Altar Spaces, 7.10.21

 I'm pretty much obsessed with the new altar area I set up on the wall next to my bed. We moved the bed closer to the wall, which meant that one night table had to go. To replace it, I found these two narrow wall shelves at a local resale shop and decided to use them more as an altar rather than something to store my junk. (For that, I'm using a small basket, hanging closer to the floor.) My goal, before the new school year starts, is to turn our bedroom into a restful, peaceful place, so, hopefully, I'll start going to bed earlier. We'll see how that goes!

If you're wondering what makes an altar any different than any arrangement of items on any table or shelf- it's all about intention. When you are very intentional about the items you place on your surface and how you show up and respond to it, an ordinary table scape becomes a sacred space.

I've had an altar in every home I've lived in for several years now. The altars  I set up serve as a reminder to come back to myself, take a deep breath and become present in that moment and be grateful for what I have, who I am, what I am able to do,etc. If you'd like to set one up in your home, you don't need anything specific- just a surface,a quiet corner and a few things that hold meaning for you. For me, balance is very important,too, but that is my own, personal preference, as I'm always thinking like an art teacher!

For the altar in my bedroom, I have a small lamp, a baby plant that I just brought back to life and one item from each of my kids on the shelves. On the walls around it, inspirational art work and one of my favorite photos of me and my husband.

 For the altar space in my yoga room, I usually try to incorporate the five elements: earth, fire,water, air and spirit. In the case below, candles for fire, the singing bowl and sage smudging wand for air, the plant for earth, a stone from the beach in Hawaii for water and a little Ganesh (remover of obstacles) statue for spirit.

But, the same space could look completely different by changing up the placement and bringing in a few different objects. It's fun to let it evolve, changing things up each time you clean the space

Do you have an altar in your home? I would love to see it! 

I'll leave you with a few more photos of my altars over the years. I hope it inspires you to create your own!😌

The temporary altar I set up in our RV.

In a corner of our current home.

Another small altar in our current home.

The altar in the yoga room of our previous home. (I miss this room!)

Have a great weekend!

Be Still. Be Strong. Be Happy. - Juli