The chest flowers open breath by breath. Artwork (c) by Akiko Tanimoto.
By Leza Lowitz, Sun and Moon Yoga
Poems can be a window in to the powerful, but often subtle, transformations that occur as part of the practice of yoga. This poem, taken from Leza Lowitz’s collection, Yoga Poems: Lines to Unfold By, is a delicate exploration of the physical and spiritual dimensions of Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana.
Also check out Leza’s recent article, Living Your Gifts: Six Steps to Awakening a Yogic Heart.
Parivritta Janu Sirsasana
revolving knee to head
Deep in the ground
a root grows out of nothing.
Soon, a blossom emerges
sending its fragrance
to the wind.
A bee stops for supper.
Pollen spawns an offshoot,
years later
a garden of verbena appears.
All that lives grows within.
All that dies lives within.
Each breath nurtures
an unfolding,
pours water
to a budding blossom
and the chest flowers open
breath by breath,
leaning toward spring.
(c) Leza Lowitz, 2000. Reprinted with permission from Yoga Poems: Lines to Unfold By published by Stone Bridge Press.
Award-winning author, yoga instructor, yoga studio owner and teacher trainer Leza Lowitz will be coming to Blenheim, New Zealand to offer a 2-Day Yoga Retreat, “Live Your Gifts” on April 22-23, 2017.
In this retreat, participants will awaken motivation, passion, and compassion, re-connecting to or discovering their life’s work through a dynamic combination of active and restorative yoga practices, meditation, writing, and manifestation. Whether you’re new to yoga or a seasoned practitioner, this retreat will spark or rekindle your innate gifts and give you the practical and spiritual tools to share them with the world in powerful, profound ways.
New Zealand athlete and 2-time National Champion squash player, Megan Craig, will compliment the retreat with a brief discussion about real natural foods and how a healthy diet has affected her lifestyle, fitness and success.
For more information about the retreat click here.
You can also catch Leza at her writing workshops in Sydney, Australia.
- Write a Book & Make it a Bestseller. Tuesday 25th April, 1-6 pm, Sydney.
- Leza Lowitz Author Talk & Writing Secrets. Wednesday 26th April, 7-9pm, Sydney.
For more information and to register, please email Body Bliss.
About Leza:
Award-winning author, yoga instructor and teacher trainer Leza Lowitz opened Sun and Moon yoga in Tokyo 13 years ago, and the popular studio has been called “Tokyo’s coolest place to reach Nirvana” and voted one of the “Top Four Places to Relax in Tokyo”—two others are parks! She credits her yoga and meditation practice with deepening her creativity, discipline and compassion. She’s published 20 books, among them Yoga Poems: Lines to Unfold By, Here Comes the Sun (A yoga memoir about adapting and adopting in Japan), Up from the Sea, (a YA novel in verse about Japan’s 2011 tsunami), and Jet Black and the Ninja Wind, (a YA epic about the last female ninja’s fight to save her ancient tribe)—all were #1 Amazon best-sellers.
thanks for the great article! was useful to read