Yin Poetry | An Ethereal Journey

This creation is the result of consistent holistic practices to better confront the mud in one's mind, and discern truth from fiction. This is a gift from a human who thought too much and playfully journal-ed her way out of trouble. The rhythmical nuances that follow intend to ground the wandering mind and awaken the truth, as it is for you, right now. Each segment of poetry has been purposefully thought out to align with each posture for a deeply healing and more thought provoking experience. Created and designed to guide a two hour Yin practice, this can be used as a map for Yoga teachers to use or for any curious human's perusal.

Transcript

It all began on that which we came,

A feather in the ether of joy and disdain.

Ether is the space that we dance through in life,

It is freedom,

It is opportunity,

It cannot be cut with a knife.

Fluctuating frequencies of natural highs and natural lows,

Good fortune to some and good morrow to those who get pleasure from propaganda and nurturing foes.

Please,

Settle yourselves with kindness and grace,

Let your muscles wriggle out any last tension,

Especially those in your sweet face.

Feel the entirety of you dropping down into earthly foundations where Papatuanuku blossomed forth the beauty of her creations.

Feel the tangible parts of you connecting down into your earth,

Whether you find this easeful or challenging,

Neither distinguish your worth.

Give yourself permission to take off your coat of responsibility,

Let it sit crumpled at the door so you can presently sip your soul cup of chamomile tea.

Muscles are malleable,

Let them melt,

Let them mould,

Be kind as they learn to adjust and resist the act to open or to fold.

Our everyday lives frame the structures of our anatomy,

Our mindsets,

Priorities and vocations vary,

So do not compare to your neighbourhood of differing physiology.

For now,

Let your body get heavier,

So to encourage your mind to get lighter,

And from these polarities our spirits can shine a little brighter.

Where does your body connect and where does it hover,

What does it reveal to you and what does it cover?

Disregard all that does not sit well at your centre,

Let it wash over you and bathe in your own frankincense and myrrh.

I offer you freedom of movement whenever you need it,

It is better to need it than to sit in the darkness and feed it.

As your breath arrives can you make space from within,

To better greet it,

Cradle it like it was your own kin.

And when you exhale let it go with extended ease,

Yielding sweet goodbyes like the autumn leaves that fall gracefully from the trees.

Your breath is an exchange of giving out and receiving,

An expression of your nervous system,

It is always communicating.

On a subtler level what is riding in and out on the wave of your breath,

Prana,

Chi,

Life force energy,

Deterring us away from the doorway of death.

As you drop into this expansive ethereal journey trust that you are your own power of attorney,

Make yourself comfortable and make yourself steady and know that there is no such thing as being ready.

But as you are here,

And this is the now,

Why not let yourself be and learn to allow all that is true and all that is authentically you to open the gates and shine ever so brightly on through.

For you are here for reasons,

Known and unknown,

We can dwell on the logic or let curiosity roam.

You have the ability to contemplate,

Be introspective and philosophise,

Our presence is temporary,

Dare to do it before your demise.

This journey will be thought provoking,

Meditative and slow,

We all have a backpack you are welcome to unpack as you go.

Yin infused holdings to sensitise and stimulate,

Meridian lines of varying systems that overlap and correlate.

To understand Chinese medicine and the rest thoroughly is not your task,

This experience is for you to simply let be and simply bask in the ether of it all,

The space in which you came and discover yourself as you are,

All the joy and all the pain.

For there is not one without the other,

Or we would not know the difference,

The hope is that extremes do soften and their presence has less significance.

To the way in which you show up,

For yourself and for others,

All those lovers and all those lovers.

Like the breath,

In this reality,

Another constant is true,

And that is that I love you dearly,

I do.

It fills my heart with warmth to give you this time,

To bask in the creative nuances of my spirit's sunshine.

Let the light in through the crown of your head,

Let it shimmer down to nestle in your soul's bed.

Shen is a name given to your heart space,

Love and compassion reside in this pulmonary place.

So take the time now to ponder all who you love,

They may be living,

They may be above,

You are the outstretched hand,

And they are the dove.

Gratitude is a wondrous way of elevating our every day,

Constant reflection is a means to pay homage and not leave last minute to hunt and to forage.

