Ganesh, from the Musée d’art Asiatique de Berlin, by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra

Had my yoga teacher training teachers not recommended that I attend one or both of the workshops done locally by Janet Stone, I doubt I’d have attended. We have an assignment to visit three classes in other yoga styles, for which these qualified. However, I suppose I figured that attending a workshop by a notable traveling yogi was something reserved for someone other than me. I pictured a class full of yoga teachers, and other people who manage to focus more of their attention on yoga, than I do.

Silly me. I may not be a teacher, but presently I’m logging 14+ hours per week into yoga, and that’s not even counting my home practice. My bizarre plan of forcing some my other interests to the back burner, in order to dig deeper into this one, is working.

And so it is that I certainly belonged in that room, yesterday and today, singing (“Ganesha Sharanam, Sharanam Ganesha,” to be exact, hence the opportunity to find and post another photo of Mr. Remover of Obstacles), sweating, laughing, and relaxing for two hours, with a bunch of other people.

We got along famously. There were quite a few people I knew there, thanks to the training course, as well as a few perfect strangers that I met in the moments before the class started, assisted by Janet’s exuberant, encouraging self.

I continue to be amazed by how this particular common interest manages to bring together a variety of people who otherwise may not meet.

The nugget I’m taking from Janet’s two workshops, if just one: chanting can be a lovely equalizer, uniter, and ice breaker. And music is a powerful thing.