What is YARA; Declaration of mission

Over 12 years of animal rescue and compassionate activism…

Just a couple weeks ago I revisited this Mission of Yoga and Animal Rights Alliance to refresh, reflect, and remember what seed this life experience has grown out of. It was affirming and thought I’d share it with you.

We are a grassroots community cultivating compassion for all living beings and that compassion motivates us into action..

We cultivate mindful practices from many modalities: Qi Gong, gardening, singing, writing, food justice, and animal advocacy. All awaken and nurture compassion which inevitably translates into service for all animals welfare (never forgetting that people are animals too and vice a verse.)

We have created a space where compassion can be cultivated, animals can be rescued and homed, and skill can be developed while community is built.

Another way to say it sounds like this:

YARA is a grassroots organization devoted to cultivating compassion for all living beings and moving that compassion into action. We use mindful and reflective practices — qi gong, meditation, and contemplative writing — not as ends in themselves, but as pathways: ways of quieting the mind and opening the heart so that we can show up more fully for the animals and communities who need us.

Through volunteer opportunities, educational engagement, and the rescue and protection of animals in need, we’re building a community rooted in stewardship, humility, and service. Our practices ground us. Our compassion moves us. And that movement is Life and how it moves is the story and where the real good work happens.

Does it resonate with what you’ve seen here at YARA? Do you want to get more involved? Or does it inspire your own vision? What is your mission? We’d love to hear about it? I’d love to support you in any way I can.

Much Love, Sweethome