Modeling Compassionate Action

Yoga is a form of compassionate action- towards the self and the world we are living in. Kate Bartram-Brown’s multiple workshops make kids yoga suitable and joy filled for children while supporting positive thinking techniques through mindfulness training. Yoga helps each one of us come into our body and feel at home. The more we feel at home, the more confident we are to take appropriate action in the world.

Below is an interview with this week’s guest blogger, Brandon Boucher:

What is activism without anger? 

A lot of activism nowadays is based on an emotional charge- and it’s ok to come from a place of anger, because anger is a clarifying response-but it’s not ok to stay at a place of anger. Albert Einstein said “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” Therefore anger is a great starting point, but action cannot be taken out of anger.

In terms of anger being a clarifying response, it does so by illuminating what you do not want. Once you figure out what you don’t want, you are free to envision and pursue what you do want.

How does someone shift from the anger to that point of envisioning and pursuing what they want?

The simple answer is, you make a choice- but that is a lot easier said than done. We live in a world where instant gratification and entitlement are all around us. People nowadays feel that change needs to happen immediately and sometimes they go back to anger when the change doesn’t happen in the time-frame they expect it to and they’re back to square one.

 

How can us adults model compassionate action, for our children to observe and learn? 

Actually, there are some really easy ways to do that:

1. Take a stand- if you are in public and you witness an injustice happening, stand with whomever the injustice is happening to.
2. Do a random act of kindness, for someone else with no expectation of it being returned.
3. Sincerely compliment someone once a day- including yourself!
4. Speak deliberately- do what you say, and say what you mean; this builds integrity which lays the foundation for mutual respect and a sense of safety in children. Eliminate sarcasm from your methods of communication- Children cannot process sarcasm until late pre-teen years, and even then sarcasm often pits people against each other instead of uniting and supporting one another. Remember, children are watching and listening to us adults at all times.
5. Raise people up, do not cut them down. There doesn’t always have to be a winner and a loser. By helping somebody reach their goals, you yourself attain greatness.

“Children are sponges. When we do Yoga with them, we give them tools for experiencing Peace in their bodies AND their Mind so that they have a physiological experience- not just an idea. Yoga isn’t a mental idea, it’s a physical experience. So is Peace.” -Heather McCrae, Mini Me Yoga Ambassador

Meet our guest blogger this week, Brandon Boucher:

Brandon Boucher is a U.S. Navy Veteran, humanist, spiritualist, and righteous activist. As the Operations Chief for a new non-profit organization, Veterans Stand, he continually works with veterans across the country to unite and stand for human rights and equality. Veterans Stand coordinated about 2,100 veterans to serve as a shield to the water protectors with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota, U.S.. Brandon is devoted to his wife, Kate Boucher, and family and can often be found snuggling on the couch with either of them- enjoying their latest Netflix find.