Open your Arms

We just had the three year anniversary of the Haiti earthquake. The big guns went to aid, but things are still devastated, and help is slow to reach those who need it- I have seen the sadness first hand. First, if you are so inclined, there are some good hands on orginizations that are working on the grass roots level among the people to bring change instead of funds trickling down from the top....look into Partners in Development, Amurt, or Yogakids Bridge of Diamonds if you are so inclined, and if you do-THANK YOU!
Having left the country to practice karma yoga, the yoga of selfless service, I can tell you first hand that it changes lives....to see the faces of the children and to hear the stories of the adults was powerful, and it has changed my perspective and my life profoundly. It seems that there is a lot of buzz over giving money on TV to sponsor someone in the third world,  celebrities championing their cause,  yogis traveling abroad to make a difference, but the reality is this is not for everyone. I want to go back, but right now my eyes are open to the here and now. Driving through Center City looking in the hedgerows next to Vine St. I have seen homeless tents hunkered down in this damp winter. They roll in to Whole Foods to blend in and escape the cold. Some addicted, some mentally ill, and some just victims of circumstance. I have see countless homeless near Logan Square, a very upscale area; a station wagon pulls up to feed them while the elite drink their $5 dollar lattes. This is just wrong on a fundamental level of humanity.  People accept it and look the other way. What if the shoe were on the other foot....how would you feel?  I have recently decided to teach a yoga class at an intensive outpatient drug and alcohol rehab in the shabbier part of north Philly. These women vary in age, size, and willingness to be there, for some it is the end of the road, for others just  the beginning. But for all it is a chance to change, and I hope to be part of that change. I was speaking about taking their power back, and that they are full of "sri"-beauty, abundance, and value and taught them goddess pose, and my heart sang when one of my students truly connected to the posture- she found her beauty in that moment! Her face became light and she was strong and proud, I could see the layers just melt away and no matter what was waiting for her later that day she was in the here and now and it was a joyous moment.  There are beings all around us in dire straits-struggling with  illness, both physical and mental, addiction, poverty, and hunger. All one, we are connected, we need to stepaway from fear of our differences and connect.  We can all do something, even if it is very small, even if it only lasts for a moment  on the local level to bring some change for the greater good.  If we open our arms and reach out we can not only uplift someone else in a positive direction, but manifest that in ourselves by the fruit of our actions.....let us collectively open our minds, our hearts, and our arms to those around us and truly bring about the change we wish to see in the world.
"Lead us from untruth to truth, from darkness to light, from death to rebirth."