Last weekend I was part of Yoga Across America, an organization raising money to bring yoga access to those who might otherwise not have it. Schools, prisons and military veterans are some of the beneficiaries of this program.
Being part of something bigger than me is something I've been strongly drawn to over the past couple of years. At some point my yoga practice was teaching me to look beyond my own fingertips. When I first stepped onto the mat, I did so out of pure curiosity. I wanted to know what the buzz was about and why this particular yoga course being offered at Melbourne University was so popular that it had a wait list. And honestly, yoga was a bit odd to begin with. It seemed as though every pose was called "blah, blah, blah, asana". It also uncovered my extremely tight hips and gave me new insight into my posture. Who knew?
It wasn't until I was into my first 200 hour yoga teacher training that I got completely hooked. It was at that point that we started looking at the philosophical aspects of yoga. For me, that's what blew the lid off of yoga's Pandora box. It began to open my mind to the mysteries I had been contemplating throughout my life but had no structure. Yoga made sense. It challenged my personal status quo and my hunger to learn more became nearly insatiable.
I kept delving deeper and deeper through practice and study. And then the next magical chapter unfolded...Seva. Seva means selfless service and is a piece of the yummy yoga pie. When I stepped off my mat and into the Global Seva Challenge supported by the non-profit, Off The Mat, Into The World, I once again realized how deep yoga could take me. With bi-monthly conference calls, suggested readings and embarking on the journey to raise $20,000, I once again was tested in what I thought I could do. My mission was to raise money and awareness around the issue of sex trafficking in India. The golden prize was a service trip to India in hitting the $20K mark.
My life was focused on the issue and the goal. And the best part about it was that is wasn't about me. It was about being part of a collective voice to bring change to those who had no voice. Upon reaching the goal and traveling to India, I came face to face with what we had all been working toward. I saw into the deepest brown eyes of girls who'd been rescued from the trade and those eyes had something new-a ray of hope. Hope.
This feeling was once again ignited when I took part in a single event with Yoga Across America. And to follow up the event, the above video came to my awareness and I saw something familiar in the deep brown eyes of 61-year old Dwight Armstrong, the man featured in the story. And that was how, once again, the practice of yoga had changed someone else's life. It opened up the doorway to a place called hope.
To quote Dwight, "It may get difficult and your legs go to shake, and your arms...but that's alright. You hold your warrior, because it's only for the moment".
Om Shanti (peace) to that Dwight, om shanti!
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