Saturday 2 January 2016

A POEM FOR THE NEW YEAR


For A New Beginning
by John O'Donogue

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety,
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent, 
Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto the new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life's desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.


Yoga is all about finding ease in discomfort. It's about deliberately doing postures and exploring moments that are new and unknown. Through the breath, the movement, and the constant shift in energy, yoga helps us to feel alive and involved. We learn to seek out silence so we can hear the inner call. And we begin to settle for nothing less than this.
Cheers to a new beginning, to a new year, to committing yourself to always seeking the "out-of-the-way" places of the heart.