The Case for Caring

You’ve got a lot on your plate, and I know that because you’re a human in this world in this moment.

I might even venture to say that if you’re reading this, you’re a human who cares about this world in this moment, and that’s a lot too. But (at the risk of sounding cheesy) this moment needs people to care. This moment needs people to know they are supported and connected. This is what our yoga practices are for.

ahimsa requires care

If you only know one thing about Yogic philosophy, it’s probably ahimsa - non-harming; living with reverence and love for all. Across the varied schools and traditions of Yoga, ahimsa persists as a foundational tenet. And if you ask me, living in accordance with ahimsa requires mutual care.

To embody ahimsa is, as Susanna Barkataki put it, “to be mindful of each action and to perform each action with the least harm and the most love… non-harming, yes, but also love in action.” Yoga reminds us to care for each other, ourselves, and our world. Lucky for us, practice reminds us of the tools we have to do so.

practice is the key

Yoga on the proverbial mat (specific, structured practices like asana and meditation) is “practice” for life off the mat. We learn that effort can be imbued with ease. We learn to move with intention, we learn how to be still. Practice builds strength, endurance, awareness, intentionality, and flexibility - of body, mind, and spirit.

Equally important, practice reminds us that we are not alone. Whether standing tall or lying in Savasana, we learn to feel ourselves held by the earth. From Tantric philosophy or just listening to each other breathe, we learn that we are inextricably linked, one and the same.

These are the lessons we need now. Consider the interactions you see in your community, the policies that are enacted, the leaders who are chosen. What would be different if the people chosen to lead (and the ones doing the choosing) considered “love in action” as their foundation? What would be different if more of us were conscious of the inherent divinity of everything?

Of course, you can’t really control that (at least, not right away and not on your own). But once you recognize that you’re supported by and connected to everything else, what do you do with that information?

the case for (mutual) care

It might feel sometimes like caring won’t make a difference, and in that case maybe it would be easier to just tune it all out. But caring does make a difference, when you put it into action. Let your care lead you to speak up - at the dinner table, at the school board meeting, on the internet (👋), wherever you have the privilege to speak. Let your care push you toward ahimsa; let it challenge you to see where you cause harm, and how to move with love instead. And let yourself be supported through it all.

Interconnection can inspire a duty of care but it should also remind us that in the resonance that connects us, there is a deep well of support. That’s the part that’s so easy to forget, especially when our newsfeeds are inundated with suffering and injustice. Yoga reminds us we are supported.

The energy you need for the work at hand and for the care required can move through you like breathing. You can draw it in and offer it back out. (Mutual care, after all, implies both giving and accepting).

Yoga reminds us that “love in action” doesn't have to be a solo effort. We're in this thing together.

p.s. here’s a little collection of practices to support openness: heart support on YouTube.