“I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” ~ Martin Luther
I have so many ideas for blog posts from this weekend of yoga teacher training. Most of our work this weekend was about Eastern philosophy. Some of it I agree with. Some of it I don’t agree with. Some of it I’ll keep with me, and I’ll let go of the pieces that don’t serve. I find all of it useful to stimulate conversation and consideration.
Will, our philosophy teacher, gave us this quote by Martin Luther when we talked about how to balance our practice with the rest of our lives. It helped me. In the past, I have said to myself that I don’t have time to meditate or to do yoga on some days. Tonight was one of those nights. I wanted to get a lot of writing done, to catch up with friends on the phone, to clean my apartment, to make dinner, to get myself organized for the week. Every minute of teacher training that ticked by gave me another item for my after-yoga to-do list.
When I went to the store Scent Elate to get my little statues of Nataraj and Ganesha for my home altar, Mo, the owner gave me some sage and incense matches, without me even asking. “Make sure to burn some sage first before placing these on your altar.” This small gesture stopped me in my tracks, asking me to see my “gallopy” nature, recognize it, and tell it to be quiet down. ” Despite all of my to-do’s, I have time for practice,” I said to myself. “All I have is time.” Maybe Mo was channeling Martin Luther. Maybe the Universe needed me to hear the message a bit more loudly, and so it used Mo’s voice to give me exactly the learning I needed exactly when I needed it. Maybe it was just coincidence. Regardless, the message was heard loud and clear. “This practice is important. Make time for it.”
So I came home, burned a little sage, placed the statues, and did my 18 minutes of meditation. And you know what? The pathway to my writing opened. I made a delicious, simple meal, I got myself ready for my week. I caught up with some friends. There was time for all of it. But first, I had to take care of my own spirit, my own heart, through my meditation. Now, I can see. Really see. Now, I can do. Really do.
The image above is not my own. It can be found here.
Christa Avampato 
