Howdy Folks,
So its a new month, and at my Bally's Yoga class we like to add themes to our classes every month. This month is no different. Read below, Join along, you do not need to be a member of Bally's to join in on this challenge, you can do this along with us, and post your thoughts here in the comments section. Feel free to post whatever you like regarding this subject of 29 Gifts Challenge, and I would be happy to post them here on the site for more discussion if you like. so without further a do. Here is this month's Challenge. (please keep in mind that this was written for my class at Bally's so some things may not apply to my online friends. )
December’s Theme of Yoga
2009
The 29 Day Gift Giving Challenge
December usually brings on a lot of gift giving and holiday spirit, in this same honor of giving I want you to think about Yoga. Yoga in the sense of Karma Yoga. Karma yoga is about giving back to your community. In that same spirit I would like to challenge you to give 29 gifts over 29days. Now don’t freak out, I know what you are thinking? I don’t have that kind of money to go out and buy something for someone for 29 days especially over the holidays. No worries, I am not asking you to bust your checking account, Just your thought process.
29 Gifts is a program that goes way back, I’m not sure of its original start, but it is common in many different cultures and areas of the world. I was introduced to this idea from a lady named Cami Walker who wrote a book called “29 Gifts, How a Month of Giving can Change your Life”. The concept is that if you repeat something over and over, it becomes ingrained in your mind and becomes a natural part of your life. The effort goes away, and the art of giving becomes part of who you are. Now imagine that everyone you know picks up this same philosophy because of what you’ve done. Can you imagine living in this kind of world? A world filled with love, kindness, thoughtful of others. Rather than a world of selfishness, anger, depression. You may not be able to change the world right away, but by setting the example of what we would like to see, is the best way to make a change in this world we live in. Just ask Gandhi!
So how does this plan work? Starting tomorrow when you wake up I would like to see you make the commitment to give something of yourself away to one person every day for the next 29 days. Now this doesn’t not have to have anything to do with money if you don’t want, of course it can if you like. But there are plenty of things you can give that done cost money. Here are just a few ideas:
• Give Blood or Bone Marrow
• Volunteer your time to something that is important to you.
• Help a senior citizen or someone disabled with daily activities
• Allow someone that is an obvious hurry to go ahead of you in the check out line.
• Make a meal for someone in need. Remember its not just financial need. Maybe someone is having a rough time with health, or emotional well being.
• Make a card for an old friend you don’t talk to much, and tell them how you feel about them.
These are just some of the many examples available for giving. For more ideas check out http://www.29gifts.org/ This is the site where Cami started the whole story to share with the world. Sign up on their forum and see all the wonderful ideas that other people are sharing. And/Or
Purchase the book at Amazon or your favorite book store. Its called “29 Gifts, How a Month of Giving can Change your Life” by Cami Walker. The story is about how this idea came to her and how it changed her life. It’s a very touching story, and is sure to encourage you to want to give this a try. And/or
From 29 Gifts website you can sign up for their Facebook, My Space and Twitter acts if any of these will help remind you to give each day, as well as offer support and ideas. Remember anything that you can do to help remind you to give everyday for 29days is the idea.
Keep a journal of what you are giving and who you are giving it to. In your journal write the date, the gift you are giving, who you are giving it to, and how this made you feel. Or mark it down on a calendar, (Note: there is a cute calendar on 29 Gifts website that is free) at the end of your challenge, give your calendar away to someone with an invitation to do the same thing or keep it to remind yourself of how giving made you feel.
I would like to encourage you to share your experiences with the class as we move through the month. Your ideas may inspire someone else to do something wonderful for another person. Think of this as a bigger picture, something much bigger than yourself. Keeping that in mind allows us to be humble in what we do, as well as reminding ourselves that what we do affects others.
I hope you all enjoy this process along with my self, as I will be joining you in the challenge. Happy giving, and I look forward to hearing your stories.
