yoga and poetry {poetry thursday}
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.
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.
poetry
Reader Comments (18)
Ok, I'm dating my self...but I have found Kahil Gibran very centering. It may be to dated..but when I was in sixth grade, in a Catholic school..It was Gibran who intoduced me, finally, to my soul.
wendy from quiet...
Liz:
Stafford, Oliver, and Sarton are great poets to be working with. Along those lines might be poets like Joy Harjo, Richard Hugo, Robert Wrigley (though he's occasionally too dense for a closing meditation).
I've been on a Chase Twichell kick lately, and I think she has some pretty amazing, meditative lines.
I don't think such timelessly beautiful wisdom could be dated, Gibran introduced me to my soul too, and sometimes, reminds me that it's still there.
There is also a Japanese poet I love, Shuntaro Tanikawa, who writes about the simplicity of daily life, I guess his poems are zenlike, he touches on the deeper pulse of the ordinary which I find I get in touch with in my own yoga practice.
i'm sure there must be some haiku that would be useful... Oliver for sure (she just rocks, i'm having a full-blown love affair with her at the moment) the things is, all the poets i like tend to deal with the heavy stuff - like death and sex :-) so migh tnot be restful for yoga meditation... people like Olds, Jong and Carol Anne Duffy might blow your students heads off... okay, that wasn't very helpful. what about Li Young Lee?
and i think you're right, love - poetry and yoga could indeed save the world... definitely saving me x
oooh, oooh! i have one! http://davidwhyte.bigmindcatalyst.com/cgi/bmc.pl?page=pubpg2.html&node=1033" REL="nofollow">david whyte he's amazing! even better if you get the audio as the way he reads is magnificent. you can listen to the poems he has on his website if you have realplayer.
one thing that i love about reading your blog is that i can actually hear your voice...as if i'm not reading, but listening to you. it is wonderful in that way. :)
Why not tap into poetry from a journey. Try Basho's The Narrow Road to the Deep North. His haiku can have the effect of a pebble tossed into a pond.
i love the intention, thought, and care that you put into your yoga class...never doubt that you are an inspiration....your students are very lucky...
I can't think of a specific poem or poet, but I can say that at the end of yoga I like it if the poem or suggestion is very short so that my mind can embrace it without thinking about it too much, or without having to follow a thought for very long. It's like dropping a sound down a deep, quiet well - you don't need much to create a reverberation.
Have you written some poems yourself?
Mmm Mary Oliver seems to be everyone's favourite - I CAN see why.
I love Basho as well...had a writing teacher who used him as a focus point during meditation...James Wright is also brilliant for his razor-edged turn of perspective...also, remember Ho Xuan Huang (my "poetry in your pocket" pick)--her work is brief and brilliant. Thinking about poetry and yoga in this way is so wonderful...thank you for feeding me with these words again today!
What a great way to connect the two together. Do you read aloud to your class or jsut to yourself?
Mary Oliver's book "Why I Wake Early" toots my soul. I tried to be her this week but she is much better :)
Oh Liz - that bit of poetry made me shiver with recognition. I just want to sit with Oliver and you for an afternoon!!
Missing you madly!
Oh I wish I could take one of your yoga classes!
I loved this piece of the poem. I am so loving MO lately.
Hugs and kisses
This was a wonderful post :)
Mary O seems to be the poet of the day.
loving you~
xxxd
i love this!
i believe your poetry and yoga can save the world. i really do.
that poem was so beautiful, vivid and peaceful, wasn't it?
i know we'll do yoga together some day and i look forward to what is inspired for you during savasana.
namaste,
boho