Kindness: the ultimate renewable resource

Kindness feels good. It is contagious and totally renewable. There are scientific studies done about the health benefits of kindness. Endorphins are released and stress-related health problems improve after you perform an act of kindness.

There is a true story about a man that held a sign on a busy street corner saying, "Free Hugs". At first people passed him by pretending not to notice. But then one tiny woman stopped to tell him how her dog had just died that morning. How that morning had been the one year anniversary of her only daughter dying in a car accident. How what she needed now, when she felt most alone in the world, was a hug. So they hugged and she smiled.

That first hug turned into an outpouring of people hugging. The feeling seemed to grow after that first hug. At one point the police stopped the hugging, tried to fine the man holding the "Free Hug" sign and ban the public act of free hugging. But after 10,000 signatures were collected on a petition, free hugs were reinstated. People want to hug and connect with each other.

Being kind includes being kind to yourself even when no one else is involved. Kindness comes from love. If we can support ourselves with kindness and self-love, we will have the willingness and openness to practice kindness as a habit that comes almost without thinking. Just a generous smile to a stranger could brighten their day.

Practicing yoga is an act of kindness to our bodies, minds and spirit if we practice in a mindful way. We need to embrace ourselves lovingly. Being unkind to our bodies even in yoga can lead to injury. So let kindness guide your actions. We want to practice in a way that feels good and not forceful. Kindness involves sensitivity and compassion. So we practice yoga by hugging our muscles to the bone as a gentle embrace. The hugging action is contractive but the feeling created is expansive. There is power in softness. There is power in kindness. And it is a resource we can never run out of.

Simplicity

"From naive simplicity we arrive at more profound simplicity."
Albert Schweitzer

Simplicity isn't always simple. At first something may appear to be simple. But as we learn more, it becomes more complex. When we simplify something that is complex, it becomes profound.

Some might say that simplicity is inferior to complexity. Simplicity implies that something is easy to understand. If a person is thought of as simple. one might consider them to be unintelligent or even stupid. But is this true?

We pulse between simplicity and complexity. This pulsation is how we deepen our understanding of life. Simplicity is about the essence of an idea, person, theory, thought, etc. Complexity involves many layers, and details and can get confusing. Simplicity is very clear. We often get glimpses of simplicity that become clouded with complexities. "Less is more." This oxymoron lies at the heart of the meaning of simplicity.

In yoga we pulse with the breath. The inhalation and exhalation are opposites: one brings the breath in and the other sends the breath out. But together they make up breathing. They are necessary for the other. At first a pose like down dog may seem simple. But the longer you stay in down dog, the more complex or difficult it may become. As you practice and understand the complexities of down dog, it comes back to feeling easier to hold and simple in the sense that we do not feel overwhelmed in down dog.

When practicing yoga or when things seem overwhelming, stop and focus on your breath. Fully appreciate the energy and vibrancy of the inhalations and exhalations. When we simplify our focus, life become easier. Simplicity leads to understanding. It is the luminous treasure that we all seek in this journey of life.

Contentment

"Contentment is natural wealth. Luxury is artificial poverty."
Socrates

Recognizing our innate goodness, our divine nature and how we are all connected and supported by a higher power is the root of contentment. Contentment is like the bed of a river. The water flows, rises and falls, shifts happen but the bed of the river gives shape, support and constancy to the river. Contentment is part of who we are. If we are always looking for something more outside of ourselves to be happy, we will never be truly content.

Contentment does not mean sitting around and doing nothing. Although sometimes if we do sit around and do nothing, we can still be content. Challenging oneself and having goals can either lead to contentment or frustration. If our motivation is trying to be better than someone else or we feel we need to be better to be happy, we will only achieve a false contentment that will not last.

Is the glass half full or half empty? Contentment is not about seeing the glass as half full. The glass is both half empty and half full. Recognizing this and feeling good even though the glass is not completely full, is being content. Contentment is being OK with what we do have now.

In yoga when we are aware of our breath and move from our core our poses will have a feeling of steadiness and freedom. We want to express our poses from the inside. Inner contentment leads to a practice that is non-competitive and will protect us from injury. When we practice a twisting pose, if we try to force our twist to be deeper by using more muscular energy, we can hurt our backs. But if we allow our bodies to expand into the twist from within with our exhalation, we can go just as deep safely and without force. When our strength comes from contentment we do not overextend ourselves. We know when we need to rest and rejuvenate.

