Raising a child.

I am a yogi, a meditation teacher, a yoga instructor and executive coach. I know the value of mindfulness and the constructs of the mind intimately. And for me, there is no practice that has been or I imagine will ever be more profoundly beneficial in every regard than the practice of raising a child.

Raising my child has afforded me more opportunities for moment to moment mindfulness, deep introspection, varied meditations, self-inquiry, discovery and realization, as well as empowerment on any number of levels equal to and often surpassing simple spiritual attainment found on the path of the Aghor over twenty years in the Himalaya.

Or maybe it is due to the time invested on that path that the profound depths of love I swim in daily so naturally lead me to the overwhelming desire to be mindful of this relationship with my child, who I am within that dynamic, how we relate, what are my responsibilities, what action will lead to what effect, what utterance of hers means precisely what at which level and so on and so on. It is the greatest act of love to be mindful during this process. From morning to night, and I cannot imagine it to be different for many parents.

And yet I know that many parents seek meditation as a means of stress management, too! Who knows? Perhaps it is my greatest fortune to have been blessed with the path of yoga decades before I was to be blessed with a child. I do know that it is without a doubt the greatest spiritual sadhana and kriya leading to ever more fulfilment and vaster expressions of love and understanding of the meaning of life than I had ever imagined as a simple yogi.