So now take a moment to plant a seed of intention,

A sankulpa to bring forth our love and attention to that which we desire and that which we believe are big enough to enliven and that which we are open to receive.

Knowing you have the freedom now to move as much or as little as you like,

Begin to feel back into your physical body,

It's mellow and it's might.

Perhaps a wriggle to your extremities and a hug of your knees to your chest.

Remember that there is always the option to simply let rest.

I invite you to join me in your version of balasana,

Child's pose,

In your own time.

Let your transitions be that of innate instinct,

We are not linear and there is no line.

Alignment is lovely and supports our wellbeing,

But life is a tapestry of shapes and shades all worth seeing.

Find your space and find your place and snuggle on in,

Sukham and sthiram will help you find ease from within.

Do not be apprehensive of the silence that soon follows,

It is in this space that shall reveal to you your true hallows.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

As you stay curled up in this protective form,

Can you utilise your unique structures of which you were born to hold you and nurture you from anything forlorn?

You are a representation of all that you have ever known,

The seeds of your childhood have already been sown.

It is when we curate awareness of self through the practice of dear yoga that we can rise up from the fog of a seductively conditioned coma.

So,

Awaken my dear friends,

Children of the earth,

To the notion that abundance is a mindset and so is your worth.

Let those cascading visions and dreams fall down upon you and rise up to meet them with love,

Honour and virtue.

In your own time,

Your own breath,

Rise up to meet me.

Embada konasana,

Butterfly,

Go gently,

Go freely.

Soles of your feet together,

Knees open to the sides,

Breathe in,

Breathe out like the ocean's blessed tides.

Muscles are malleable,

Let them melt,

Let them mould,

Encouraging them here to give in,

Surrender and let fold.

As you re-meet the silence of my voice once again,

Let your own internal hummingbirds nurture you in.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

The emotional basin of our bodies hold memories of stories made,

Where physical tightness yearns to be heard even when the story starts to fade.

Let us clear so we can cultivate an essence so dear and truly innate.

Trust in the timing of all that is,

It is never too early,

It is never too late.

Divinity strikes us to the core so strongly that we cannot ignore all that we are seeing,

We have seen before.

An amalgamation of that which we adore and that which we cannot go through anymore.

Very slowly,

Unravel yourself from this fold,

Seat yourself up tall,

Be here,

Be bold.

Close your eyes and soak it all in,

The solid,

The subtle and all that's within.

I invite you to lay back into supta baddha konasana,

Reclined butterfly.

Use your props how you wish to better support you to lie,

Encouraging your chest to open and please feel free to let out a beautiful big sigh.

The silence is coming,

But only from me,

Use it to embrace your very own company.

A challenging task for most to be silent with oneself and be confronted with all that we put away on the shelf.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

As you lay here in open-hearted vulnerability,

I feel to tell you a tale of when the ocean met the sea.

One sweet September,

The currents collided after a multitude of heavy storms surrendered and subsided.

The waves looked at each other and cried out in glee at seeing the sea in the ocean and the ocean in the sea.

Sometimes it takes a storm to break open a heart,

To see one another in each other and learn we are not far apart,

From being one and the same,

Just vessels with eyes,

Our souls chose to be us,

Those stars that fell from the skies.

With that,

Float your hands to the centre of your chest and burn the love from your palms to form a compassionate crest of all you deserve and all that you need to help the next person and plant them their seed.

Stay here for as long as you need to soak it all in,

Only rising up to seated within your own rhythm.

Let your body be heavy,

Let it be a weight to bring up,

To sit and observe the filling of your dear sweet soul cup.

From here,

I invite you to see-saw your way back forward,

This time with legs outstretched and a potential bolster laid under your mid,

Torso and head still heavy,

Let them fall forward in time into paschimottanasana or caterpillar to bring length to your spine.

Snuggle on into your props or your hands,

Let your body soften in and be supported by these stands.

Meeting the silence may be coming a little easier now,

And if not now,

It will with practice,

I honour that vow.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Free falling head first,

Words slipping swifter from heart to lips,

An invitation to express softens the channels that once seeked escapist sips.

Sigh,

Dear ones,

And let yourself be heard,

Be moved by the collective clearing of silence and word.

Sometimes we find ourselves in places that seem foreign and dark,

But with a flick of a switch,

That darkness becomes a pivotal mark.