Practicing yoga involves testing the edges and coming back to the middle. Exploring our choices, our limitations, and our strengths helps us to find balance. Contentment comes from connecting with the bigger pulse, from energy that ebbs and flows. It is this constant pulsation that connects us to the essence of yoga.

Socrates had great wisdom and always believed that he knew nothing because the world is full of mystery. He was content with this belief. Contentment is like wisdom. It cannot be taught. It comes from how we live our life. Clinging to material wealth will lead to spiritual poverty. Be appreciative of the natural wealth you have with the gift of life. Simplicity leads to the greatest wealth of all.

Why pretend you are lame?

Deep in the woods there lived a fox with no front legs. A man living nearby saw the fox and wondered how it was able to survive. Then one day while watching the fox, the man saw a tiger approach with fresh game in its mouth. Lying on the ground the tiger ate his fill and left the rest for the fox.

The next day the fox was fed by the same tiger. The man began to think, "If this fox is taken care of in this mysterious way , its food sent by some unseen Higher Power, why don't I just rest in a corner and have my meals provided for me?"

Having great faith, each day the man waited patiently for his food. Nothing happened. He kept losing weight and strength until he was nearly a skeleton. Then he heard a Voice that said, "You have mistaken the way, see now the Truth. You have both your arms and legs and should have followed the example of the tiger instead of the disabled fox."

The mistake the man made was waiting too long for something to be done for him. He acted as if he was disabled. He only saw one side of the picture. The fox was receiving but the tiger was giving. How often do we see only the thing we want to see that will benefit us? Do we stubbornly cling to an idea even when we are receiving messages that we need to change our course of action? The man was starving but he still did not see that his plan was not working.

In yoga we need to actively participate in each pose. There needs to be a balance of giving and receiving. We open up to grace, to the possibility that we can expand and learn something new with every pose. We give our attention to a strong foundation. to engaging our muscles and hugging inward. Flexibility comes by balancing the inward actions with outward releasing. Pulsing with the energy of our breath and the bigger pulsation of nature brings our pose to life. If something is not working with a pose, if we are not breathing, we need to stop and re-evaluate what we are doing. We can learn lessons from our own practice and from the experience of others.

Learn from the tiger and the fox. There are times when we have the opportunity to give and share. There are times when we need to accept help if we are in need. But to ignore messages that are our plan is not working can be devastating. Use your talents and resources. Don't ignore the gifts you have. Strength balanced with softness, giving balanced with receiving and a mind open to change, will allow us to prosper and experience the fullness of life.

The art of gentle persuation

The Wind and the Sun were having an argument about who was stronger and more powerful. Suddenly they saw a traveler with a heavy cloak walking down the road. The Sun said, "Whoever can get the cloak off the traveler shall be considered the strongest". The Wind agreed to the challenge and the Sun retired behind a cloud while the Wind began to blow with all its might. The harder the Wind blew and tore at the traveler's cloak, the more closely the traveler wrapped the cloak around himself. Finally in frustration the Wind gave up and let the Sun have a turn. The Sun began to shine all his warmth upon the traveler who soon became hot and took off his cloak proving that the gentle persuasion of the Sun was stronger than all the forceful efforts of the Wind.

How often in life do we try to make things happen, believing that the harder we try the more likely we are to get what we want? Is it possible that "No pain, no gain" is a myth? Intention, hard work and discipline needed to learn and grow, but forceful effort can lead to injury and unnecessary pain. Letting go and being in the moment are keys to allowing what we seek to come to us. It is a dance between intention and acceptance. To believe that we are in control is an illusion. Life is vast and full of mystery.

One of the most important things we can learn from yoga is to relax into the fullness of the pose. We need a strong foundation, we need muscular energy, but if there is no softness, if we are not aware of our breath, the pose will never be experienced with its full benefits. It is on the exhalation, as we gently let go of the breath, that we expand fulling into the pose. Yoga means union, the yoking of seemingly opposites. Too much muscular energy causes restrictions and too much relaxation does not give the needed foundation to support the pose. We need sensitivity to listen to our body and honor the messages it gives us.

When we realize we are connected to a higher power, to something bigger than ourselves, we can let go of some of our willing and effort. Instead we can feel supported and accepting of lessons that are presented to us. Sometimes the route to what we want is circuitous. It is the journey that is the real prize, and the reward often comes with less effort than expected.

