The Cosmic Energy of Giving

Yoga on High, formally located in the Short North, Columbus, Ohio, was a premier yoga center in the Midwest offering a broad range of classes including yoga, meditation and breath classes for new students or experienced yogis.

Let me begin with transparency and honesty. I LOVED donating to and supporting the Yoga on High Foundation when it was around. There I said it. With that knowledge we can move onward with the topic of The Cosmic Energy of Giving.

You see, while I adored the YOHI Foundation, there are also several other nonprofits, charities, foundations, and “conscious capitalist” movements that I either donate money or time towards.

One of my mentors (who become a mentor to me at the young age of 19 before I knew how amazing a non-parental mentor can be) named Eric was also my boss at a college job.  He always said to me, and still says to me, that “The Giving is the Getting.”

The man gives his heart and soul to whatever he is around, and you can see how alive and happy it makes him feel and live. This reality is truly the secret sauce and the mindset that we get just as much as we give.

I like to call that feeling of happiness and energy The Cosmic Energy of Giving. 

When we donate our time as a volunteer to a cause or when we donate our hard-earned income we release endorphins through our bodies that make us feel good. Yes it’s important and vital for those organizations to receive our support both monetarily and with our time but there’s something in it for us as individuals.  Shots of endorphins that make us inherently happier, more grateful, and the ability to feel that we are getting just as much out of the process as though we are donating to.

If you ever practiced at YOHI you probably know how good those shots of endorphins feel when you are practicing Hatha with Marcia, Sekoia with Michele, Hot Flow with Anne, Yin with Amy, Urban Zen with Jenn, or Slow Burn with Lara.

But did you know you can get those same shots of endorphins by simply clicking a donate button or showing up and volunteering from time to time? We all know endorphins are good for the body, mind, and soul however I don’t think everyone realizes all the places we can find them and how you can’t really have too many of them.

When I gave to the YOHI Foundation I know I was giving more people the chance to experience the incredible transformation and gift that yoga is. The YOHI Foundation gives its heart and soul to the programs that it creates for the community. I have heard letters from prisoners in Marion Ohio to police officers in Columbus to those that have mental illness and the impact the YOHI Foundation has made on them. When I hear those stories my endorphins go through the roof and it’s why I continue to give and support this wonderful foundation.

The giving truly is the getting just as Eric has repeated to me again and again since my late teenage years. That’s how I feel when I volunteer and when I support crazy important foundations like the previously amazing and still engrained in my heart YOHI Foundation.

Call it the Cosmic Energy of Giving or whatever you may but give it a try or take it up a notch; you won’t regret it!

Related Posts

1. The 8 Limbs of Yoga
2. The Destress Meditation Series
3. Three Ways to Grow Your Yoga Community

To Your Health,
Mike