I started reading poetry for myself and reading it out loud for others when I began teaching yoga. Mystics like Rumi, Hafiz, Mary Oliver, and David Whyte touch on the essence of themes I was, and still am, trying to articulate in my yoga and life-connection practice. I found poetry was succinct, powerful, and the essence of the Divine given to us through the authors’ beautiful voices. Over the years their words have expressed, entered, and changed me very deeply.
The more I read, spoke, and digested this essence of Source the more I felt compelled to honor the Source within me and start writing. For years I would only write in my tent or when I was outside where I felt inspiration. It was intense, heated, and inconsistent at best- like a long distance love affair. I could never quite settle down and move in with her. At one point Poetry gave me an ultimatum- get serious and settle down… or leave.
So, I decided on a trial marriage. I self-imposed a 40-day post-it-note poem challenge. I had to write something, anything, on a post-it-note, everyday for 40 days. If I missed a day I would start over again. How hard could writing on a post-it be? Not hard. A 3 inch by 3 inch square is not that big. It wasn’t the content or length that was a challenge. Heck, it wasn’t even the amount of time it took. It was the thoughts and stories that wanted to keep me from writing everyday. A litany of “I’m not good enough’s” to “What’s the point? No one is going to see these…wait, thank God, no one is going to see these.”
We all have reasons, concious and unconscious, that keep us from writing. But, I honored that the voices were just voices and kept writing; even on the days where I felt uninspired, wrote seeming nonsense, and was not engaged. In retrospect, I was amazed at what came out of that process and that it instilled in me writing as a habit. Granted, I don’t write everyday, but I write several times throughout the week, and when I don’t take that time, even 5 minutes, I feel off.
It’s the same thing when I can’t get outside or don’t do yoga. I get edgy, disjointed, and feel incomplete. Writing is one of the ways that I process, share, and let the Divine move through me. I suggest the trial marriage. You’ll be amazed at who and what you end up with.
PS- All the writing, even on the “bad days” is worth something. Stay tuned for more news about The Poetry of Yoga Anthology. One of my poems is being published on 11.11.11. Click here for more info and I’ll write more about it closer to the release date. There are some pretty amazing writers and yogis involved!
Cecilia Leigh 