On days like these, when the temperature is low outside, the heart warms the body it resides within each time it considers beings beyond our selves. In this season where external glitter and gold abounds, giving of ourselves beyond ourselves can soften the stresses of our own life situations. Whether stresses around holiday travel, meager means for travel, lavish loved ones or loneliness weigh us down, each small step of sharing our spirit yields the tick-tock within from whimpering and whining about our own life situations.
Sometimes I think that I want to help, to do something for someone, but am not sure what to do. Everything that really could make an impact seems insurmountable. Then I recall the words often used in annual giving campaigns – it’s the participation that counts.
Yes, Thanksgiving, the official holiday when we celebrate thankfulness and give from the heart has passed already this calendar year, but I hope that twinkles of togetherness as a people, as living beings on earth, continue to connect us and we cherish community and act outwardly onward.
My first-grade son had a school writing assignment, “Write what you can do to help people, animals, things.” And my kindergartner is accustomed to the fantastic ‘Have you filled a bucket today?‘ concept inspired by Michigan author Carol McCloud, where children learn early on that when we think, say and do nice things for each other, our own bucket is filled up, as is the other person’s. And when we do negative or mean-spirited things, everyone’s buckets are drained.
But what can we, as adults, do? What can we do to relieve ourselves from focusing on ourselves and our own life stories? Help someone else along the way, and in the spirit of karma, circle back and benefit ourselves too? Here are a few ideas to get started.
--Raising money for Food Gatherers: Just days before Thanksgiving, I found myself fixated on a personal life situation that was making me sad. I decided to take some of that mental time and energy that was fixated on my sadness and reallocate it toward a glimmer of good in the multiverse. I invited BollyFit students to contribute donations to Food Gatherers Food Rescue/Food Bank and offered to match the funds raised. In just about three days and the same number of classes, we had $225.25 in donations, and with the matching gift from BollyFit, had raised $444.50!
--Giving gift cards to homeless people on the street around holidays, or any time. I did this the day before Thanksgiving last year and have done it from time to time throughout the year. It is a wonderful way to spread generosity.
--Inviting people over for a meal, even if it seems to be their turn. Welcoming friends and family into your home ensures you retain your connections. If it is “their turn” to host but don’t seem to be offering up the invitation, there may be extenuating circumstances at play, and your invitation may offer up a welcome break.
--Creating space for stillness within nightly – when I put the kids to bed, we each say three things we are feeling thankful for at the moment, one thing we would change about the day, what we are praying for right now for ourselves, and what we are praying for for someone or something else.
None of these moments and events alone take care of hunger, homelessness, or make every dream come true. But they do change the moment in which the thoughts, actions and results occur, and this is something to give thanks for ☺
What are your ideas? Post your ideas on our Facebook wall at facebook.com/bollyfit and share on Twitter and mention @bollyfitwinkles in your tweets.
Whether she is staying fit with BollyFit classes, enjoying fun moments with her sweet elementary school-age daughters, or illuminating her college students with English Literature, BollyFit student and guide Holly Poppink radiates a BollyFit when in doubt just shake it attitude.
This week, Holly bridged her roles as dancer and teacher when she taught her English Literature students this poem by African-American poet Lucille Clifton:
homage to my hips
these hips are big hips
they need space to
move around in.
they don’t fit into little
petty places. these hips.
are free hips.
they don’t like to be held back.
these hips have never been enslaved,
they go where they want to go
they do what they want to do.
these hips are mighty hips.
these hips are magic hips.
Holly exclaimed to me and fellow BollyFit Guides, “I could only think of BollyFit when I taught this poem!”
Unfortunately, for many women, hips are usually disdained more than celebrated. “My hips are too big!” we wail. Within the psyches of men, I am guessing these strong swivel bones rarely even come up. Although, especially in Indian dances, some men are confident enough to move their hips and look cool while doing it!
Pop star Shakira brought some smooth hip action to the music scene in her hit song, “Hips Don’t Lie”.
