Father’s Day Practice
I gave myself a gift today on Father’s day. The owner of Sundance Yoga Studio where I practice was kind enough to give me a key to the studio, so today, I let myself in for a little practice of my own. She recently had four tapastries installed on one of the walls in the studio – one each representing air, water, earth and fire. I was drawn toward the Earth tapastry today, so I oriented my yoga mat facing it and sat down on my meditation bench to get centered and listen to what Earth had to teach me. Focusing on Earth, I noticed the qualities of groundedness and integration. Without earth, there would be no containers for fire and fresh water and no gravity to hold the air to the planet’s surface. We need the earth so we can integrate and make use of the other elements. Before we can dive deep, soar high or make use of the fire within, we must be grounded.
Another association with being grounded is committment. Pete Seeger says that he believes that the earth will be saved by people who settle in one place and save that land. When you find something you love enough to fight for its survival, to nurture it and ensure that it thrives for generations to come, that is home. Without that, what use is deep knowledge, inspiration or boundless energy? Without a home, there is no starting point for your journey. Committment is required to parent a child, develop a career, keep a marriage, build a home, develop a personal practice and to know yourself. Committment requires being grounded. Without grounding, there is nothing to be committed to.
Also during meditation today, I let my mind rest on fatherhood, father energy and parenting. As a father, I have tried to be grounded in a handful of ideas. First among these is that a father provides grounding for the child. This means providing both the boundaries needed for the child to contain the elements within himself, and the nourishment and space necessary for the child to grow. This same energy is seen in all good yoga teachers. It is certainly not exclusive to men any more than nurturing is exclusive to women.
So, I guess there are no great epifanies to be revealed in my meditations today. It is no secret that some men (ok women too) have difficulty with committment though, so I guess it never hurts to be reminded of the fruits of groundedness, committment and integration.
Namaste’ to all those who share their Father Energy with others.
Scott
