I once taught a “Poetry of Yoga” workshop with a good friend, Camille Kingsolver, in Asheville, NC. In that workshop we touched upon the way yoga is meant to bring to your experience of each moment what many poems do— a pause, an appreciation, inspiration.
Throughout my teaching career, Mary Oliver’s words were my favorite to share in class as students nestled into savasana. I cast her words over their quiet pond of bodies and breath in hope they would feel as suddenly “plugged in” as was often my response. Mary’s poetry was plain, yet profound— an experience I personally likened to the beauty of seeing and feeling my own feet and their connection to the Earth in each Tadasana.
Rest in Peace, Mary. It’s your turn to head home with the wild geese. Thank you for your many lessons and for the wild and precious arrow of understanding you leave in the wake of your work.
Kim, Lead Teacher HereNowYoga