Mahatma Gandhi said, “the greatness of a nation and its moral progress is best judged by how we treat our animals”. Opportunities to illustrate this greatness, to expand our capacity for compassion, are available all around us ready to be taken advantage of especially now, in this time of emerging consciousness. Last Friday one of these opportunities presented itself to me so I headed over to the Poses for Paws evening at Lululemon Santa Monica where I found a store full of yogis and dogs… my idea of heaven! I rolled out my yogitoes’ SKIDLESS towel in Vishnu (apropos as Vishnu embodies the qualities of generosity and compassion and is the sustainer of life) and thoroughly enjoyed the energy of canine chaos, as their excitement was contagious.
Poses for Paws is the way yoginis Kathryn Budig and Jesse Schein are expanding compassion and consciousness by raising money through yoga. They contribute 100% of donations from their events to New Hope, a networking program created to eliminate obstacles that might prevent the adoption of shelter animals that are most at risk of euthanasia.As we settled onto our mats, we met Kenga and China, highly adoptable lifelong pals that were dropped off at the West LA Animal Shelter last August. Their handlers shared that animal intakes are up 7% in February (from 3,010 to 3,225), an eight year high and a disturbing trend continuing from 2008. As I glanced through the booklet of adoptees available I noticed that most of the animals found their way to the shelter because their “owner lost home”… forsaken casualties of our economic meltdown. Amazingly enough, February adoptions were up nearly 18% however, there are so many more long-term boarders in need of rescue. For those of us already at our full canine capacity, another act of seva, (the yogic term for being of service), is helping out with the shelter’s on-going wish list that includes items such as blankets, newspaper, food and cleaning supplies.
We were mat to mat as Kathryn and Jesse took turns leading us through a challenging class full of animal inspired poses encouraging the partnering of our furry companions… Navasana (boat pose) with Fido captaining our ship, salabasana (locust pose) with Fluffy sitting triumphantly on our locust’s back and of course a savasana covered in wet kisses.
As I blissfully rised from my final resting pose, I gazed at my Vishnu drishti and pondered the yogic concept of ahimsa, the avoidance of violence, and the intention behind the evening. Through practicing yoga, awareness - the seed that compassion sprouts from, is cultivated and the unity of all living beings can be more deeply realized. Through actualizing this interconnectedness, we naturally find ourselves wanting to care for and protect other living things. This is the moral progress that Gandhi spoke of.The evening culminated, as most great social gatherings do, gathered around the dessert table as dogs and their furless family members enjoyed Three Dog Bakery’s oven baked pupcakes and cookies, laughing and barking into to night…
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