How to Create Your Home Altar
“Having a dedicated place in your home that represents what is important in your life can be the perfect reminder to slow down and add more mindful moments to your day…an altar is an external reminder of the people and values you hold dear.”- Sarah Kucera, Author ofThe Ayurvedic Self-Care Handbook: Holistic Healing Rituals for Every Day and Season
If this sounds like something you need, here’s a sweet “How To” inspired by Kucera’s text:
Find a place somewhat away from the main action of your living space (but also a space you see frequently).
Find a small table or shelf.
Choose photos, art, journals, trinkets, and other sacred items to place on the table or shelf. Consider things that represent different elements of nature: stones, flowers, a small mirror to represent water’s reflections, a candle, etc. Only select meaningful items, and leave room for anything you want to change or add as your needs change.
Create a space where you can find a comfortable seat nearby. Altars are often a beautiful invitation to meditate or just to exist near a grounding visual!
Here is my family’s floating altar- since we’ve got a toddler who would truly enjoy snagging all of these potential choking hazards! The top shelf is mine (a not-so-subtle nudge at the patriarchy!), and the bottom shelf is my partner’s. We both chose items that are sacred to us for a number of reasons. I think it’s kind of neat that our different personalities shine through a bit on each shelf.
Okay, so the how-to is pretty clear. Now, let’s dig a little deeper:
How might this ritual impact your day-to-day?
How might this ritual impact communities?
And what the heck does creating an altar have to do with connecting to others?
For some inspiration, some of our YS Teachers and community members submitted photos of their altars above!
Growth
As tiny toddler humans, we craved routine. As adults, our brains dig this, too! Finding time and space for rituals might really jive well with your brain, and it might inspire the type of growth and connection you’re seeking. Creating a sacred space can invite healing, growth, and all that comes along with turning inward. This space can be a “nesting ground” for ritual and growth.
Sarah Kucera’s The Ayurvedic Self-Care Handbook also suggests, that an altar can be…
“clear of clutter and distractions”,
a “home for sacred things you adore”,
& a space that you “clean and revive” energetically.
Tending to the space will naturally encourage a tending to yourself. Craving revival and a fresh sense of self? Perhaps you rearrange your altar with each new moon cycle or the first signs of a new season. Investment in the upkeep of this space breeds commitment to the ritual and to the self, but of course…go easy on yourself with this. If the space feels stale, perhaps there’s an opportunity to think more deeply about what you need in this current season of life. An altar can serve as an honest visual for whatever season of growth you are in!
Intention & Community
A description from one of our very own teachers: “[My altar] has some of my favorite crystals, statues of deities that I love...Ganesha and Lakshmi, and a beautiful stone from my dear friend. Plus some notes and trinkets from my kiddo are there, too…I have it there to ground and center me in my heart and to connect me to the people I love and their energy . Sometimes it changes based on what I need. I also will hold my crystals when I teach to keep me focused.”
What a lovely description of intention and connection to others!
Some questions to ponder as you create your altar:
What are your intentions for your mind, your heart, your body…in this current moon cycle or this current season?
How might these intentions impact those around you?
How might our inner work benefit the growth of the collective?
How might creating an altar benefit community?
Maybe the creation of an altar and your accompanying dedication to your new, individualistic ritual will invite clarity, alignment, a beautiful understanding of what it is you truly value as a human. Maybe you’ll find that the transparency of your values will help you energetically connect to those searching for something similar. An opportunity to connect with the self IS an opportunity to connect with others.
If you choose to create an altar and feel compelled to share your creation, please feel free to send a photo to studio@yoga-sanctuary.com. However, as altars are rather personal, we also invite you to keep this experience to yourself if that feels more true to you.
With gratitude,
Jen Walts, Studio Manager