This being the Holidays I thought it was only appropriate to speak about giving & gifts. Some of us are probably shopping to the very last minute. While others have been ready for the holidays for a while. Me? I was shopping till the very last minute. While I was shopping for the last must need items, I had a thought. Why is giving a physical gift so important?

For that question, I really have no great answer. I just know for myself, that is the environment allot or must of us have always been in. You give a book, clothes, or toy to someone & they give something to you, but what if one year, maybe not this one...You & the people in your life give something else. You give your time, you give your expertise, you give just your support or love & spend time with people you don't normally have more then a few minutes or a holiday for.

For me being a yoga teacher I would love to give my friends & family what ever they would like out of yoga. May that be teaching them a home practice, learning a little about meditation, teaching them how a little time just breathing can be so wonderful. Allot of this physical stuff we hold onto & really don't need...We just hold onto it where it gets lost in a closet, or collects dust. Think about giving your physical gift to someone in need of a new jacket or a child who would really like even a small toy. Then except love & just the pure company of your friends & family as your gift,  if not this year, maybe for your birthday or the holidays next year. By doing that you can give a gift to yourself, that is something we all look for through our yoga practice...being technical it's using what we learned of the yamas & niyamas....as well as finding even a brief moment of peace in our lives knowing that we have served ourselves & others.

Happy Holidays!

Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti