The spare moments of late have indeed been spare. And when they come, I tend to indulge myself with doing mostly nothing within them. Yesterday was almost a full day all to myself. No doctor's appointments or errands to run for my in-laws who have not been well the last month. So I made coffee and settled in with my journal, went for a walk, did an online yoga class, listened to an audio book, and played with my grandson at the creek. Toward the end of the day, I walked barefoot to the mailbox and found a brown envelope addressed to me. Inside was a book of poetry and a note from Linda Baie, who knows the demands of caregiving.
I have not seen it before, Linda. It was a perfect end to a lovely day. Thank you for your sweet thoughtfulness.
I had been thinking earlier that I would like to get back to posting on my blog (though I may still be spotty), but didn't feel particularly inspired. As I paged through the book, I found many poems that spoke to me, but thought I would share just this one.
Eka Pada Rajakapotasana
One-Legged King Pigeon
by Leza Lowitz
William Carlos Williams
wrote poems
on a notebook small enough to fit
in his breast pocket
on his medical rounds.
Yasunari Kawabata
wrote stories
small enough to fit
in the palm of the hand.
The body writes stories small enough to fit
in the tiniest cell.
Every centimeter
has a different beginning
and end.
Day by day
the gap between beginning and end
thigh and floor
heel and head
closes up,
the narrative writ large
on each small movement.
Start small and the world expands
as Goethe said, but start anyway.
In beginnings
there is the magic
of yes.
As much as I like this poem, I don't teach this pose in my classes for a number of reasons. I agree with Jenni Rawlings of
Jenni Rawlings Yoga and Movement, who recommends modifications for working to strengthen the hips in the pose rather than overstretch those ligaments, over arch the low back or stress the knee joint!
Check out some alternatives
here.
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