This will accomplish a couple of things....Firstly, all the students coming to class will, by default, be donating towards that charity, so coming to class will be an act of generosity to oneself and to others! This is exactly in line with the Jivamukti ethos of serving all living beings - lokah samasta sukhino bhavantu.
Secondly, this will be a great way to learn about the important work being done by nonprofits and volunteer organizations worldwide. Perhaps this might even inspire some to look into certain causes and issues more deeply.Thirdly, this gesture is my response to the inspiration I felt by Peter Singer's The Life You Can Save. The book's message is that our current response to world poverty is not only insufficient but ethically indefensible. He argues that we need to change our views of what is involved in living an ethical life. To help us play our part in bringing about that change, we need to dedicate ourselves to personal philanthropy (figuring how much to give and how best to give it), local activism (spreading the word in your community), and political awareness (contacting your representatives to ensure that your nation’s foreign aid is really directed to the world’s poorest people). He writes:
For the first time in history, it is now within our reach to eradicate world poverty and the suffering it brings. Yet around the world, a billion people struggle to live each day on less than many of us pay for bottled water that we don't even need. And though the number of deaths attributable to poverty worldwide has fallen dramatically in the past half-century, nearly nine million children still die unnecessarily each year. The people of the developed world face a profound choice: If we are not to turn our backs on a fifth of the world’s population, we must become part of the solution.So join me in becoming part of the solution in 2011!
*************** January's Charity *****************
Yoga Prison Project
The goal of the Prison Yoga Project is to expand the practice of Hatha Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation to prisons and rehabilitation facilities, and to provide training for Yoga instructors interested in teaching to at-risk populations in prisons, residential rehabilitation facilities, and community programs.
Their programs aim to help people shift unconscious behavioral patterns of reacting into conscious ways of responding by teaching individuals the skill of clearly witnessing their moment-to-moment experience. Learning this fundamental behavioral shift can make the difference between a person committing a crime or not.
Hundreds of prisoners, those serving life sentences as well as men who have been released from prison, have been introduced to the self-transformative benefits of yoga and meditation through the Prison Yoga Project's program at San Quentin.
DONATIONS:
Just $20 provides 4 yoga practice manuals for prisoners.
