When my students rest in savasana at the end of class, I sit on my yoga mat and breathe deeply, opening myself up to the possibility of something bigger, greater than what I know. I am seeking a tiny glimmer of something that will prompt me to know what to share at the end of class. Sometimes I share words that come to me. Other days I will share a chant, meditation, or pranayama (breathing technique). Lately, I have been picking up a book of poetry (Oliver, Stafford, Sarton) before I leave my house and taking it with me. After I sit silently for a moment, I will open the book. I might find a poem that demands to be read aloud or the tiny glimmer I felt earlier will grow. It is as though I feel like I am communicating with a greater energy (the universe, the divine) through the words of the poet that I hold in my lap in the form of a book. Last night, this came to me through Mary Oliver and one of the sections of her poem "The Leaf and the Cloud." A few lines from this poem:
Even now
I remember something
the way a flower
in a jar of water
remembers its life
in the perfect garden
Over the last few months, there has been an undercurrent connecting yoga and poetry and my journey with them both. They each invite one to see one's own reflection. Through words, through the breath, through a journey inside. I want to share more about this as my understanding continues to unfold.
I feel as though poetry and yoga could save the world.
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On this
Poetry Thursday, I have a question for you:
Are there poems, poets, books of poetry that come to mind that might be seeking a journey to one of my yoga classes? I would love to hear your recommendations.