Namaste,
Kris Myers
So its a new month, and at my Bally's Yoga class we like to add themes to our classes every month. This month is no different. Read below, Join along, you do not need to be a member of Bally's to join in on this challenge, you can do this along with us, and post your thoughts here in the comments section. Feel free to post whatever you like regarding this subject of 29 Gifts Challenge, and I would be happy to post them here on the site for more discussion if you like. so without further a do. Here is this month's Challenge. (please keep in mind that this was written for my class at Bally's so some things may not apply to my online friends. )
December’s Theme of Yoga
2009
The 29 Day Gift Giving Challenge
December usually brings on a lot of gift giving and holiday spirit, in this same honor of giving I want you to think about Yoga. Yoga in the sense of Karma Yoga. Karma yoga is about giving back to your community. In that same spirit I would like to challenge you to give 29 gifts over 29days. Now don’t freak out, I know what you are thinking? I don’t have that kind of money to go out and buy something for someone for 29 days especially over the holidays. No worries, I am not asking you to bust your checking account, Just your thought process.
29 Gifts is a program that goes way back, I’m not sure of its original start, but it is common in many different cultures and areas of the world. I was introduced to this idea from a lady named Cami Walker who wrote a book called “29 Gifts, How a Month of Giving can Change your Life”. The concept is that if you repeat something over and over, it becomes ingrained in your mind and becomes a natural part of your life. The effort goes away, and the art of giving becomes part of who you are. Now imagine that everyone you know picks up this same philosophy because of what you’ve done. Can you imagine living in this kind of world? A world filled with love, kindness, thoughtful of others. Rather than a world of selfishness, anger, depression. You may not be able to change the world right away, but by setting the example of what we would like to see, is the best way to make a change in this world we live in. Just ask Gandhi!
So how does this plan work? Starting tomorrow when you wake up I would like to see you make the commitment to give something of yourself away to one person every day for the next 29 days. Now this doesn’t not have to have anything to do with money if you don’t want, of course it can if you like. But there are plenty of things you can give that done cost money. Here are just a few ideas:
• Give Blood or Bone Marrow
• Volunteer your time to something that is important to you.
• Help a senior citizen or someone disabled with daily activities
• Allow someone that is an obvious hurry to go ahead of you in the check out line.
• Make a meal for someone in need. Remember its not just financial need. Maybe someone is having a rough time with health, or emotional well being.
• Make a card for an old friend you don’t talk to much, and tell them how you feel about them.
These are just some of the many examples available for giving. For more ideas check out http://www.29gifts.org/ This is the site where Cami started the whole story to share with the world. Sign up on their forum and see all the wonderful ideas that other people are sharing. And/Or
Purchase the book at Amazon or your favorite book store. Its called “29 Gifts, How a Month of Giving can Change your Life” by Cami Walker. The story is about how this idea came to her and how it changed her life. It’s a very touching story, and is sure to encourage you to want to give this a try. And/or
From 29 Gifts website you can sign up for their Facebook, My Space and Twitter acts if any of these will help remind you to give each day, as well as offer support and ideas. Remember anything that you can do to help remind you to give everyday for 29days is the idea.
Keep a journal of what you are giving and who you are giving it to. In your journal write the date, the gift you are giving, who you are giving it to, and how this made you feel. Or mark it down on a calendar, (Note: there is a cute calendar on 29 Gifts website that is free) at the end of your challenge, give your calendar away to someone with an invitation to do the same thing or keep it to remind yourself of how giving made you feel.
I would like to encourage you to share your experiences with the class as we move through the month. Your ideas may inspire someone else to do something wonderful for another person. Think of this as a bigger picture, something much bigger than yourself. Keeping that in mind allows us to be humble in what we do, as well as reminding ourselves that what we do affects others.
I hope you all enjoy this process along with my self, as I will be joining you in the challenge. Happy giving, and I look forward to hearing your stories.
Namaste,
Kris Myers
Again, feel free to share your experiences here on this site by posting in our comments section.
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