Remembering Dr. King

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday is celebrated today as a day of service. He was assassinated at age 39, but many of his principles and actions continue to live on in our country. King galvanized American society of the 1950s and 1960s via non-violent means including bus boycotts, marches, organizing sit-ins and more. He encompassed the philosophy of non-violence via passive resistance in order to change the ability of racists and racism to flourish in our country. Even as racism rears its ugly head much higher these days than we are used to, Dr. King's principles continue to reverberate throughout our society. As a whole society, we have a lot more awareness of social justice than during the civil rights era. Of course racism finds a way to pop out of its hole, but King brought these basic principles to the forefront of the American psyche and so the meaning of his life and work continues.

Dr. King based his philosophy on that practiced by Mohandas K. Gandhi, the Mahatma, who was the great leader of India's liberation from the British colonial rule. Gandhi's ideas are steeped in the traditions of yogic philosophy with non-violence or non-harming (ahimsa) being the very first principle of yoga.

The very first in yogic discipline in the branches of yogic philosophy is ahimsa. Ahimsa is translated from Sanskrit as non-violence or non-harming. Ahimsa means not just being peaceful in the face of challenges in society. It also means finding the peace within you. It means taking action to change our inner selves while working to avoid violence, harm or abuse to ourselves. A healthy diet, an active life, seeing a doctor when needed are just three ways to do non-violence to yourself. Seiberling (2018) stated that ahimsa begins "at home." Rather, within ourselves. Offering the same warmth and smile that we give to others, we give also to ourselves.

Ahimsa also means contributing to the peace of society at large. Non-violence means taking action to change the world without violence and bring peace to it. It was King, Gandhi, Mandela, and others who set out to live this principle of ahimsa by peacefully demonstrating how they wanted to make huge changes in their own societies and the world.

Upcoming Classes

Yoga nidra classes continue online at 7:30 ET Monday nights. Pets love yoga nidra! Henri the cat joins us during yoga nidra every Monday night along with his Mom Heidi. Feel free to bring your cat, dog or other animal to yoga nidra. As long as your pet doesn't disturb your own meditation, it is a nice idea for your cuddly creature to participate and join the peacefulness in yoga nidra. I don't know yet about dogs and yoga nidra, but it has been reported by others that cats remain very calm during the practice. Henri is not the only pet who has taken Yoga Nidra. Georgie, Nosey & Ben have also participated with their Mom, Linda.

New Classes

This week I begin a regular schedule of online offerings including online Yoga for Strength & Flexibility and an online a Yoga for Healthy Bones class. Learn more by clicking on the links for these classes or register now. Classes begin on Thursday.

Chakra Workshop

Register for single chakra workshop drop-in here. This week we will cover the muladhara or root chakra.

Packs

5 packs and 10 packs for online group classes are still available at a discounted pricing.

Private Lessons

I continue my availability for face-to-face or online private lessons. Contact me via the form at the bottom every one of my web pages to set up an appointment.

Corporate Classes

Using yoga and meditation techniques for your employees, I am available to support your organization's institutional mission and values tailored to the needs of your workers. Contact me using the form below.

"The body cannot live without the mind." The Matrix (1999). The Wachowskis

Resources:
Biography.com Editors. (2019 rev.) Mahatma Gandhi Biography. A&E Television Networks.

Satchidanananda, S. (Translator). (2012). The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Buckingham, VA: Integral Yoga Publications.

Seiberling, C. (2018). Yoga's yamas and niyamas: 10 principles for peace & purpose. Kindle edition.