The Silent Work! Participating in Random Acts of Kindness Without any Expectations!

Namaste Yogis! Being a Yogi or Yogini tells the community, the Universe that you try your best to live a life of mindfulness, gratitude and non harming (Ahimsa). In other words, a Yogi lifestyle! Therefore, this particular focus is very dear to my heart and one that I have been meaning to write for a long time now. Doing random/spontaneous or impulsive acts of kindness; which in turn leads a stranger to smile, or a situation turned around to be positive! Whether you were at the receiving end of this act or the giver of the act, let’s all agree on one thing –  it felt GOOD! It felt genuine, it made you feel loved or give out love. Right? When we do what some of us call “The Silent Work” we participate in gratitude and soak in the karma of giving, serving and loving that most of us are not even thinking of a reward or a reciprocation. Well, that should be the main idea anyhow. Ever just bought a poor elderly lady a cup of tea, or assisted a heavily pregnant lady who already has 2 kids to deal with under her belt? Or bought a homeless person food or perhaps helped out in a soup kitchen? Or, just simply bought a meaningful gift for your loved one without an occasion? Doing random acts of kindness is hugely, massively and tremendously beneficial for both the doer and the receiver that it surprises me why it seems so hard and difficult to do for those who undertake the path of yoga!  The Bhagavad Gita clearly reminds us that all forms of yoga must have the fundamentals of compassion, serving and loving.  A Yogi does not expect anything back in return for doing something kind.  At least not for the most part. So why is this act becoming more and more of an issue or a problem for humans in this modern world? Are we this greedy? Have you ever witnessed someone just buy a coffee for someone in front of you and saw the glee on their faces? Did you ever come across a person who hugged a stranger who may have been crying from recent bad news and comforted them with a tissue for their tears? Have you ever seen a human pick up an injured animal on the streets and keep it warm, feed it or do some act of compassion rather than ignoring the animal and walk away? Well, I know we cannot save the world every minute of the day and I know not all acts are received with well intentions either. But, please seriously think about at least once or twice a week changing a person’s life in a moments second; concluding to a beautiful smile or tears of joy. Or an incident that you can turn around by simply acting from the goodness of your heart.  Universally, these glorious sentiments find their way round back to us eventually, allowing these events to be cyclical and beneficial all round. It removes us from being selfish, liberating us from self obsession and isolation. So, whether you just take an extra moment to take your coat off when it’s freezing outside and offer it to a homeless person, or you pick up heavy bags for the elderly .. every moment of your random act of kindness is being witnessed by someone and most definitely by the supreme powers above. Enjoy doing the act and then simply walk away going about your normal routine.  The acts do not always have to be monetary value either, a simple smile, a helping hand and if you have the capacity then a treat or monetary help always is a good idea. Love conquers all, acts of kindness is the window to the soul. As Mahatma Gandhi said, Almost anything we do will seem insignificant, but it is very important that we do it anyway.

Asana of the week: Prasarita Padottanasana

We shall work on a good amount of wide legged forward bends this week. Allowing this asana to remove our inhibitions, low esteem or perhaps even our unbalanced confidence. Wide legged poses help us to think outside the box, take us away from the narrow minded thinking to a much broader spectrum of thinking. I chose this asana for this week’s focus because it ties in nicely with this week’s digest. This is a standing forward bend, toes slightly inwards and heels out, the spine remains elongated, tummy in and length in the torso. Contract the pelvis (Mula bandha), buttocks and engaging the kneecaps and quadriceps up towards the navel.  There will be an option to do Samakonasana (Frontal splits).

Mantra this week: The Gayatri Mantra

Universal Mantra (found in the mantra page)