Love for yourself, love for others and love for the whole of nature in its beauty~
Mission Statement
When I first read Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, I knew after reading the first page that my soul had been awakened. The translator, states six words that his master Swami Sivanandaji used to say and which now stick with me each day. Are you ready? "Just be good and do good. It's that simple. Be good and do good and the entire wisdom will be yours." So when thinking about what I wanted to name my passion in life and someday yoga studio, I knew right away that it had to be Be Good Do Good Yoga.
I want this website to represent both being good or practicing yoga and doing good or taking yoga off our mat and taking the consciousness we create into the choices we make. It is a way of life or a philosophy and we must check our progress everyday to make sure we are getting better. We are all like lotus flowers blooming out of the muddy waters; by being good and doing good we truly live and bloom into our fullest potential. Let your light shine...
Do Good of the Week!
So we know how to be good, but how can we do good? Well, every choice we make from where we shop to how we wash our dishes is an opportunity to do good and take responsibility. Every week, I want to show you how. This isn't to make you feel guilty or obligated, just to prompt you to take more notice and hopefully action.
This week...Unless you live in a hobbit hole, you've most likely heard of the oil leak (although it's far from a trickle) in the Gulf of Mexico. It's a tragedy, to say the least, affecting fishers, homeowners living on the coast, tourism and the precious ecosystem with its plethora of life. As with any tragedy, fingers are quick to point the blame. It's BP's fault, no it's Halliburton's, no it's Transocean, etc. The truth is, we may not be at fault but we are all to blame. We are all part of the demand which promotes the supply of oil. Many of us perhaps have never thought of it in this way but our purchasing power makes a difference. Rather than dwell on the negative let's see if we can find the silver lining to this overwhelming cloud. Perhaps, this is our opportunity to get out of denial or recognize just how much oil we use. Oil or its refined counter-parts is in a whole slew of products these days that we may not realize. My number one intention with every Do Good of the Week is simply to bring about awareness because, let's face it, most of the time we just don't know. One 42-gallon barrel of oil creates 19.4 gallons of gasoline. The rest (over half) is used to make things like plastic, clothing made of synthetic fibers, disposable diapers, lotions, cosmetics, laundry and dish detergents, cleaners, candles, paint and stains, fertilizers, insect repellent, and so much more.
So what can we do? First, we can reduce our purchase and use of these types of products by becoming a conscious consumer, i.e. reading labels and finding eco-responsible alternatives. Second, reduce your time at the pump. Try to carpool at least once a week, clean your streamers and ride your bike or enjoy the outdoors with a healthy walk. Third, you can use your voice and your wallet by becoming an advocate or donor for renewable or alternative energy sources.
Reducing our dependency on oil isn't an impossible task. Take responsibility and do what you can. Blaming and playing the innocent by-stander doesn't clean the spill up.
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*All Photos taken at Bonneville Salt Flats, UT by Sam Buist