Goals, Not Dreams

I recently watched a video of Australian artist Tim Minchin giving an address at Western Australia University, and I really resonated with what he calls his "nine life lessons". In this address he states,

"I advocate passionate dedication to the pursuit of short-term goals. Be micro-ambitious. Put your head down and work with pride on whatever is in front of you… you never know where you might end up. Just be aware that the next worthy pursuit will probably appear in your periphery. Which is why you should be careful of long-term dreams. If you focus too far in front of you, you won’t see the shiny thing out the corner of your eye."

You can watch the full video, below, and it's well worth the time. It's funny and insightful, and it came to me at exactly the right time.

Even as a child my dreams always had backup plans. Adults asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I replied, "Prima Ballerina." They they asked me what I would do if that didn't work out. I shrugged and responded, "I'll be a ballet teacher." I remember having those conversations as early as seven years old! I was never one to romanticize my dreams. I wasn't all that connected to them. In college, I went through four majors - all wildly different from each other. When I left engineering to teach yoga, I did so with the understanding that my path is a windy one, and to try to look around the corner will only lead me to suffering.

So, I adopted Mr. Minchin's philosophy of pouring my heart into whatever work lay in front of me, always staying open to what comes next, but never trying to force it. Which is how teaching yoga to people with cancer came about. I didn't actively seek this work, but once I devoted my heart to it, I found it really fit.

Back in December, I decided to set several goals for myself for the year 2014. I wrote about these goals as being "leaps" in the Year of the Horse. Today, I'm looking back on those goals:

In April, I led a training for yoga teachers who wish to work with people who have cancer. This 40-hour training was conducted mostly by myself, with some guest speakers. The teachers that I've studied with made it look so easy to lead, but I wasn't fooled; I knew it would be a bog task to organize, write and present the material in a way that made sense and lasting impressions. I learned some big lessons there, and will implement them when I run this program again next year.

In July, I went to Africa with my daughter and 17 other women for a yoga and service retreat. This trip across the world is still affecting me. I've written one blog about it here, but I'm sure there are more in me. I just haven't processed the experience fully yet.

This Saturday is the Pose for a Purpose Yoga Festival and Fundraiser at Vasona park in Los Gatos. Back in December, I had the idea to raise money for Cancer CAREpoint, and realized that I couldn't do it alone. I need to ask my friends for help. Asking is hard for me; it's a practice. It turns out that asking was the easiest part! People can be so generous. Not everyone, no. But 99%, which keeps me hopeful.

As of yesterday, we earned enough in festival ticket sales to cover our expenses - money that my husband and I have spent out of our pockets to make this event happen. You can imagine my relief! So now, all the ticket sales moving forward will be donated to Cancer CAREpoint, a nonprofit organization that make dealing with cancer just a little bit easier. This was the goal all along: to have money flow into Cancer CAREpoint. By passionately dedicating myself to this goal, it has become a reality.

I do have a glimpse of the next shining thing, as Minchin calls it, but I'll save that for another post...

Some people have big perspectives; they can hold their big dreams for a long time until they become reality. I prefer smaller goals, and the dogged discipline it takes to see them through.

To find out more about the festival, go to www.pose4apurpose.com.
To  find out more about Cancer CAREpoint, go to www.cancercarepoint.org.

Pose for a Purpose

A few years back, I saw a poster for a yoga festival in the park in Campbell. It featured several of my favorite teachers, and some I didn't yet know. I couldn't make the festival, but I remember thinking what a great idea! There are outdoor yoga festivals in San Francisco all the time, but this was the first one I remember seeing in my area.

Several years passed, but the seed of the yoga festival continued to germinate.

I had been volunteering for Cancer CAREpoint for years when we began discussing ways to raise funds and expand our programs. We originally connected because of the yoga for cancer survivorship classes that I teach. Cancer CAREpoint offers free services to people in the Silicon Valley area who are  dealing with cancer, no matter what their heal insurance status is, where they are being treated or what type of cancer they have been diagnosed with. Since I welcome the same population into my classes, it felt like the perfect fit - and it has been!

After working with them for some time, I realized that I wanted to do more. Suddenly, the idea of the yoga festival blossomed! I thought, if I could get some of my friends to donate some classes, we could raise a few thousand dollars for this nonprofit.

"Kindness Tree" logo,
When I Was Cold community

Six months later, and the idea has flourished! We currently have over 20 teachers who have agreed to donate their time to this cause, and an additional staff of 10 volunteers who have done everything to help me - from borrowing paddle boards to connecting me with sound crew, and all of the thousands of little details in between! I am so very fortunate to have these people to work with, because I have never planned anything this large before, and I'm so invested in making it a success.

What would a success mean?

I have several goals for this event:
1. People fall in love with practicing yoga outdoors.
2. People fall in love with the concept of practicing yoga as a service to others.
3. People learn about Cancer CAREpoint and uses their programs when a cancer diagnosis changes their lives.
4. We raise lots of money so that Cancer CAREpoint can continue their great work, and more:

• $15,000 raised will cover the expenses of the event, plus support the current programs
• $25,000 raised will support current programs, but for more people - we can offer a larger space for educational meetings
• $50,000 raised will expand programs and help us go to where people need us, instead of asking them to come to us

As I posted recently, I anticipate the next question is, What Can I Do? There are so many ways that you can get involved in this, but I'll only mention the top few. You are always welcome to tell me about other ways that might help.

To get involved:

• Buy a ticket; there are half-day and full-day tickets available, and there are Early Bird prices in effect right now. Once those limited tickets are sold out, the prices go up. Buy your tickets HERE.
• Spread the word; let all your friends and family know about the event. Vasona Lake Park is a wonderful venue, and we'll have classes on the lawn, the trails and the lake (on the stand-up paddle boards) to choose from. In addition, there will be live music, fitness demos, vendors and food trucks!
• Donate an item to our auction; we'll be holding a silent auction to help raise funds, so let us know if you have a service or item that might raise money. Contact Heidi to coordinate.
• Become a vendor; are you a local business looking to increase your customers and does your business fit the yoga student demographic? Contact Michelle asap to find out about becoming a vendor.
• Sponsor us; we are looking for all kinds of sponsors in all types of ways, and can offer several levels of promotional benefits. Contact Whitney or Lorien for more information.
• Volunteer; we need an army the day of the event to help with parking, registration, ushering classes, etc. Let Janine know if you're interested.

Why "for a purpose"?
Traditional yoga practices include the idea that all the postures, breathing and meditation are really tools to make us better able to serve others in the world. As I've written before, it doesn't matter if you can wrap your legs behind your head if you can't be kind to others around you. The more you practice, the clearer that becomes. We purify in order to see the truth, and the truth is,

"In the end, only kindness matters." (Jewel)