Elephant Pose – Ganesha

Ganesha is the very popular elephant deity from India who is known as the remover of obstacles – spiritual and physical. He is chubby, gentle, wise and has an elephant-head.He is able to destroy or place obstacles for us to grow and mature. That is his special job!

There are beautiful kirtan songs that repeat the name of Ganesha (Ganesh), Ganapathi and chanting the vibration of his name can bring removal of obstacles. Obstacles can be minor or major. A ganesha sculpture/statue placed in your home also brings protection and abundance.

His form has specific characteristics that you and your children can embrace in your life. Many Hindu families have a picture or statue of Ganesha in their homes.

• His broad crown is telling one to think big, to get inspiration from the sky.
• His small eyes symbolize the importance of focus and attention to detail for any task that we do.
• His big elephant ears remind us to talk less and listen more. He teaches us how to listen in a subtle way to everything around us.
• His soft big belly is a reminder to digest all that life throws at us and to accept both the positive and negative, accept everything that comes. His soft belly makes him approachable and imperfect which means to accept ourselves and others as we are in any given moment.
• The axe in his one hand symbolizes being able to cut through all attachments. When we are too attached to material things we lose sight of our true nature, who we are.

So, remind yourself and your children of the special qualities of Ganesha. Think of him in the morning sitting with you (picture) and you will feel able to do a task to completion, face any challenges, learn from them and overcome them.

His energy will flow through you too when you do elephant pose.

DOING ELEPHANT POSE

In standing position, bend forward with your arms hanging down and clasp your hands together with fingers interlocked.

Walk around, bent over, swinging your trunk back and forth and after a minute, stretch your trunk high into the air. Lean back and let out a big elephant sound like a horn!