The Origin of Tri’s Name

What’s in a name? Lara Drummond, demonstrates she has a Masters in Religious Studies from SOAS University – the School of Oriental and African Studies – when she explains the etymology of Tri here, and how the hotel’s name came to her…

Much as we all love long, exotic, mysterious hotel names, when it came to christening our contemporary design hotel, we were looking for something short that had meaning. It needed to span East and West, have spiritual and scientific significance, and be pertinent to modern architecture and of our eco-ethic.

‘Tri’ came to mind during my yoga practice as I stood in trikonasana – the triangle pose. Ancient Sanskrit is an Indo-European language, and so the root word ‘tri’ means three to both Eastern and Western ears. The number three is considered auspicious – even sacred – in most mystical traditions. Buddhism centres on the triratna, its three jewels are Buddha, dharma [his teachings], and sangha [monastic community]; Hinduism venerates Shiva whose main attribute is the trishula or trident; Christianity is a trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost as alluded to by the crossing hand gesture – these are only a few examples.

Triangles were venerated in ancient times as a sacred shape and in Plato’s Theory of Everything he posited the triangle as the primary plane surface. In architecture, the use of the triangle is common because of its inherent strength – and you feel a strength in your body in yoga when the distance between the feet is the same as the distance between pelvis and leg, so the dragging of the feet apart is equal to the pull of gravity, and the result of this is stability.

Intended to be pronounced phonetically, ‘Tri’ is meant to be a play on the English word ‘tree’. Hugging the gentle hill that constitutes our promontory on Koggala Lake, Sri Lanka’s largest natural lake, the structures that make up Tri are built in a nautilus-shell spiral pattern, in keeping with the golden ratio. Our Koggala Lake hotel centres around the huge banyan tree that towers on the hill’s crown. The banyan tree is the little sister of the Bodhi fig tree, under which Buddha reached enlightenment, which is considered sacred to Buddhists (Sri Lanka’s main religion, and most prominent here in the Southern Province).

The tree features hugely in any spiritual context, representing the connection between Heaven and Earth, the giver of life and vitality. Mystical and philosophical traditions the world over use tree imagery, namely the Tree of Life, a many-branched tree which illustrates the idea that all life on earth is related. So when we checked and the domain for www.trilanka.com was still available, the decision was final. And Tri was born.

Quantum Yoga

Quantum Yoga – created by Lara Baumann Drummond – is a dynamic flowing exercise suited to your individual needs and designed based on an effective and safe grouping and sequencing system. It’s a yoga path that resonates with your personal requirements at all times and balances your inner nature, with the aim of bringing you into a state of greater harmony with the environment. Also it’s a spiritual system that adopts the holistic approach to health from the ancient Indian healing science of Ayurveda, while embracing the modern insights of Quantum Physics to maximise one’s power of conscious manifestation.

Lara Baumann teaches the Quantum Method of Yoga to all levels of students both publicly and privately worldwide. Her powerful relationship with yoga and a strong interest in Eastern philosophy is the result of an upbringing in India and Japan, which led her to complete an MA in Religious Studies at SOAS, University of London. As an apprentice, she has studied with Sri K Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, as well as BKS Iyengar in Pune. In May 2005, Lara took the Jivamukti 200-hour Yoga Alliance teacher training, and in July 2009 she completed the 500-hour certificate with Tripsichore. Her main teachers are Edward Clark, Danny Paradise and Clive Sheridan.

Lara’s objective is to guide people in developing an optimal, powerful, healing and sacred practice that leads to health, happiness and enlightenment. In January 2009 Mandala Publishing released Lara’s book a DVD and “Quantum Yoga, Creating Your Ideal Practice from an Ocean of Possibilities”. Mandala has now published the new expanded edition of this successful book with the new subtitle “Quantum Yoga, The Holistic Approach to Creating Your Ideal Practice”. Lara has published three Quantum Yoga double audio-CDs of the basic sequences that regulate each Ayurvedic dosha (body-mind constitution).