Karma Yoga San Diego for a Cause
For the past three years Jenny Barrett, Four Seasons Yoga and the Karma Yoga committee; Deborah Ifill, Jennifer Miller, Elissa Klaus, Maura Rassman, Heather Feemster, Aryn Rannazzisi, and Shirley Inniken, have created and hosted the Karma Yoga San Diego benefit for Shakti Rising. This year Four Seasons Yoga will sponsor the 4th annual Karma Yoga San Diego Event. Each year it promises to give the public a taste of transformation, the path of Karma Yoga and much more.The event offers yoga classes, Karma Yoga opportunities, inspirational quest speakers, healthy food, and take home gifts! it continues to be a huge success and continues to offer an extraordinary, nourishing and transforming day for all of those attended. This event is about introducing the Shakti Rising community and their exceptional recovery program, the women in the program and their success stories. The event is about introducing Shakti's eminent services to the greater San Diego community by offering classes lead by their staff members. The day offers a true profound taste of transformation and Karma Yoga. It is a must do event in San Diego! Serve yourself by serving others. Save the date: Sunday September 26, 2010. The event is being held at the beautiful Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas.
Four Seasons Yoga will sponsor the 4th annual 2010 Karma Yoga San Diego event.
Save the date: Sunday September 26, 2010.
At the beautiful Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas.
 
