This is rooted in the idea that yoga creates a kinder and more gentle world. The reverberations of the practice are not only felt by the self and those around you but extends to the world at large. Together as soul brothers and sisters who aren’t afraid to dive deep into the center of our own hearts, we emerge as Happiness Ambassadors ready to effectively inspire others to desire to #TeachPeace!
Ancient Alchemists, like their Yogi counterparts, saw all of creation as composed of Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space. Through their meditations and explorations of these five elements, they created healing and transformative potions that unlocked many of the mysteries of the universe and therein contributed to the evolution of humankind. For us as Alchemist Yogis, our laboratory is our mat and the ingredients are our bodies, poses, breath, and thoughts. Mixing it all together changes your life. You are transformed into a Peace Leader, leading a Happiness Revolution and changing the world!
How To Teach Peace
The very first principle of yoga is known as Ahimsa. This means actively practicing peace and all that entails. In Alchemy of Yoga we accept the Mission to Teach Peace.
How To Live Peace
Loving kindness
Ahimsa means that when we connect to our heart, we naturally share loving kindness. Peace is active, and it is never too late to offer healing through loving thoughts and kind actions toward yourself and others.
Compassion / Connection / Respect
Did you know that inside each of us, we have an infinite abundance of compassion for other creatures? “The greatest illusion of this world is the illusion of separation. Things you think are separate and different are actually one and the same. We are all one people.” (Avatar) Connecting to others without judging, and without fear of being judged means we expand beyond fear into a place of love.
Safety / Balance / Self-care
Fear feeds violence. Lack of safety (whether it is real or imagined) makes us afraid. When we chronically live from fear, we become imbalanced. Returning to balanced living is the antidote to violence. However, it requires sensitive adjustments to maintain. These come as a result of dedicated self-care. Through this, we learn the way we treat ourselves will be the way we treat others.
Empathy / Choice / Forgiveness
Practicing empathy helps us see other people and situations with kind eyes. It calms the knee-jerk reaction to fight back. As a result, we lose interest in justifying our need to be right. Ahimsa is the constant reminder of our freedom to choose between fear or love.
On the mat, we practice choosing love as a visible expression of how we do the poses. Remember that your Yoga shouldn’t hurt. It is not a punishment and you are not trying to “win.” At the end of class, during savasana, forgive yourself for any times you weren’t as compassionate as you could have been. Recognize that you are imperfectly perfect, doing the best you can. Forgiving yourself strengthens your capacity to love the full spectrum of who you are, both the shadow and the light. This builds our empathy muscle and in turn our ability to more easily forgive others off the mat.
Peace
When we live in Ahimsa, we’d rather be happy than right. We don’t have to prove ourselves worthy of love, because we know that we are love (aham prema). Our natural state of peaceful joy is how we are meant to live. It is our birthright; it is everyone’s birthright. As a result, we stop comparing and competing, we start promoting peace in all that we think, say and do and life feels like we are on easy speed. We are at peace with our pleasure.
My experience of Ahimsa:
Personally, the one thing that pulls me out of balance the most is over-working or simply over doing. This inspires fear that I am powerless. As long as I make time to stay balanced by getting enough sleep, meditating daily, practicing yoga, going for walks, drawing and relaxing, then I live my Ahimsa. I’ve come to realize that the antidote is making sure to leave enough open space and free time to equally give my mind, body and spirit time to rest.
Just like many things, you can only achieve Ahimsa’s benefits if you actually practice them. Today, pick two categories and really commit to creating a new pathway of loving kindness, compassion, safety, empathy and peace. As Alchemists we are making a commitment to be intentionally #TeachPeace.
