You might hear this term or some version of it floating around the yoga-sphere. You might be a die hard fan of one of the yoga teachers who does AIDS relief or teaches in prisons. You might feel nauseous when you hear activist-anything and hide in a closet on election day.

I have never considered myself an activist.

In fact, I have always been pretty turned off by the term. The word activist seems to invoke undying devotion to an absolute belief or cause. Being the Libra that I am, I tend to get caught between the two sides in an argument and live in a constant state of dilemma. Absolutism does not suite me.

photo credit: Vvillamon

I admire those who call themselves activists. I feel inspired by people who march and walk and parade and hold signs and shout in peace, but I am not often among them. When there are things I stand against, my protest is a more personal expression. I look at my own life and see what I can change to support that protest, but I do not flaunt it in anyone’s face. I would never go around touting my convictions or ideas or preaching on the corner about the things I value and believe.

But I have noticed something. Being an activist does not require signs or shouts or preaching on the corner. People see what I believe based on my actions, and this happens much to my chagrin. No matter how modestly I hold my values, there is always someone who notices, and there is always someone who gets offended and there is always a moment when I have to decide how I respond.

When asking a question about what something is, it is helpful to define the terms. Let’s break it down. Here is what I mean when I say Global Yoga Activism:

• Global: anything that crosses traditional, set boundaries
• Yoga: Functional union of body(s), mind(s) and spirit(s)
• Activism: any manifestation of intention, known or unknown, conscious or subconscious

What do those words mean to you?

photo credit: Aaron Escobar ? (the spaniard)™

We walk around the earth as human beings with senses, spirits, emotions and dreams. And we are constantly manifesting the things that are deepest inside of us — our values and our wounds, our beliefs and judgments, healing and grace as well as destruction and pain. It is safer to believe that who we are on the inside is invisible to those around us. But for better or worse, it is not.

When I get hungry, I get crabby and irritable. I manifest my hunger with behaviors that are not at first obviously correlated, but they make sense if I am able to identify them. What I’m saying with my biting comment or short patience says, “I’m hungry!” even though the person on the other end may not hear that. I wonder if it might not be more honest, more succinct and more helpful if I just held up a sign in protest that said “I need food!” At least then my message would be clear and the problem much more easily resolved rather than me creating more problems with foggy communication.

As yogis we are adept at setting intentions. Some of us are also keen in identifying the way we manifest those intentions beyond the typical confines of mat, studio and kula, in ways that reach out and create unity around us.

Whether we hold signs of protest or sit on a cushion to meditate, we are all activists.

Even by breathing we set into action the energy that is inside of us. The more mindful of this we are, the more we can step outside the boundaries of our comfort and familiarity. We can spread the same things we want for ourselves — peace, happiness, equanimity, bliss — to the people around us. This does not necessarily mean giving up our lifestyle and pleasures, although for some it does. It could actually mean pushing deeper into the things we love and enjoy.

What kind of activist are you — loud, silent, passionate, indifferent? What do you stand for?