"In Australia many homeless women in domestic violence shelters had to face unthinkable indignities during their monthly period. For these vulnerable and at risk women, each month brought a shameful and traumatic experience, suffering indignities such as having to clean themselves in public toilets and use paper towels or newspaper to create makeshift sanitary pads."
This is from Share the Dignity, a charity aimed at raising funds to ensure everyone is afforded the dignity that many of us take for granted. Last Christmas, I was moved (like many of you ) to donate some of my unused handbags filled with everyday basics and small luxuries for their #itsinthebag collection. I loved that I could declutter my wardrobe (and my life!) of superfluous belongings (topic for another blog post...), and in so doing curate an offering for someone who is having a hard time. The effect of course was much greater than the donation. As the positive psychologists will tell you, its the being of service to something greater than ourselves, and the gratitude that we cultivate, which enhances our own well being.
To that end, when I heard about the #Yoga4Dignity campaign this year, I jumped on board! We have 48,000 homeless women in Australia, and the idea is to get the same number of people practicing yoga at the same time. There will be classes held on the same day at the same time, right across the country. Our regular Saturday class which is usually at 7:45am will be moved to 8am on September 2nd, so that we can be part of this collective movement.
It would be awesome if you could join us! Donations and registrations will be gratefully accepted directly via the #Yoga4Dignity page.