What is Karma Yoga?
Karma Yoga, the yoga of action, aims at supreme consciousness through action. It is based on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Sanskrit scripture of Hinduism. One of the four pillars of yoga, Karma yoga focuses on the adherence to duty (dharma) while remaining detached from the reward. It is selfless service unto humanity, and it’s a path to self-realization. Karma Yoga is a dedication or blessing of all actions and their fruits to the altar of God. It purifies the heart and prepares the Antahkarana (the heart and the mind) for the reception of Divine Light or attainment of Knowledge of the Self. The Karma Yogi should have non-attachment to the fruits of his/her actions. The yogis and masters say that non-attachment brings freedom from sorrow and fear and in return purifies the heart. Egoism, hatred, jealousy and all the kindred negative qualities will vanish. One will develop humility, pure love, tolerance, compassion and when successful it results in a balanced mind. One will begin to feel oneness and since the true meaning of the word Yoga- Unity. It states that one can attain Moksha (salvation) or love of God (bhakti) by performing their duties in an unselfish manner for the pleasure of the Supreme, which is the welfare of the world.
Karma Yoga 2008 event -Tiger Swallowtail butterfly at Quail Botanical Gardens. Photo by Lena Gardelli
Founding the yoga program at Shakti Rising
Below are a few of Jenny’s thoughts on her founding the yoga program, her experiences as a volunteer and yoga teacher for the women in Shakti Rising’s Intensive Apprenticeship Program. This program goes beyond recovery services to cultivate not only the health, but also the emerging leadership of these young women, empowering them to utilize their personal transformation as a catalyst for positive change in their lives, their families lives and communities. This is why I believe and suport Shakti Rising so much because this is happening in the program! To see the transformation of these young women over the years has and continues to be an inspiration to me. I believe by just being a part of something bigger than myself my well inside gets filled.. that's all I can say…I feel more compassion and light inside my own heart when I step outside of myself to volunteer and do something I love and believe in. It's a miracle how the Universe works in these mysterious ways and in return it truly adds so much to your life..to think of all the connections, friends, people I have met through my volunteer work at Shakti is so amazing and so awesome! That's why I love to share Shakti Rising with everyone.
At the beginning…this was about 2002 yoga and movement classes were not yet a requirement in the Shakti Rising Apprenticeship Program, but the women were offered a yoga class taught by me once a week and at that time had the choice whether to come or not. There were I believe 15 young women in the program at that time. I believed so much that yoga would help them as it had me during their recovery and struggles I wanted to share yoga with them. On somedays none of the girls would show up for class for whatever reason, but I continued to come and stuck with it for years. I learned to weave ashtanga into a healing based practice for these women. Some of the women use to say that my class was like church and that's all I really wanted was to show up for them, share and teach yoga. I wanted to give them the space to go deep inside themselves, and heal their own bodies through asana practice. Eventually, I had a core group of women, who always came to class. The women would tell me that yoga was helping them to heal.
......As the program was evolving and growing, Shakti's ciriculum required that they take a yoga class. Actually, the women are now required to take 3 movement classes a week and yoga is 1 of the 3 options. Today many of the women are continuing their commitment to their practice and coming to Four Seasons Yoga to take a class for fun and or to help them meet their requirement if needed that week. It's so great to see them when they walk in the door it makes me happy and always puts a smile on my face!
......The essence of the entire Shakti Rising Program is about the inhalation and the exhalation of the breath, so yoga is a big part of their recovery. The yoga program has continued to nourish and grow over the years and that is so exciting! Currently, Shakti hosts a different certified yoga teacher each quarter, offering the women a yoga class to sign up for as one of their requirements. The other great part of this program is they require the women to do a Karma Yoga project before they graduate too.
Final Thoughts
I believe this life here is full of lessons, joys, sorrows, light and dark; the dualities of nature, of existence....it’s a process, right, we all have our own story. These women from Shakti Rising are so brave to step up, make the commitment to heal them selves and that's what Shakti is helping them do. The light is shining there for these women and they are believed in. To see the same woman from the beginning of her recovery journey, up until she graduates from the program is an amazing amazing Transformation…to see that she has discovered or rediscovered her true “capital-s” Self…is the beauty …it’s organic and raw. It’s not pretty all of the time, of course, but when we face our own darkness it's not always easy and pretty …The beauty is waking up to the call of Spirit to be our fullest potential and to be present enough to see our own brilliance ~ we are all one ~ Yoga means Unity... this waking up will lead us to freedom (Sanskrit word is Moksha) which is liberating.
Four Seasons Yoga and Shakti Rising ~ A Cross Pollinization Partnership
It's about supporting and working with each other, doing what we love, to further what we do. In essence, having the support being a change leader in our community together, so that we can give back and together make our communities a better, healthier and safer place for these young women, their families and all that are involved.
Currently, Four Seasons Yoga offers the women from Shakti Rising, as well as the staff members a safe place to come and practice for no charge. This is how I am giving back now that I own, teach and run my own yoga studio. I am so excited that the women have the opportunity to further their practice outside of Shakti Rising. The good news is they are coming!! The women are so happy and thankful to have a place to continue their commitment to their practice beyond the classes required and offered at Shakti Rising.
One of the Shakti women told me the other day, “I think I’m coming to Four Seasons Yoga too much” and I said , "The more you come the better, right!” As Sri K. Pattabhi Jois says, "Practice practice and all is coming." This is coming from a woman who came into the Shakti Rising program with a huge Mohawk, was living on the streets and using drugs. She was in and out of prisons and drug programs and nothing worked for her until she came to Shakti Rising…she is a great example of how Shakti Rising is really working for our youth right now. She is now graduated from the program, practicing yoga on a regular basis and looking for a full time job.
One of the women who was in the program for 3 years and just recently graduated, said to me the other day, “What can I do to give back and help you and Four Seasons Yog,a since I have graduated and will have a job?” She now wants to give back and help us in anyway. Isn't that great! I am going to let her do just that.
Some meaning to Karma Yoga
“Karma Yoga recognizes that spiritual awareness and evolution can be attained through one’s actions in life. Unclouded by ignorance, desire and attachment, the karma yogi always performs the right action, at the right time, in the right manner... and in this way, finds liberation through active involvement in the world.”
“In karma yoga no effort is ever lost, and there is no harm. Even a little practice of this discipline protects one from greater fear (of birth and death).”
- Bhagavad Gita
“This yoga should be practiced with firm determination and perseverance, without any mental reservation or doubts.” - Bhagavad Gita
“Yoga is difficult for the one whose mind is not subdued.”- Bhagavad Gita
My religion is very simple.
My religion is kindness.
-Dalai Lama
 
1st annual Kirtan closing ceremony
Lee and June Stein's home in RSF
Wah!
2nd annual Kirtan closing ceremony
Quail Botanical Gardens
Music by: Govindas and Radha
Photos by Lena Gardelli
 
 
Passion and Selfless Service
Gandhi, Mother Teresa and even Bob Marley are all great examples of karma yogis…they gave so much selflessly, they took action to help others in need by standing up or singing for what they believed in without attachment. Most all of Bob Marley's songs were sang about Unity of all people. Yoga means Union.
When we get involved with something we love and really believe in, we just want to share that with others and that's what I am doing…I hope that people discover their own Dharma... their own Truth, their own Karma Yoga path or whatever that is for them...whether it’s volunteering for Shakti Rising, a local organization, a global organization, an environmental organization. It's all good.
Save the date Sunday, September 26, 2010
Karma Yoga San Diego ~ Get Involved ~ 4th Annual Karma Yoga Event |
