Washing Away the Dirt
We wanted to share with you a sweet article from long-time HeartSong student Sandi Goodwin. Sandi is a teacher at
Garden Home Yoga and she traveled to India with Leslie and Kayci earlier this year. Here's a great post she shared recently upon her return... some lovely food for thought.
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Yogic tradition promotes cleanliness, among other things. Cleanliness of heart and soul, conscience and body as well as the more mundane floors and windows. I loved seeing the dally baths of those who went to the ghats on the river or the community faucet located on a street corner in India. The magical way a woman could bathe in a sari without compromising standards of modesty and the gusto with which a man lathers his own head while clad only in shorts without a trace of modesty whatsoever. The sweeping of the steps, street and lawns in the cool, moist dawn. Catching sight of the morning clean-up on our way back from sunrise on the river, the daily task of sweeping up after others' careless dropping of waste on the sidewalk and road, seemed just another calmly accepted aspect of life.
One morning I was pleasantly surprised to find that the piles of garbage in the streets had simply disappeared. Literally. Overnight. What or who had taken it away? Someone had. Our disgust at the piles upon piles of waste thrown carelessly into the street was replaced with wonder. Evidently the piles were from individuals collecting the waste in one place with their daily sweeping and was then removed by a mysterious benefactor only after the cows and dogs, and no doubt, rodents and birds, had all gleaned what they could from the heaps of food, paper and other refuse that clogged the narrow lanes.
I see this very much like the spiritual path. Litter accumulates in our minds, souls and bodies as the result of the input from ourselves, others, and our environment. It is up to us, the individual, to keep this swept up and sifted through for scraps of self-understanding, before the grace of the Universe removes it. LIke the burning of the seeds of karma, we do our part, and then the Divine does the rest. If the woman in the sari bathing at the river isn't overwhelmed by the fact that she will work all day in filth, and if the morning sweeper keeps sweeping, knowing that tomorrow morning there will be more garbage to sweep, then maybe I can continue what seems like an uphill battle of cleansing my thoughts, habits and attitudes.
This is where my daily practices come in. Yoga focuses my mind and meditation stills it. Dance channels energy of all kinds into joy. Walking the dog satisfies my need for connection to the community and my dog by the loving act of allowing him to sniff and run. Eating healthfully uplifts and nourishes my mind and
body. But it is my faith that keeps me knowing that as I do my part, I will be supported and assisted.
May we all be supported and swept clean each and every day.
Resource Center
Introduction to Yoga - 4 Week Series