution,” {source} and I kind of love the sound of that.

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