Ganesh, MD,  RYT,  PYT,  is the powerful god of good fortune, a patrondeity of the arts, and the lord of beginnings. He puts obstacles in your path so that you may learn from them, and then takes them away (when he remembers to). He is also a licensed therapist and teaches Vinyasa  Yoga to special needs populations…specifically, Yoga students with elephant heads.

Happy May everyone! They say April Showers bring May Flowers. Unfortunately, I have Hay Fever and with a trunk like mine? I have to stay clear of outdoor activities for a  few weeks, or risk showering everyone with snot. Although some people do like that. Because it’s MY snot,  they somehow consider it a blessing. One guy even bottled my mucus and tried to sell it on Ebay.  “Fresh Ganesh Drippings” he advertised.  Exploiting the affliction of a deity? Not good. I responded by placing an obstacle in his life, i.e., my foot up his ass.

But I digress. On to the healing. We can talk about anything. Yoga, relationships, work, Swine Flu (How’s THAT for an obstacle? LOL, no I can’t take credit for that one, that was my brother Niles.)

Hello Yogis…I’m listening.

Vrksasana, aka Tree Pose

DEAR GANESH,

When I try to do tree I pose find that I can balance better on one leg than the other – I can’t bring my palms together over my head when I stand on my right leg. Is this common and what should I do?

–SHAKY TREE

DEAR SHAKY,

No, it’s not common at all. Everyone’s body is different, of course, but yours? Just plain weird. Really, you shouldn’t even exist. My best advice is to stop embarrassing yourself and  only do tree pose alone in a darkened room.

DEAR GANESH,

I’ve been noticing lately that when I do Bhuja Pindasana my wrists ache for the rest of the day. Should I modify with blocks?

–OM-OW.

Bhuja Pindasana

DEAR OM-OW,

Bhuja-what? I have no idea what that is. Is that like Sanskrit or something? Yeah I can never remember that stuff. I’m gonna  have to go look that up. In the meantime, cease all physical activity. Just read quietly in the corner.

DEAR GANESH,

I have asthma. Is there any Yoga pose that will help me alleviate that?

–WHEEZY IN WESTCHESTER.

DEAR WHEEZY,

Loved you on “The Jeffersons.” Kidding. No seriously, STOP DOING YOGA IMMEDIATELY. Honestly are you NUTS? (Mmm, nuts).

Look, Yoga is about BREATHING. And you? YOU CAN’T BREATHE. Do the Math.

DEAR GANESH,

There’s a girl in my Vinyasa class that is so groovy. She is the bee’s knees. She is just the most. I stare at her every day until the teacher makes me stop. I noticed her smile at me once. What should I do? Should ask her to go for a soda?

–LOVASANA

DEAR LOVASANA,

DUDE YOU GOTTA HIT THAT! She smiled at you that means she WANTS it! And you know you’re both flexible. Oh the things you could do! You go Down on That Dog and report back to me. I’ll put it in my “Ganesh After Dark” column.

That’s it for today. Until next time, see you on the mat!*

*Not really. I’ve got that hip thing.

Tags: Asana, Ganesh, Humor