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Tag: crow pose

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Yoga Poems

MUSINGS on the FLORA and FAUNA of YOGA

©2021 Joyce Borenstein

I love the sound of the Sanskrit names for the yoga poses. They are like poems or tongue-twisters that roll off the tongue. For example, Ekapadarajakapothasana is 11 syllables! It translates into English as One-legged King Pigeon Pose.

I also love that many of the names for the poses refer to animals and plants, and as I do these poses, I connect to all living creatures. Yoga presents me with the opportunity to be a cat, dog, cow, dolphin, butterfly, a tree and lotus. Yoga is saying that we originate from the same stardust, breathe the same air, we are subject to the same cyclical ebb and flow of the solar system.

Categories
Yoga Poems

THE FLORA AND FAUNA OF YOGA

 

THE FLORA AND FAUNA OF YOGA

©2021 JOYCE BORENSTEIN

I smile when in Cat Pose, my whiskers twitch,

In Cow Pose, I hear a distant “moooooo”.

My snout sniffs the breeze, in Upward Dog,

In Downward Dog, I wave my tail wildly

High in the air.

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In Dolphin Pose, I sway with the seaweed,

The shimmering Sunbird allows me to soar.

In Butterfly Pose, my legs become wings,

Positioned in Crow Pose, my hands become feet,

I’m about to take flight.

With Lotus Pose, I’m a flower mandala,

Floating on water, ripples encircling.

In Tree Pose, I link earth up to heaven,

My feet terrestrial, my hands celestial.

Kali Mudra is a hand pose for courage,

Hakini Mudra: to express intuition,

Padma Mudra is a hand pose for love,

Namaste Mudra: a gesture for peace.

Yoga refreshes my body and mind,

It stretches, strengthens, balances, calms;

Yoga inspires my thoughts to imagine

Travel to distant places and times.

Yoga is India’s gift to the world.