I do yoga for fitness, mental, spiritual and physical. Most often I take a power yoga class to get my blood flowing, but after my busy weekend I was called to take a slower paced yin yoga class. It felt good to listen to my heart and my body. The yin class ended up being the perfect restoration for my body and my soul. It reminded me that we just entered the Season for Nonviolence and what a perfect way to begin by caring for myself.
The Season for Nonviolence, sponsored by the Association for Global New Thought, is an educational, media and grassroots awareness campaign spanning the 64 days between the January 30th and April 4th memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The purpose of the Season for Nonviolence is to focus educational and public attention on the philosophy of attaining peace through nonviolent action, as demonstrated by legendary leaders including Gandhi, King, Cesar E. Chavez, Nelson Mandela, and His Holiness, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.
These great leaders represent people and faiths that span beyond borders and doctrine, limited only by the willingness of the individual.
The organizers of this beautiful season offer suggestions for embodying the ideas of peace, compassion and kindness in daily life. In this first week, organizers suggest focusing on being more compassionate to ourselves. Here are some of their suggestions:
- Do what’s in your heart. Really listen to what is in your heart and take action.
- Smiling is a way to establish a heart connection and a peaceful outlook. Smile and make eye contact with 5 people.
- Focus on the good qualities in yourself and others
- Think of ways you can better care for yourself. Put it into practice.
- Believe that peace is a possibility. Offer a prayer or focus on peace in meditation.
- Think of ways to free yourself from drama. Turn off the news or refrain from complaining.
- War is born from ignorance. Try to learn something new.
Or…maybe you just take a slower pace, stopping to smell the roses. Whatever you choose, I know it honors the Season for Nonviolence and spreads peace like wildflowers.