Ganesha

Pace has been a bit of an issue in our house lately. Going to work early, staying late, working at night... All the while packing our house to move into temporary storage. House hunting with a vengeance. Trying to maintain those relationships we hold so dear. Needless to say, there are no routines in our house and things are suffering a little, mostly self-care.

For me, self-care means yoga. I've been grumbling a lot lately because I can't get to yoga. Then I usually blame the grumbling on my decreased mental capacities because I am not going to yoga. Vicious cycle of self-pity and scape goating.

This morning my alarm was set 45 min early, so that I could get a jump on my day and get to work early. Instead of snoozing and grumbling, I popped up and had the revelation that I can do yoga at home!

Contrary to popular (read: my) belief yoga does not mean studio. Yoga means unity. It means uniting breath and movement. Making the inside and the outside match. All you really need to practice yoga is an open heart.

So, I jumped out of bed, ran downstairs, lit some candles, set out my mat and got to practicing. In the past, I've found home practice to be lack luster and a little lazy. But today, I worked hard and practiced mindfully. In all of the years I have been practicing, today was the first time that I practiced alone that was mentally meaningful and physically demanding.

In Hinduism, there is a deity named Ganesha. You've probably seen images of him. He has an elephant head and four arms. He is known as the remover of obstacles. I spent a lot of time thinking about him today. He kept popping up on my thoughts during practice. I feel like we removed some major obstacles in my head this morning. Jai Ganesha!