Ganesh, Embracing Change and Overcoming Obstacles

Theme: Ganesh, the Remover of Obstacles
Lessons: Obstacles are doors to understanding ourselves
Props: Two blocks and a strap
Flavor: Ganesh wrote the epics with ink on the end of his tusk. Reminds us to dance even when our head is heavy.

Told the story of how Ganesh got his elephant head. Reminds us that sometimes an obstacle, like angry Shiva will blow our minds and transform us radically. Ganesh accepts and makes the best of his new visage and form, he doesn't spend all his time lamenting that he now has an elephant head. We want to learn to accept transformation when it happens in our lives, in those instances when we can't just blast an obstacle out of the way like Shiva does in the story. Sometimes we're the ones who divinity forces to change to overcome an obstacle.

Cat Cow - Alternate Arm Leg/Thigh Stretch
Chatturange Vinyasa x5
-baby cobra
-drunken cobra
-wide armed cobra
-bow feet
-bow ankles
Surya Namaskar x3
Iguana w/ locust
Parsvakonasana w/ locust - arms behind back
High Lunge w/ locust - up into cobra

Natarajasana w/ strap
Padottanasana w/ arms behind back
Elephant w/ blocks
Camel
Setubanda Sarvangasana - raise leg

Dhanurasana - demo, partner, self
help partners by lifting knees and rocking hips side to side then lengthening spine and rotating legs in circles to unwind any tension in the low back
Uttanasana
Dandasana - Forward Bend
Knees to Chest
Savasana

Closing: We practice Yoga to be more like Ganesh, skillfully engaging our hearts to embrace any transformation or change that happens in life and helps us overcome the obstacles before us.

Success! Parner Urdhva Dhanurasana was awesome. People had a good time.

Concerns: Had a few students who left partway through class but I checked in with them and they advised their bodies were okay, they were just short on time. Had another student ask about tucking toes under in Ustrasana, she said she felt intense pressure (not pain) in the knees when tucking the toes under but normally didn't when the toenails were clicked down into the mat. I told her that her body was probably used to putting weight on a little different part of the knee since she'd been doing it with the toenails clicked down for a while and that in time the knees would probably become accustomed to having the toes tucked under. I explained that the toes tucked under protects the knees an ankles, but that she was welcome to do whatever variation felt best for her body. In retrospect, I would have like to suggested that she engage muscle energy even with the toes tucked under and see if that or apply other principles could have resolved the pressure as well.