Body Talk (Poem)

image from ashtangayogameditation.blogspot.com

Yoga makes a mouth of it to share my truth.

Free as a baby’s imagination

Let its flexing tell my story without ink.

As reaching fingers in a sun salutation grab at air

Forming my intention.

My most back (bending) and forward (folding)

Negativity sweats out of my pores.

In Warrior I my thighs yawn widely the details.

Without practice, my tongue is still as a lost child in a great cave.

What really comes of a mouth that hangs open and shut

As a broken door on well-oiled hinges?

Ah, how the heart unfurls like secret flowers.

What passion it expels

As the body begins to feel wispy in a vinyasa ballet.

By savasana, there’s no need for verbal words.

The body has said it all. 

Asana Of The Day

from Yogapancake.com

Name: Warrior 1


Sanskrit: Virabhadrasana 1


What I've picked up about the pose:  Here is an article I found on yogajournal's website on The Story of Virabhadrasana 1.  And Here is where you can see more on getting into the pose. It's very interesting and raises some questions. Such as why such an aggressive pose, and pose named after intense violence is in yoga.  My favorite part of the article states:


" Tim Miller, director of San Diego's Ashtanga Yoga Center, agrees. "Virabhadrasana's a humbling posture," he says. "If you attempt to stay in it for any length of time, you'll confront your own bodily, emotional, or mental weaknesses. Whatever limitations you have, the pose will reveal them so that they can be addressed."




This really spoke to me.  When I go into this pose, it definitely makes me battle with fear, and giving up and pushing on.  The article also states  


. "Many yogis, especially beginners, feel genuinely embattled by its complexity: its persistent tug-of-war between extension and compression, twist and backbend, internal and external rotation, and strength and flexibility."


It's so true! In practice today I attempted to really focus in on the pose. To pay attention to what was going on in it. My thighs begin to get tired, my arms got weary, yet I want them to stay strong. I have to twist one way, stay straight another. Try to sink into the pose a little bit more, be brave and breathe through the tension instead of immediately pulling out of the pose. Warrior 1 has something for the whole body! It's a battle with yourself to stay strong, focus, breathe through the tough situations we get into. 




Namaste my friends,


~Writer Yogi