The energy of spirals

Mysterious and captivating, spirals are everywhere. Spiral algae (spirulina) has existed on the earth for over 3,500 million years. Odd spiraling gorges are etched deep into the polar ice caps of Mars. They are one of the earliest examples of human expression and can be seen in the art of all ancient civilizations.

Galaxies form the largest spirals with stars expanding outward from a concentrated center into bright, spiral arms. These spiral arms have a high density of stars with continuous new star formations. Flowers often unfold from a bud in a spiral pattern. The seeds of a sunflower, the growing tips of ferns, sea shells, pine cones, pineapples. cactus, vine tendrils, the center of a cabbage and snails all have special and unique spirals. Global weather patterns and hurricanes are huge energy spirals.

Spiral energy is an intrinsic part of human nature. The musculature of the human body has a spiral arrangement and the diagonal pull of these spirals gives our muscles flexibility. Fluid in our fascia, part of our connective tissue, moves in spirals. Even the human fingerprint has a spiral shape.

Circles are closed but spirals remain open and can be two or three dimensional. Originating from a center and moving in expanding circular curves, spirals appear to be going back to the starting point but never really arrive back at the same place. Something is always different.

Our path through life is like a spiral. Sometimes we may feel like we keep coming back to the same place without change, but there is always something different if we look hard enough. Just as some spirals are small and tight, while others are wide and expansive, the change may be barely perceptible or surprisingly different. We continue to have experiences that shift our perspective so there can always be something new in the familiar.

Our yoga practice has this spiraling nature. We come back to the same poses over and over again but each time our energy may have shifted, our bodies may feel different, and our minds may perceive some new nuance of the pose or feeling that arises from the pose. Our breath spirals outward as we inhale and spirals inward as we exhale. We use inner and outer spirals in our legs and arms to create stability and balance. Twists have a spiraling component. They help to massage and rejuvenate our internal organs.

There are the ever-expanding spirals of growth and there are the spirals that pulse back and forth between expanding and contracting. All of these spirals are forms of energy. They connect us to nature and to the divine cosmic energy. They are alive with movement and pulsation. Spirals will always be mysterious. But beauty lies in mystery. Connecting with the spiraling energy that lives in and around us helps life to flow with fluidity and grace.

The beauty of flaws

Once there was a man who carried water daily from a stream to his house. He carried it in two large pots hung from a pole slung across his neck.

One pot was perfect and always arrived at his house full of water. The other pot had a crack so it was only half full when he arrived home.

One day the cracked pot told the man he felt ashamed that he failed to deliver a full pot of water to the house.

The man replied with kindness that the pot was not a failure and told him to look along the path on the way home from the stream today.

The pot noticed the path was lined with lots of flowers. It was still sad feeling that it was a failure because it could not deliver a full pot of water.

But the man told the pot not to be sad. He said, "For all these years I have planted flower seeds on your side of the path only. Every day as we walked back from the stream you watered the seeds through your crack and the seeds sprouted and the flowers bloomed. Because you are the way you are, everyone in the village can decorate their homes with beautiful flowers. Each of us is a cracked pot in one way or another. But there is still no limit to the beauty we can create."

Everyone has what they would consider to be flaws. Often we focus on our flaws and ignore our gifts. But even our flaws have their value. They teach us lessons and if viewed from a compassionate perspective they help us to become stronger, more patient and more humble.

Perhaps you have tight hamstrings and consider that a flaw. But maybe you could use those tight hamstrings to really learn how to engage the muscles of your legs so that you can safely stretch your hamstrings. Perhaps that focus of learning how to engage your legs evenly leads to a greater sense of balance and grounding than you have previously experienced. Your hamstrings may lead you to a practice of better balance and strength.

Take a second look at your flaws. How can you use them to your advantage? How can you use them to help someone else? How can you use your flaws to bring more beauty into the world? We all have hidden gifts, we all have flaws, and we are all human. Our flaws can teach us more forgiveness for ourselves and others. Our flaws can teach us how to use our own uniquenss in a beneficial way.

Know that there is always someone who believes in you even when you feel you have failed. We all share the gift of a divine energy that breaths and lives in and through us. Look for the flowers along the road of life and notice their beauty despite their flaws.