photo credit: Capture Queen ™
I wonder if finding a solution is sometimes as simple as turning around. In yoga, we often take postures such as twists or inversions that change our perspective. Things look different when you are on your head than when you are sitting at your desk going through your usual routine!
It’s pretty easy to become comfortable with the way things are. But if we turn around or change our perspective then of course things will look quite different. Maybe we won’t feel quite so comfortable. But maybe it will be exciting or just better in that the newness will present new choices.
The Ganesh mantra is all about removing obstacles. By practicing mantra (kind of like with affirmations) we are creating vibrations, moving energy and sending our intentions out into the world.
Sometimes my dilemma is that I don’t even know what the obstacle is. We need to reveal and face obstacles in order to remove them. And this takes courage. For me, practicing Ganesh mantra has become a tool that helps to tap into that inner courage.
My Less-than-Traditional Ganesh Mantra Meditation
I have found that mantra meditation is easier and more enjoyable than I expected. (Meditation is not something that comes naturally to me.) I downloaded an MP3 of the Ganesh mantra from @FlorianYoga’s 30 Day Yoga Journey (which I am really enjoying – be sure to check it out). I have been listening to the mantra and chanting along with her, sometimes out loud, sometimes silently. This works for me.
I don’t think I’m really a morning person but today I actually woke up before everyone else and practiced the mantra meditation in my bed, laptop open in front of me. Last night I did it while in a nice warm bath – not the usual place to meditate but it did leave me feeling peaceful and clean 😉
I have also been reciting Ganesh mantra randomly throughout the day – on my way home from the kids’ bus stop, in the car … I’m sure I have received more than one strange glance.
The first couple of nights I practiced the mantra by writing it in my journal. Kind of like writing lines without the punitive aspect! This was a less intimidating way of starting. Writing is more familiar to me than sitting in meditation.
Life is inevitably stressful. Good stress, bad stress – we need to figure out healthy ways to respond to it. Finding a new perspective is a good start. Perhaps that is the power in the Ganesh mantra. We are voicing the idea that we are ready to shake things up. To turn a corner. To find new ways to overcome the obstacles.
Om Gum Ganapateya Namaha.
May our new journeys be met with joy and prosperity and clear of obstacles and hassles. (Translation courtesy of @FlorianYoga)
