SEVA-Service

This past week we celebrated Memorial Day here in the US of A. It's a day where those who have lost their lives in military service are honored and remembered. It seemed logical that this week's thought should then focus on how we serve others and how we ourselves are served. In yoga, this is called Seva, often translated as selfless service. The above quote from Mahatma Gandhi is one that I have taken to heart and when I feel like I'm getting over-drawn into my own life's dramas, this quote is that gentle tap on the shoulder to get out of my own way.

In 2011, I felt called to be doing something to broaden my overall practice of yoga and that calling was finding a way to serve something much larger than myself. We had spent time in India for the first time and I felt as though my radar dish was wide open to receive the inspiration of how I could better serve. Then along came the 2012 Global Seva Challenge with Off the Mat, Into the World. They had been raising money and awareness around different issues the previous few years in places like Cambodia, South Africa, Uganda, and Haiti. Their 2012 mission was to address the issue of sex trafficking in India. This was the spark that lit my fire. Ending violence against women and women's empowerment are hot button issues for me, we had just returned from India and it seemed like the Universe was holding the door wide open for me to step into service.

As I said "yes" to the challenge with a goal of raising $20,000 I began to feel like I may have taken on too much. I'm a yoga educator, not a fundraiser. How was I going to raise $20K? So my initial thought was to reach out to my community and ask for help. The response was incredible as people began to step up, get behind the cause, host events, buy t-shirts, sell wristbands, and make donations. The turning point of the fundraising year was in July 2012 when lululemon athletica Palm Desert offered to host a candlelight yoga class. It was July...dead of summer with all the snowbirds being away and I thought to myself, "I'll be happy if 25 people attend"...well, 55 people turned up to support and donate.

The momentum just seemed to grow as did the fundraising tally and by November for the final event of "One Love Coachella Valley", we had reached the goal and whatever above that raised was a bonus. We hit the grand mark of $28,000 and last year, I raised an additional $5000 to top up the funds for a playground in one of the facilities. Having reached the goal, I went on the Bare Witness Tour and came face to face with the young women and girls who's lives began in such a precarious way and now they were safe and had opportunity sitting within reach. To say it was powerful would be an understatement.

Seva is doing something with no expectation of anything in return. Throughout the fundraising year, we had bi-weekly calls working with the issues that can come up in doing such confronting work, different ways to raise money and awareness and to talk about compassion fatigue and resilience. Undergoing the Seva challenge was a pivotal point in my own personal yoga journey. I truly didn't want anything in return and when things got challenging, I would think of that 9-year old girl, sold into prostitution, often by family, and that would snap me out of whatever was draining my doubt. It taught me empathy and compassion. It connected me to my local community in ways I had never imagined. It gave me a different and huge sense of purpose, beyond doing yoga poses. I got out of my own way to serve others and the rebound back to me opened up my heart wider than it had ever been open.

This past Monday we had a special Memorial Day yoga class and it was like a reunion with many of the people who had supported me through the Seva Challenge in attendance. To have the energy of this expanded community, greeting each other with hugs and "it's so good to see you!" comments, I know the experience went far beyond myself, another side effect I never anticipated.

This week moments of silence were held to honor the memory of those who died in their service to their country. We remember and honor them. This week we honor how we serve others and how others have served us. It's to hold gratitude and remembrance inside our hearts and to recognize that when we get absorbed in our own everyday challenges, one way to shift that energy is to step out of the way and help someone else.

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." Indeed Mahatma, indeed!