This is not Ganesha but a sweet little elephant to remind us of the Hindu Deity AKA the Remover of Obstacles and Blesser of Beginnings. I will let him walk over this post as a blessing for Thursday evenings on the lawn. Thanks to Sage for sending the animated elephant to me!
On the Summer Solstice a delightful group of Yogin showed for the first outdoor Yoga class. So did dark clouds, then rain, then thunder and finally some huge gusts of wind that took our breath away as well as leaves from the tree we took cover under.
Thank you all for attending, for braving the rain drops before they became rain storm and for smiling about it right to the end. If we couldn’t have laughed a little I don’t know if I’d have the courage to try this again. And yes, I will be there again next week and every Thursday until Labor Day.
We raised $40.00 for PETA, so far! Please, keep up the smiles and join us next week for another exciting installment of Yoga on the grass!
That brings me to Ganesha. (Sometimes Ganesh or Ganesa), a much loved deity who really looks like this:
Ganesha is the first born son of Shiva, an intellectual master, and a very popular Hindu God because he is said to remove obstacles, bless new beginnings in love, business, life, ventures, etc. Ganesha also destroys pride, vanity, and egoism and is sometimes called the Lord of Good Fortune. He has four arms with hands holding various symbols to bless and to rid devotees of obstacles. He is a man with an elephant head and rides a mouse. In some teachings the mouse respresents desire and some say it symbolizes ego, in either case, Ganesha rides upon it, keeping it under his control and using it to carry himself forward. He has a big belly, full from swallowing the sorrows of the world, big ears for listening well and a small mouth for speaking minimally. What’s not to love about Ganesha?
Call upon the symbolism of Ganesha whenever you begin a new venture, enter a new phase of life or face a challenge. He will bring us support, wisdom, courage and modesty in our successes.
Ganesha, bless our Thursday Yoga classes on the lawn, allow us to support PETA and one another throughout the summer.
Here’s a little more about Ganesh:
Of course that means on the mat, we are more than our physical posture. Our Warrior pose is more than a lunge that tones the butt and stretches the hamstrings. Our Warrior becomes an opportunity to be in our power, to bring our inner strength and determination into physical play. Warrior brings us the chance to connect our inner power with the divine power of our community and our planet. A yogi would be hard pressed to lovingly hold virabhadrasana eka (warrior 1) and not feel a sense of inner strength being nurtured as much as their calves and quads working hard.
Do you know that Webster’s has 32 definitions for the word grace? Here’s the definitions that pertain to my week.
