Welcome to the Pioneer Valley Chapter of Karma Krew!
Karma Krew is a non-partisan, non-profit charitable yoga organization whose personal mantra is "Do Good Things". It is Karma Krew’s mission, with your help, to infuse the world with more positive energy by promoting acts of kindness, service and community outreach in its many forms. Through Karma yoga inspired events and initiatives, Karma Krew seeks to shed light on the interconnectedness between turning inward and reaching outward. There are many ways to get involved, including becoming a member, joining our local Karma Krew team, participating in a service inspired yoga retreat or supporting efforts to bring yoga to underserved populations. For more information or to become a member see www.karmakrew.org.
Upcoming Karma Krew Events in the Pioneer Valley:
"Back-to-School Supplies" Drive
The purpose of the Back to School Drive is to collect NEW school supplies to
provide Springfield and Greenfield Elementary School children with necessary school items.
Donations of new school supplies include:
Back Packs, Glue sticks, Calculators, Pencils/Pencil cases, Pens, Highlighters, Erasers, Rulers-plastic, Markers, Crayons, Binders, Notebooks (marble), Assignment pads, Notebook Paper, Pocket Folders, etc.
Please donate any of these NEW items at your local Yoga Center by July 11th.
If you are unable to carry donated items to your local center and want to arrange for a pick up or would like to attend our back pack stuffing party, please call or email: Deb Neubauer at 413-367-9692 or at info@anahatayogacenter.com.
Our goal is to stuff 100 back packs and deliver 50 to each school system.
Help us meet our goal!!
To download a printable flyer for this drive to put up at your place of work, click this link
Photos
Here are photos of our Gardening The Community Project, Saturday May 24th. We hope you can join us sometime soon!
The Philosophy behind our Community Karma Krew:
In Sanskrit, "Karma" means "To act or to serve," and to serve our community is one of the most foundational and transformative expressions of yoga. The whole concept of a Community Karma Krew is not based on doing service in the community out of a "should" feeing or an obligation, but to experience it as a natural extension of one’s own personal growth process. In some magical way, by opening your heart to others with Karma Yoga, you are able to pull yourself out of the drama of your own life and see things with a clearer perspective. It frees you in magical ways and allows you to access the potential that lies dormant within you waiting to unfold.
Community Karma Krew events include other practices of yoga in the day of service, like physical yoga (Hatha Yoga) and satsang (group share) in order to provide an integrated format that helps you "connect the dots" between your service work and the "rest of your life". Yoga is something that too often gets restricted to the experience on the mat when it truthfully holds so much more potential well beyond the walls of any studio. Karma Krew is for everyone, not just for people who "practice yoga". Everyone is welcome!
Karma Krew hopes to integrate the network of yoga studios that currently exists through regularly scheduled monthly service projects throughout our communities.
Here’s how it works. One day each month, individuals gather in a day of yoga that includes an asana practice, a 2 - 4 hour volunteer project somewhere in our community, followed by satsang to share our experiences. To further encourage integration among our network of yogis, each month we will try to hold the asana class and satsang at different studios and hope that the class, satsang and service project will be led by different teachers throughout the area who choose to volunteer their time. The service projects will vary each month, and the order of the day’s events may vary according to the project’s specifications. But the formula remains the same: Get people off the mat and into the community and watch the magic happen!
Ways to get involved:
Let your students and friends know Karma Krew is launching this January 26th at the Anahata Yoga Center. If you’d like more information about any Karma Krew events, you can contact the local Karma Krew representative, Deb Neubauer, Director of Anahata Yoga Center by emailing info@anahatayogacenter.com.
Become a Member:
In its first year of existence, Karma Krew is already growing nationwide, and we invite you to join the dynamic Krew of studios and teachers across the country dedicated to promoting service as an essential part of our spiritual growth. There are various annual membership options for teachers and studios at www.karmakrew.org.
Suggest a Project:
Perhaps you know of a neighborhood project that could use a little help from our community of yogins. We are always open to hearing your suggestions and ideas for where to focus the month’s events. Email us with your suggestions today!
2008 Karma Krew Events in the Pioneer Valley:
The Pioneer Valley Karma Krew Launches January 26, 2008 at the Anahata Yoga Center in Northampton, MA!!
Schedule for the day includes:
- 2-3pm: Led (free) asana class
- 3-5pm: Service project
- 5pm: Short Satsang to share experiences
The National focus for the month of January is "Supporting our Troops". Though I’m sure we all have conflicting feelings about the US wars on Iraq and Afghanistan, still we can share a unified voice in our support of our troops who day in and day out put their lives on the line. Many of these men and women of our armed forces entered the services to pay for college, or receive training they could not otherwise afford. For many of the troops, their involvement in these particular wars was not by choice. Still they serve our country enduring tremendous hardship.
Our local chapter of Karma Krew will "Adopt a Soldier" through the Soldier Angels Network - www.soldiersangels.com . Together, in an afternoon, we can draft letters to be sent out over time and brainstorm about collecting items for care packages. Soldiers who have signed up to be adopted usually do so because they don’t have family or their family does not have the resources to support them with care packages, etc. Getting mail is apparently the highlight of most soldiers days. We can include beautiful postcards or photographs of home, small useful items to send that can be used by this soldier or passed out to other soldiers and civilians.
If you’d like to participate in the service project, please let me know so we can have supplies for your letters/crafts. Also, please bring any of the below items to be sent in care packages.
If you are unable to attend, you may also drop these off at the Anahata Yoga Center before the event:
- Crest® Cavity Protection Toothpaste (unboxed)
- Scope® Mouthwash Original Mint
- LA Fresh Dental Finger Mitt
- Oraline Breath Strips
- Generic Travel Toothbrush
- Wisdom Floss Travel Size
- Dial® Deodorant Soap
- Old Spice® High Endurance Anti-Perspirant Deodorant
- Purell® Hand Sanitizer with Aloe
- Jergen's® Ultra Healing Extra Dry Skin Moisturizer
- Gold Bond® Body Powder
- St. Ives® Body Wash Collagen Elastin
- Pert® Plus Shampoo Plus Medium Conditioner
- Freshscent® Shave Cream Packs
- Bic® Twin Blade Razor
- Clubman Astringent Styptic Pencil
- Nice 'N Clean® Anti-Bacterial Wipes
- Charmin® To Go Toilet Seat Covers
- Charmin® To Go Bathroom Tissue
- Cotton Buds® Cotton Swabs
- Kleenex® Tissues Pocket Pack
- Ziploc® resealable bag - sandwich size
- Ziploc® resealable bag - quart size (2), Hand and foot warmers.
- Packaged/instant food items- (that can’t melt)
- CDs and DVD’s or VHS movies, Books, Magazines
- dried fruit, popcorn
- candy (hard, soft)
- Pez and Pez dispensers
- gum, cakes, M & M's
- coffee (ground coffee, Starbucks would be greatly appreciated, soldiers love and live on coffee!!!)
- white exercise socks.
Most requested items from soldiers
- Iraq phone calling cards
- AAFES gift cards (need military account to buy)
- Multi-tools (Gerber, Leatherman)
- Surefire flashlights
- Wiley sunglasses and goggles
- Under Armour
- Underwear (can't be used in tactical operations)
- Unlocked GSM cell phones
Other items soldiers may want or need
Return to top of page
Return to Home Page
Return to previous page
© Copyright 2008 Deb Neubauer. All rights reserved in all media.
A Xanatos Site
| 
)
)
)
)
)