I love to see how something as simple as moving ones hips in BollyFit class can completely change a womans mood! Those who have never shaken their hips start to do so tentatively, and then a little sparkle shines from the eyes. With each additional shake, their confidence increases as does the movement. (The photo is of happy BollyFitters shaking it at a rehearsal for the 2011 BollyFit Flash Mob at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival!)
We literally and figuratively shed weight within and without, dropping it through the earth, when incorporating hip movement into our dances. It doesnt happen in a high-pressured, “I want to get rid of these” way, but through release, joy, and enjoyable movement that leaves us leaner and healthier while having fun.
Inside Note from Holly: “From the classes I enjoy with BollyFit Belly Guide, Ziva, I love learning about belly-dancing being in preparation for childbirth- not for seductive dancing for the benefit of a male audience like many probably mistakenly believe! I have certainly felt blessed by curvy hips following problem-free childbirth!”
Last night, I swirled into the Thursday evening BollyFit class I instruct a few minutes later than I would have liked to arrive. My delay was due to making fresh Roti, a flat bread typically eaten in India, for my husband and children before leaving for class. But between art projects strewn all over the floor and cuddling with kittens they missed while at school all day, the kids didn’t want to come sit by the stove when dinner was ready. After hurriedly feeding them, I rushed out the door and swerved through the first snow fall of the year to the studio.
Upon arriving, I noticed a layer of grit on the floor but barely paid attention to it because I wanted to set up and start class on time. It just looked like scuff marks, which was annoying, but I didn’t want to hold up the class from starting any longer. Then, Nisha, one of our BollyFit instructors, walked in, and we started chatting about choreography for the class as she entered the walk in- closet in the studio and emerged with a huge mop. Continuing to nod at me, she moved toward the dirt and, without any words, started to clean. By then, it was time to start the class, and I asked her if she minded if I start so we didn’t have to keep everyone waiting. Without emotion she nodded, and I explained to the students that we could only use half of the studio that evening because of the grime on the floor.
As I thought more about what happened that evening, it struck me that we truly are a team - not only in BollyFit but also in Michigan as we collectively pick up the mop and clean up the economic mess that seems to be in our room. The good news is, we are not the mess. The space in the studio was still present after the dirt was cleaned up. And Michigan is still here, with a fresh perspective, as we collectively clean the economic house together. Of course, the U.S. is an immensely hyperbolic macrocosm - yes, we as a nation continue to clean up messes for and with each other. Regardless of who or what is the cause for any given mess, we share the space.
Even though the weather is colder and the first snowfall has already occurred, it suddenly feels a little warmer knowing that we all carry the mop for each other. Even though we might feel alone at times, we are here for each other and, collectively, we adjust to the situation in the space.
In reference to Nisha, woman who swept - she is a long-time BollyFit student, now a Guide for classes, and uses BollyFit as her work-out and weight-loss outlet.
“As you prepare your breakfast, think of others,
Don’t forget to feed the pigeons..
As you conduct your wars, think of others,
Don’t forget those who want peace..
As you pay your water bill, think of others,
Think of those who only have clouds to drink from..
As you go home, your own home, think of others,
Don’t forget those who live in tents..
As you sleep and count the planets, think of others,
There are people who have no place to sleep..
As you liberate yourself with metaphors, think of others..
Those who have lost their right to speak..
And as you think of distant others, think of yourself,
And say: I wish I were a candle in the darkness.”
“As you prepare your breakfast, think of others,
Don’t forget to feed the pigeons..
As you conduct your wars, think of others,
Don’t forget those who want peace..
As you pay your water bill, think of others,
Think of those who only have clouds to drink from..
As you go home, your own home, think of others,
Don’t forget those who live in tents..
As you sleep and count the planets, think of others,
There are people who have no place to sleep..
As you liberate yourself with metaphors, think of others..
Those who have lost their right to speak..
And as you think of distant others, think of yourself,
And say: I wish I were a candle in the darkness.”
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