Take a comfortable seat.
Allow the body to settle.
Feel the sitting bones rooting down into the surface below you.
Stretch the crown of the head up towards the sky,
Lengthening the spine.
Allow the mind to settle,
Releasing any ideas of what you were doing before this moment or what you will do next.
Bring your attention to your breath,
Just watching as it flows in and out of your body,
Working to make the breath slow and steady.
Ahimsa,
The practice of harmlessness,
Is a yogic concept that came from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali thousands of years ago and is still just as relevant today.
This guideline of nonviolence in thought,
Word,
Or action helps us to live lives where we experience greater happiness.
How does this work?
Think about the last time you got angry with someone,
For instance.
How did it feel in your body?
How long did it take you to return to a balanced state again?
You can see how when we fail to practice Ahimsa,
It has long-term effects on us.
The emotional residue takes quite some time to dissipate or disappear.
And so it is in our best interest to cultivate this practice for ourselves.
When we choose to cultivate a practice of Ahimsa,
It also benefits the world around us.
We break the wheel of suffering.
If we act in ways that are violent in thought or word or deed,
It perpetuates suffering.
If someone gets angry with you,
You might feel anger towards them,
Or you might feel attacked,
For instance.
By remembering that Ahimsa is an option,
We can make a different choice that will have better results.
Instead of yelling at someone,
For instance,
We can choose to say what we need to say in the kindest way possible.
This is a simple example of a simple way to practice Ahimsa with better results.
Imagine what it would feel like to relive the last moment when you were off track,
When you spoke or acted or judged in ways that were harmful to yourself or to others.
Take a moment to replay that moment in your mind,
Imagining what it would look like if you had been practicing Ahimsa at that time.
What would you do differently?
What would you say differently?
What would you change in order to better care for yourself and for others?
Imagine how much of an impact a regular practice of Ahimsa would have on your well-being and on your daily life.
Can you feel the tension slipping away?
Can you feel the anger,
The judgment,
The dark thoughts slipping away?
Let them slide off your shoulders and imagine walking away with a heart blazing full of light.
You can choose to be ruled by the light within you rather than the darkness.
And each time you do,
That light within you grows.
As each of us continues to be mindful of our choices of how we act and what we say and do in the world,
Our lights become brighter and the world around us becomes a better and brighter place.
Each of us becomes a keeper of the flame,
Filling the globe with a network of light,
One light at a time.
I invite you to sit for a few quiet moments and just focus on the beautiful light within your heart.
Each time you choose to remember to practice Ahimsa,
That light blazes even more brightly.
Breathe in and see that flame burning bright.
Allow the light to suffuse your entire being and see it radiating out from the edges of your being into the space around you.
May you carry this energy with you throughout your day,
Bringing the hands together in front of the heart in prayer position.
The light in me bows to the light in you.
Namaste.
