REMOVER OF OBSTACLES

Enlightenment

Ganesh Chaturthi, the Hindu festival celebrating the arrival of Ganesh to this earth, began on the twenty second. It is a ten day festival, so there is one week left for celebrations and eating sweet dumplings called modaka. This is the week that processions start with dancing in the streets as Ganesh idols are carried to the closest body of water for immersion. One of our microscope reps was in on Friday to pack up a broken laser bank. As she stood six feet behind me so I could log onto the system, she noticed my Ganesh tattoo peeking out the top of my t-shirt. “Oh! I always forget that you have a Ganesh on your back! You know the festival is this week?” She said. Then she went on reminiscing about last year’s celebrations and the special saree she wore. You could see the disappointment in her eyes that she would not be celebrating in the same way this year.

I still get a little nervous when one of my Indian co-workers notices my Ganesh tattoo. It is so rarely in full view. It is only on occasion that I am wearing a blouse that slips low enough down my back so that the very top of Ganesh’s head is visible. I’m afraid my tattoo will be seen a cultural misappropriation, which it is. I am not Hindu, yet I carry a Hindu God on my back. I have multiple Ganesh statues. I admit that at first, the attraction was due to my whole elephant fetish. That only led me to wanting to know more about Ganesh. This in turn, educated me on a whole other culture, one filled with spice and color. A culture of people who can express so much joy in the face of so much strife. My tattoo has always been met with surprise and approval. I’ve been told I have made a good choice.

If ever there was a year for celebrating Ganesh, this would be the one. Ganesh, the son of Shiva and Parvati, is the remover of all obstacles, the Lord of letters and learning, but he’s also been known to place obstacles in the paths of those who need to be checked. Which makes me think that he might be behind some of the obstacles of this year. Ganesh felt we all needed to slow our rolls. Maybe he’s hoping that we’ll all come out of all of the experiences of this year a little kinder, more compassionate, more patient. Maybe the obstacles of this year will make us more appreciative and grateful.

Maybe some of us will learn to find joy even in the face of strife.

GUILTY

Wheat

3 Likes, 1 Comments - Cindy Maddera (@elephant_soap) on Instagram: "Wheat"

Someone recently posted this blog post by Rumya Putcha at Namaste Nation on a yoga teacher Facebook group I am part of. It is a very eye opening read and I have not been able to stop thinking about it. Rumya Putcha discussed the mis-appropriation of 'namaste' and cultural appropriation of upper class white women and yoga. Yoga is thought of and marketed as a white woman's domain. I have become hyper aware of the lack of diversity of people in yoga studio classes. I will be sitting on my mat, waiting for the class to begin and I'll look around the room. We all look alike and this makes me very uncomfortable. I don't tell you that to garnish some kind of sympathy or "Oh, no Cindy. You don't need to feel uncomfortable." I DO need to feel uncomfortable. This should make me feel out of place. 

“When you’re white in this country, you’re taught that everything belongs to you. You think you have a right to everything. … You’re conditioned this way. It’s not because your hair is a texture or your skin is light. It’s the fact that the laws and the culture tell you this. You have a right to go where you want to go, do what you want to do, be however—and people just got to accommodate themselves to you.” Ta-Nehisi Coates

My first exposure to yoga was in a gym setting. In fact, I did not attend yoga classes in yoga studios until yoga teacher training. Yoga was/is a workout option. There was no talk of the spiritual side of yoga or stories of the Gods who inspired these poses. The teacher said 'namaste' at the end of every class and we just nodded our heads in response. I didn't know the meaning of that word. I just assumed it was some sort of goodbye/thank you/blessing. Like ending a prayer with 'amen'. I have a giant Ganesh tattoo on my back, not because I am Hindu, but because I like elephants and was attracted to this Hindu God because of his elephant head. I did do my research before having him permanently placed on my body and I love this tattoo. But I do question what right I have to put Ganesh on my body in such a way. It is hard to admit because no one wants to admit to being part of the problem, but I am part of the problem. 

I see my mistakes and I'm working on being part of the solution. My roommate in college was full blood Cherokee. She used to invite me to her home in Stilwell Oklahoma mostly because she didn't have a car and missed her family so much. She would say "Drive me home this weekend and we'll have Mom make Indian tacos and we'll go to a stomp dance." I always agreed because her family was so nice and I loved going to the stomp dances. The dances would run late into the night and into early morning and I watched for hours as Cherokee men and women danced in a circle. I would help my college roommate tie on her tortoise shell shakers that fit the length of her shin and was always surprised by the weight of them. The dances were beautiful and mesmerizing but I never participated unless my roommate specifically dragged me into the circle. I was very aware that I was an outsider and that I had no claim to this culture.  This is how I should also approach yoga. I do not lay any cultural rights on yoga. It is a gift that has been brought to our Western society, a gift that should be treated with more respect. 

I chose to teach yoga at the Y because I thought it would be the best way to bring the benefits of yoga to a more diverse group of people. I teach my students how to move safely into yoga poses and to challenge themselves physically. I teach my students to focus on their breath and how linking your breath with your movement aids in calming the mind. I encourage my students to find joy in their practice. I do not teach the spiritual side of yoga. We do not chant or "om". I still say 'namaste' at the end of class. I don't know if it is the right thing to do any more. I say it, fully meaning the sentiment behind the word: that which is beautiful in me salutes that which is beautiful in you. But my students don't know that this is the meaning of namaste. This is another mistake on my part. When you know the meaning and reverence of something, you are more likely to be more reverent with that something. You are less likely to toss around a sacred word like namaste.

This is true for all languages and cultures.