Perspective is a complicated notion,

Heavily influenced by the direction of our devotion.

Be open to the varying avenues that lead to the same solid ground,

We may dance,

We may stumble,

We may go in silence,

We may go in sound.

Purpose of life is so very personal for all,

And with lack of a script,

It may not be found.

For now,

Find yourself in this shape,

And feel into its fullness,

Of feeling and sensation all the elements of wholeness.

In your own time,

Slowly unravel your spine and sit yourself up tall.

Let yourself observe it,

Be in it all.

I invite you to lay yourself back into supine,

Neutralizing your pelvis and reconnecting your spine,

Down to your mat,

Your earth,

Your friend,

The one who will be there for you if you fall and when you bend.

With your knees bent and your neck long,

Can you anchor your feet like you truly belong?

You are a unique and defining part of this globular sphere,

I hope you know that you are loved,

I hope you are aware.

Your roles in this lifetime may sometimes seem ordinary,

But to the people you smile to,

You are significant.

You are extraordinary.

For taking time to notice,

For taking time to see,

All that is around you,

All those people would agree.

I do believe that it is time to rinse out your body,

A twist to detox and enable us to wholeheartedly embody the truth of what remains and is needed for us to lighten the load one side at a time,

Without any fuss.

Let your knees fall to the left side first and I shall tell you when to change,

I will aim to keep the time on both sides even to make for a fair exchange.

Twist in,

Dear ones,

And let your breath guide you,

Let all that does not serve you be rinsed on through.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

By shifting to the left,

You have opened up the right,

To open,

Dear Pingala,

And put gentle Ida out of sight.

Pingala is given to the right doorway of your lung,

When ignored can leave your creativity channels unfavourably unsung.

Your right side is more masculine,

Governed by the sun,

It loves in warmth and vigour and allows things to get done.

Too much stimulation may lead to stress and worry,

That feeling of expectation and the constant need to hurry.

Fear not,

Dear ones,

Just four more breaths before you melt back home to centre.

Be easeful as you venture out,

Go gentle and be tender.

Take your interim in Shavasana and let your whole self settle,

Your soul cup sweetly simmering with the company of the kettle.

In your own sweet time,

Let your body drift over to the right.

To open gentle Ida,

Turning Pingala away from the light.

It is here where the moon gifts her magic,

Calming all things consuming and all things tragic.

Discovering the feminine is a path worth exploring,

To better understand the balance and discover what is so alluring.

Her presence is somewhat fluctuating,

She is not always there on show.

Mysteriously mystical,

A place we would all love to go.

And look back on earth,

The view from above,

Instead of waiting for the day to re-meet our sweet dove.

Breathe in,

Dear ones,

To that which keeps you true.

And breathe out all the monotonous nonsense that does not serve you.

I leave you in silence to breathe and to twist.

Let yourself be,

Prevent the act to squirm or resist.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

As you rinse out all that does not serve,

I feel to share with you a samskara of personal hurt,

In hopes that it will leave my heart and sprinkle away to sand and dirt.

With this,

I hope it will bring you courage to share your stories and know I will be there to listen and unconditionally encourage.

She is the moment after the sun has set,

When the light snuggles into the silhouette.

She is the lingering melancholia of a moonbeam,

Crescent yet present,

Thoughts flowing upstream.

She is the coin you find in your unturned pocket,

My heart never lost the key to the rose-tinted locket.

She is the echo of thunder after the light,

Non-comparable to any,

For she basks in her own might.

She is a perfectly tainted feather,

Floating on a breeze,

Eyes bright,

Heart open,

Awakened to seize.

The days are hers and the nights are mine,

To think upon her in the starry night skies.

All was lost when I let her go,

Not embracing her everything has left me lying in her afterglow.

A bruise on my heart and a stain in my mind,

One day I will be able to leave this thread completely behind.

Thank you for listening,

For letting me share.

Like you,

I am human,

The only thing to compare.

Just four more breaths with this gentle left side,

But do not fail to obediently abide,

This is your time and you are your right.

When melting back to centre,

Take a moment to be,

A moment to ground,

A moment to see.

With observing eyes from the mountainous landscape of your mind,

Namely buddhi,

A place of deep clarity and a pleasure to find.

