Om Gum Ganapatai Namaha!

I've been taking care of some old business lately and frankly have been feeling just south of freaked. Its an emotionally charged transaction; it has been like a hairy version of Falcon Crest. There are a lot of twists and turns as it all unfolds, a lot of players and a lot of ego. Sigh...yeah, including mine. I have to admit I want it all to turn out 'my way'. 

I  don't know what's worse. Knowing better than the 'my way' method, or the wanting, grasping, and gripping of my way in and of itself. I suppose it is mute because the bottom line is that this unrealistic expectation creates an enormous amount of suffering.  I've lost my cool a few times and totally lost sight of the whole notion of 'letting go'. Asking for help from legal and financial advisors has been enormous help, but in matters of the spirit it just doesn't cut the mustard.

One of the tools I use when my head is spinning is to evoke Ganesha. Maybe because he is so fun to look at and the mere image of the deity lightens me up substantially. I've found it quite useful to offer my 'little' issue up to Ganesha to assist in removing the obstacles so that the whole situation will land as it is meant to land, spiritually speaking. Its simple, but a tall order to trust that big. Its an even bigger challenge for me to balance street smarts with spirit wisdom. Its not something I fully picked up on in MBA school.

In private times to quiet my mind, a little mudra and  a lot of repetition of Om Gum Ganapatai Namaha gets me through when I just can't see. Actually more than just 'gets me through', it gives me quite a bit of relief. Namaste to Uschi's Gods and Goddess workshop. She reacquainted me with Ganesha about three weeks ago precisely at the moment when all this 'business deal' nonsense started heating up to a roaring boil. Since that time a Ganesha centered practice really has helped me recover from some very scary and unpleasant thoughts as I've navigated through a very intense deal.

Not too surprising, then, that Mr. Ganesha has come right out of my mouth and heart and into my asana practice. It has been so effective for me in the past few weeks that I decided to share a piece of it in the yoga of recovery class this morning. The class went something like this:

Heart opener on Bolster

3 part breath; finding peace and joy on the inside.

Side opener in sukasana

forward fold between sides

Cat, cow play with breath

Balasana

1/4 dog

plank 

downdog

tadasana

shoulder opener with strap

1/4 sun salutations

1/2 sun salutations

lunge salutations with arms overhead one side one, arms behind side two

sphinx and cobra between sets

tadasana

Ganesha mudra

lunge right side

Warrior 1

wide leg forward fold with Ganesha mudra behind back

Warrior 111 with Ganesha mudra

Standing splits to release

Lunge

3 leg dog

vinyasa

land in balasana

second side

OM

adding on 

hip opener low kneel

pigeon

janushirshasana forward fold

other side

adding on after janushirshasana forward fold

ardha matsendrasana with neck rolls

roll back to release

ardha matsendrasana other side

easy spine twist

Savasana

It has been fun to play with mudras. We've worked in the first several weeks with Lotus mudra and I'm feeling that Ganesha's moved in. Bonus! He's got a great mantra to play with too!

Om Gum Ganapatai Namaha!