Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” --Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. This federal holiday celebrates his legacy of action through non-violence. It is celebrated as a Day of Service that encourages community members to contribute something constructive of themselves to their community. Do good for your community today. The Idealist website lists many opportunities in which you can volunteer locally to help make our communities stronger.

Many of King's actions were steeped in the yogic traditions practiced by Mahatma Gandhi. Today, I like to reflect on one of the yogic principles that Dr. King, practiced: ahimsa or non-violence. Like Gandhi, he practiced non-violence in all the work that he did. He brought the principle of the first branch of yoga, the first yama, ahimsa, to all of his work.

Instead of violence, King encouraged resistance. When others got violent he would instead practice civil disobedience. Rather than arming himself with guns and other hardware, he used his speeches, marches and boycotts to resist the violence and the status quo in order to make change based on the non-violent principles, ahimsa.

Practice ahimsa or non-violence today. Non-violence toward yourself and non-violence toward your community. On this day last year, I wrote extensively about MLK and non-violent principles. Take a look to learn more.