Tags
Asana, Chinese New Year, Compassion, earthquake, find the joy, Haiti, hope, Meditation, perfect yoga bodies, Queensland floods, raining cats and donkeys, restorative, selfless, sharks, Sun City Picture House, Year of the Rabbit, Yogis
From a bush outside my apartment...
Some yogis never practice asana, did you know that?
It’s not the usual path for sure, but there ARE people who were born with already wide-open hearts, those so selfless they wouldn’t think twice about giving the shirt off their back to someone who needed it more than they do.
Most of us however… we need all that asana and meditation in order to see clearly and enable us to start acting from the heart as a default first course of action.
According to the Chinese New Year, we’re moving into the Year of the Rabbit and apparently 2011 is meant to be a little slower. More restorative. And who couldn’t do with twelve months of that? I know I sure can… time to recoup and rebuild, yeah?
Friends, one and all – I ask you to take the time to watch this half hour documentary about life in Haiti one year after the earthquake.
It’s a beautiful tale about the fostering of love and fun amongst the Haitian people, despite the wretchedness of their situation. This is also a story of compassion: people helping each other with the most unimaginable tasks regardless of their own circumstances; and how to not be destroyed by complete and utter darkness when life as you know it is over and you’ve lost so very much.
Have your hankie ready, but also be prepared to feel jubilant and blissful no matter what. The website for the doco is here: Sun City Picture House
Share it around.
Also, take a look at Diane’s post over at The Everything Yoga blog about Big Yoga. She kindly referenced my Body Talk interview with The BlissChick in a discussion about how we’ve just GOT to get over this idea about “perfect yoga bodies”. And that’s another helping of compassion right there.
There are sharks swimming down the streets of Ipswich in Queensland, folks. And it’s still raining cats and donkeys here, all day and night. But we do find ways to go on, even as our hearts are breaking for the state of this planet and it’s people and animals.
Nothing is permanent, nothing is forever. Like the dude in the doco says, find the joy in order not to be completely crushed.
Having been completely crushed before, I highly recommend the alternative: find the joy, everybody!
~Svasti
P.S. More coming soon on my review of Carried by a Promise!
Svasti: A Journey From Assault To Wholeness 
I don’t think I practice asana anymore. Not that I’m all wide open and selfless….just asana isn’t working for me in quite the same way. I think I practice Pilates, with a bunch of downward dogs thrown in. Then a bunch of pranayama + meditiaton.
I don’t know what that means. But I think it doesn’t really matter. Right?
i watched a documentary on an orphanage in Haiti the other night, it was heartbreaking and uplifting at once.
i’m not sure how i feel about the year of the rabbit. does that mean people will be mating like mad? eh. i am, however, looking forward to delight in slowness. 🙂
It’s been a while…so sending you a huge NAMASTE and hoping you remain afloat and clear of all sorts of sharks, Svasti.
I’m heading over to post the video; it’s a magnificent tale of choosing JOY.
I also REALLY really love your photograph….what are the flowers and how’re they holding up in the rainrainrain?
Dear Carolyn, it has been a while, hasn’t it? Never mind! A huge NAMASTE back to you also. Glad you liked my photo. They survived the rains quite well actually! xo