
In my Let Your Yoga Dance for Special Populations class recently, I offered the theme of Gratitude. We danced our yoga with appreciation for all we have been given. I found many gratitude songs to use; one in particular lit up the group: Karen Drucker’s “I'm So Grateful." We were happily waltzing around the room (some were waltzing in a chair), singing with Karen: “I’m so grateful…I’m so grateful…..” Watching my students and loving this moment, I was overflowing with joy. I saw so clearly that even when bodies are compromised and the world is challenged in enormous ways, there is still so much to be grateful for. This included the fact that we were free to dance together in this sweet little dance studio in Sarasota, Florida. There are many countries and cities that would not allow such simple pleasures we take for granted. Dancing about, I recalled the American Four Freedoms, goals articulated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt back in 1941, four profound goals worth clinging to: