Namaste Lotus Family!

And Happy Birthday Laughing Lotus! This September we celebrate 9 years together Livin' Lovin' and Laughin' our way to Freedom and peace of mind through the timeless teachings and ecstatic practices of Yoga! Thank you all for another inspiring year!

This autumn at Laughing Lotus, we get back to basics by celebrating and exploring the timeless teachings of the sage Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. The sutras (literally,"threads") are ancient aphorisms, small gems of wisdom that encourage us to embrace and practice the yogic path, transcending the divisions both between our body, mind, and spirit on an individual level as well as inviting unity between all living things.

Central to the yoga practice is ahimsa or non-harming. Sutra 2.35 tells us,"Ahimsapratisthayam tatsannidhau vairatyagah" or "When non-violence in speech, thought, and action is established, one's aggressive nature is relinquished and others abandon hostility in one's presence." Committing to a life of non-violence means to recognize and respect the divine spirit in all beings, including our animal sisters and brothers.

With ahimsa in mind, this month Love Saves the Day will benefit Rescue Ink, a New York-based animal rescue non-profit organization. Rescue Ink was formed by a group of men who share a love of tattoos, hot rods, motorcycles, and animal rescue. The members of Rescue Ink (Mike Tattoo, Big Ant, Des, Johnny O, Sal, "G," Ron, Biagi, Angel, and Batso) remind us not only of ahimsa but also of tapas, burning enthusiasm, as they devote their time, money, and energy saving abused animals and teaching respect for living things (to get to know the members of Rescue Ink, click here.)

Among Rescue Ink's programs are: The Puppy Mill Consumer Awareness Program, which educates consumers about the abuses found in puppy mills and engages in street level campaigns to hasten the closing of such places; the Companion Outreach Program, in which members of Rescue Ink and their rescued animals visit nursing homes, assisted living and veterans facilities; The Feral Cat Trap, Neuter and Return Program, which neuters feral cats and then returns them to their habitats; and the School Visitation Initiative, which instills in elementary and middle school students an appreciation of animals as well as teaching them how to spot and report animal abuse and neglect. When Rescue Ink receives a report of an abused or neglected animal (click here to learn how to report a case), they travel far and wide to save the animal and to encourage the animal's owner to change his or her ways. As they themselves say, "We will stop at nothing within the bounds of law to protect animals at risk. We will intercede without hesitation when we are informed of a situation that needs to be addressed, and we will address it. If we need to convince people to do the right thing…we can be very convincing." Rescue Ink builds dog houses for unsheltered pets and independently investigates and resolves cases of animal abuse and neglect. Rescue Ink member and former bodyguard Johnny O once "waded waist deep into a pond near a sewage pipe to rescue a duck" and Brooklyn-born Sal has been rescuing cats since he was a teenage volunteer for the Humane Society (to find out more about their programs and how to volunteer or donate, click here.)

In Yoga Sutra 2.46, Patanjali reminds us, "Sthira Sukham Asanam" – the asana or pose should be steady/strong and comfortable/soft. This seemingly unlikely combination of strength and softness is found not only yoga asanas, but also in the members of Rescue Ink, tough guys with tender hearts who have devote themselves, with the tapas of burning enthusiasm, to the well being of our animal brethren. To see a recent New York Times slideshow of Rescue Ink in action click here.

And remember, LOVE SAVES THE DAY!