At the top of a mountain,

We are given new eyes,

Ones that see clearly,

Unobstructed by lies.

Nothing but beauty exists in this realm,

Of that I am sure,

When our buddhi reigns the helm.

I invite you to bend your knees once again and prepare to venture into a passive bridge pose,

Lifting your seat bones away from the ground,

Snuggle your prop under your low back,

Whichever you chose.

Passively draining your lymphatic system now to give your heart rest and internally bow to its rhythmical shelter of where breath meets our blood and its governance to better circulate and prevent flood.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free,

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free,

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Feel free to stay or extend away,

Let your legs turn out and your ankles gently sway to bring more openness to the front of your hips and compassionately reflect on the shape of your relationships.

These ships begin at the shores of ourselves,

Anchoring at our heart space where it rises and delves.

Governing influences promote the quest of finding love but through this enchanting path we discern our ability to actually be love.

We can be the light for ourselves and others,

All our sweet sisters and all our sweet brothers.

So perhaps it should not be coined as finding and rather a heartwarming reminding of all that we are looking for has already been done.

We are the awakening children of the moon and the sun.

With that lift off your prop and roll on down,

Do not escape the present and let yourself drown in your mind's many distractions of chitter and chatter,

Of all things that compile stagnancy of disreputable matter.

I invite you now to venture into Ananda Balasana,

Happy baby.

Hands can reach to your feet or wrap around your thighs,

Just maybe.

Do what is steady and do what is comfortable,

Be free to let sway without fear of tumble.

With externally rotated hips and a long extended spine,

Drift towards your stillness and gently align.

To enable your breath to flow with more ease,

Your body is summer and your breath is the breeze.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Gently rock yourself back to the living,

Becoming mindful of the energy you are giving off and simply giving.

Let your legs re-extend back into your shivasana after you have had your play that may have felt a bit like mana.

Lie in the expanse for a moment or two of that which we are creating together,

Myself with you.

Get cosy and commit to laying on back as we explore our lateral sheath of that which we may lack,

Malleability and space from our sagittal ways,

Hence why attention given to these places most definitely pays.

Place your right foot to the right bottom corner of your mat,

Left ankle over the top of right ankle with that.

Right arm extends up overhead to the right,

Reaching left hand to meet it,

To touch it or merely just to bring it in sight.

Create the shape of the moon when present,

You may feel the pull to drift but try to stay present.

With all that you are and all that you can,

You are so truly capable,

Woman and man.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

4.

Coming into your last 4 breaths here,

Illuminate love and eradicate fear.

Bring forth what inspires you and gives you purpose in life,

And let the rest fade,

The negativity and the strife.

5.

Simply move back to centre and feel yourself realign,

Feel the curves and connection of earth to sweet spine.

6.

Moving to the other side in your own time,

Making the shape of our moon in her present sign,

7.

Be at peace as you lay here,

Tuck your chin gently towards your chest,

Your role as a life student is to learn,

Not be the best.

8.

So let the mundane transform into curiosity and discover goodwill amongst animosity.

9.

Let discernment transcend judgement and forgiveness soften constant refinement.

10.

What is perfection in a world of inevitable change,

We would forever be catching up and then having to rearrange.

11.

As you are,

Being authentically true is what is so captivating about you.

So let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

Let be,

Let be,

You are safe,

You are free.

12.

Like silk on skin,

Glide yourself back to centre,

Letting the sound of breath rise and re-enter to this ethereal journey of silence and word.

13.

Let your own presence be felt and let it be heard,

Inhale your breath and let your chest rise high,

You are free to let out a beautiful big sigh.

14.

It is now time for you to wriggle out any last movements and for me to leave you with some everlasting sentiments.

Bring yourself into a space and a place that is going to bring you closer to stillness,

A place to let rest be at peace and revitalise wellness.

15.

Feel into every part of your body that is now connecting down to your earth,

16.

Scan down through your vessel,

Filling every cell with light,

Love and mirth,

Take your time in this space to absorb all that has been given,

Allowing every neuron in you to let rest so to passively enliven.

17.

Your whole being,

Mind,

Body and spirit,

Let it lay.

18.

I leave you here to be,

Dear ones,

From my heart to yours.

Namaste.