Day Off

Today is our much needed day off!  Yesterday we spent 4 straight hours working on Standing poses.  How deep can you take Warrior 1, 2, 3, etc . . . with so many energetic and anatomical alignment points . . . deeper than I had ever imagined.  It's amazing how new knowledge can change even the most basic of poses (Tadasana).  So what is on the schedule for today (besides studying and practice teaching of course), a massage and some chanting with old and new friends.  This is the place to be!

I do have to tell you about the movie we watched last night, Witness.  It was this incredibly touching documentary about Eddie, a construction contractor who through humor and sincere honesty that he shared his the story of how he found his way to veganism and animal rights.  In his words, a "miracle: a change in perception."  Through the love of a kitten and his realization of our interconnectedness with all living beings, he has helped to shed light on the atrocities of the fur industry.  I don't remember the last time I ciried that much when watching a film.  For the most part I cried for all of the innocent beings whose lives have been taken in the name of fashion, but I also cried because his story was so touching.  I wished I could give him a hug.

This is just one of the many films that we will watch throughout the training that will deal with the same topic, spiritual activism, but more precisely, Animal Rights.  It is difficult for many of us, even those who have already bought-into the message, to sit and watch the graphic accounts of violence that occur on a daily basis.  But it is in those moments, when we stop and look that we really see.  It is through that awareness that we can begin to cultivate compassion.  

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” ~Mahatma Gandhi