Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence, but also internal violence of spirit.  You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.

– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

We have been exploring the concept of self-acceptance all month in class and last week I reminded students of the first yama (rule) of yoga- ahimsa or non violence.

When most people think of violence, images of war or fist fighting come to mind, but when it comes down to it listening to your inner critic can also be considered a form of violence.

Wouldn’t life be so much happier if we all stopped hating ourselves and other people and started accepting ourselves and others for who we are?

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Want some tips to get you started on your self-acceptance journey?

Image source: Wikipedia