poetry and yoga

November 4, 2011

Haiku Yoga

It could be said that haiku is the yoga of poetry. The art of this traditionally seventeen-syllable piece rests in words that flow into a focused, present, meditative form. The beauty of yoga lies in the mind-body that flow into a focused, present, meditative form. I like to read poetry in yoga class, weaving the heart of the quotation or stanza through our asana practice. Today in class, we created our own words to move by. At the start of class, we took turns around the circle. Each of us listed one word that, to us, represents yoga. We moved through the warm-ups and poses, the adjectives and verbs in the air around us. Following savasana, they were turned into pure poetry: Council on Aging Yoga Class Haiku #1: Fun concentration focuses on opening, stretching attitude Council on Aging Yoga Class Haiku #2: Relax into peace, movement brings serenity pleasure, […]
February 15, 2019

Snowvasana

I know snow. I know that the stinging kind is never good. And while the puffy flakes call out for snowshoes, snowmen and snowball tossing, it piles up. I grew up in Buffalo and spent two decades in New England. I know how to prep and dress for blizzards, play and drive in squalls and clear a path through the aftermath of a Nor’easter. The reason I now live on the other coast derives from knowing snow, from having too much first-hand experience with it. Last week, the flat flakes began floating down from our western skies (“It doesn’t snow here”). It started sticking (“And if it does, it’s no more than a dusting”). Weather reports launched into increasing numbers of inches on the ground and days that schools would remain closed (“If we ever get too much, we wait for it to melt”). Once the sideways snow softened, the […]