I was going to call this blog the yoga of quarantine, but that’s a pretty jarring title for a day that has proved quite blissful.  I’m running a temperature from a flu bug and feeling like a truck hit me, so I’ve spared my fellow travelers from my germs. You might think, ‘oh, that’s too bad,’ a day of missed opportunities in this trip that is chock full of them.

Instead, it’s been a day of sweet surrender. There’s the yoga of letting other people take care of you, and the yoga of gratitude for their compassion. There’s the yoga of bed Ujjayi, asana, japa and meditation. There’s the yoga of opening my heart to the sounds early today from the nearby temple, as well as from our group chanting the Guru Gita in the meditation hall next to me this morning.  And right now I can hear from our afternoon satsang, where students and teachers from the Ashram’s Ganeshpuri Music School are playing drums, harmonium and singing. What a full day I’ve had!

Even with this full day, because I have limited my physical activity and my interaction with others, it has been a contemplative day. It has been a chance to slow down and let the Grace of Ganeshpuri wash over me. It has felt like a retreat.

As I re-enter the group and activities, I hope tomorrow, I will hold dear this experience and see if I can stay centered in awareness without chasing my senses and my mind.

Om Namah Shivaya