"To err is human, but to forgive, well that's right on!"*

This month's theme is forgiveness. An act that we often forget about, but makes the biggest difference in our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. Practicing forgiveness means releasing unwanted hurts, grudges or judgments from the past, providing freedom, love and peace in the present. When we think forgiveness we often think of other people, but the practice of forgiveness is most important with ourselves. We often react and say things or do things we do not mean and later make ourselves wrong for it. We forget that we are doing the best that we know how each moment and we can only learn from those moments to better ourselves.

The same goes for those you may feel hurt you in the past. They were only doing the best they knew how with the resources and knowledge they had at that time. The reason we may not want to forgive is because we’re holding onto anger, resentment or personal pride. When we forgive another person for harm we feel they caused we are not accepting the behavior we are just no longer allowing the anger and resentment towards them rule our life. The person we may feel a grudge towards does not feel our anger, often they do not even know we are holding the grudge. The anger or grudge is something we hold inside our bodies and causes stress to our systems, so when we forgive it releases that tension and anger allowing greater health in our bodies. Practicing forgiveness with another does not necessarily mean that we need to speak with that person. Rather it is something we do on our own either silently or through journaling.

Practicing forgiveness is an act of self-love. Here's what it takes to practice forgiveness and open your self to greater love, peace, healthy and well-being:

1) open heart, 2) open mind, 3) willingness to let go, 4) desire for mental, emotional and spiritual freedom, 5) letting go of the judgments we hold towards ourselves or another.

*The quote is from Starsky & Hutch movie (2004)

Pose of the Month - Owl Pose

Owl Pose

Start sitting cross-legged with a straight back. Place the left hand onto the right knee, then take the right hand and place it behind the back on the floor, twisting the body to the right and looking over the right shoulder. Be sure to keep your back straight and shoulders down. Take a few breaths. Then switch taking the right hand onto the left knee, place the left hand behind the back and twist the body to the left looking over the left shoulder. Take another few deep breaths. The close the hand is to the tail the straighter the back and deeper the twist.

Tips for Kids - Practicing Forgiveness

Forgiveness is letting go of pain or hurt we feel toward ourselves or other people.

You can practice forgiveness when...
* Your brother, sister, friend or cousin breaks or takes something of yours
* Someone says something mean to you
* Your mom or dad get angry and it hurts your feelings
* You have done something you weren't supposed to
* You get a bad grade

How you can practice forgiveness:
Say this to your self when you want to forgive your self for something: “I forgive myself for thinking ______.” Or “I forgive myself for saying ______.” Or “I forgive myself for doing ________.”

Say one of these to your self to forgive another person: “I forgive ______ (mom, dad, friend) for saying ______ or doing ________. “ Example- “I forgive my brother for taking my favorite game and breaking it.”Or "I forgive my mom for getting angry with me."

YogaBuddies at Camp Woodland Hills

August 6, 2009
We taught to 70 kids, two separate yoga classes for Camp Woodland Hills. Both groups were very sweet and LOVED the yoga class! Compliments even came after from 8 and 9 year olds, "I've gone to yoga classes before, this one was fun!" We love that!!