Apology up front here dear readers, this post again will be discussing Ganesha like yesterday’s did however no statues will be tossed in a river. It seems like every time I have an extended period of one-on-one time with the elves a theme emerges. During the epic snow day rally we created, lived and breathed origami. Now as we reach the end of their Spring Break we have spent every day talking, listening to songs about or moving statues of Ganehsa. It started after I read a story about Ganesha and the cat on the Ganesh Mall blog. Then I was reading some books I have on the subject and we started listening to kirtan (chanting like my pal Elizabeth). My elves became obsessed with this elephant god in the same way I am: his story and image are magical.
One more day of Spring Break and I am ready to scream. My world is again filled with so much noise and auditory clutter that I can barely compose my blog posts, let alone do anything else I need to do. There are play dates (read: screaming with friends), there are battles, there is drama and there is talking. In short there is too much noise. My pratyahara loving self is going sort of nuts without the moments of silence. Do not read this wrong: I adore the elves in every way possible, I just love my quiet moments alone and require them for survival.I do not understand the concept of being unable to exist in moments of silence; how people can find this peace uncomfortable. I crave stillness and quiet, but perhaps that is because there are so many obstacles in my life on my path to find it. Tuesday after one of my classes a lovely student looked at me in awe when I said that my favorite way to practice yoga is without music. “Really?” she said stunned, to which I reminded her that without music you can hear your breath and feel your body move. The distractions of noise are just too much for me sometimes, and on my mat I love to find a space where they do not exist.
After a battle of wills I managed to wrangle my elves into the car where they, despite the destination of the movie theater, began an epic argument. I reached into my bag, pulled out my iPod and started playing Elephant Power by MC Yogi, the elves’ current heavy rotation favorite. Instantly this wall of words was broken down and I was able to drive the 20 minutes to the theater in peace. We sang chants to Ganesha together and then had a much more mellow afternoon. Ganesha removed the obstacles that made my ears ring with drama and allowed me to find again some peace. I felt like the swimmer that was finally able to dive into the deep end and no longer hear the sounds of the people standing next to the pool. Deep quiet and restorative peace was present for 20 minutes today, thank heavens!
To MC Yogi I say THANKS for making my Spring break such a funkified one and for helping me share these stories with the elves.
To the other parents out there, the MC’s of their own groove crews I send a little bit of shhh and some Om gam ganapataye namaha!
Flying Yogini 
Yeah, I’m with you . . . total silence is *bliss*, rare but bliss! You’re a beautiful mom Nancy and I love hearing of your adventures!
what a great story of a day! we raised 3, and the times of sustained quiet didn’t happen til they’d all grown and gone, and then it seemed so strange for so long
and i was the oldest of 6, so i knew what a ruckus could be 😉
and sometimes, “sometimes” we miss it
but we like the quiet now 😉
I can go all day without turning the radio or tv on, I love the sound & beauty of silence. I too practice without music. When I do practice with music it’s to dance & twirl.
Thank you Ganesha for letting us get our groove on! OM Gam Ganapataye Namaha!
♥♥♥