Yoga Culling by Anita S. Pulier

Yoga Culling
by
Anita S. Pulier

I get the breathing.

Can't fold the legs quite

right for sitting, and L4 and L5

collapse when getting up without hands,

and, oh yes, knees hurt . . . well . . . twinge

after sitting cross legged,

but I get the breathing:

In, out, hear your breath,

get in touch with your core.

I also do the touching

of palms pretty well.
Balance ... not so good
and groin muscles... sore,
but I do get the breathing.
I am, in fact,
a little concerned that I am so
good at the breathing I might
faint, especially during the
Sun Salutation—which requires
a sequence of moves
that I can never remember.
I simply focus on the positive: my
talent for breathing is a gift.
I am determined to cull
this ancient venerable practice
and extract only
what I really need and
breathing is right up on top
of my short list.

© by Anita S. Pulier.
Used with the author's permission.

Anita S. Pulier is a retired attorney who, many years ago, traded legal writing for poetry. She and her husband, Myron, pursue a bi-coastal life between New York City and Los Angeles, where they are daily hikers in the NYC parks and the Santa Monica mountains. Anita has been very involved in the Southern California poetry community and, recently, even Myron (a retired psychiatrist) has taken up poetry! Anita’s poems have appeared in numerous print and online journals and her work is included in nine print anthologies. The author of multiple collections, her most recent is Paradise Reexamined. Learn more about Anita at http://psymeet.com/anitaspulier/main/index.php.

rhonasheridan:
My iPad insisted on 'scene' inside of ' seen'. It has a mind of its own sometimes! Sorry
Posted 06/04/2015 01:04 AM

rhonasheridan:
Been there - done that. Tied myself in knots while agonisingly saluting a seldom scene sun. This cheered me up a lot - so I'm not the only sufferer!
Posted 06/04/2015 12:59 AM

Shoshauna Shy:
This is terrific!
Posted 06/03/2015 05:13 PM

loisflmom:
Forwarding this to my husband, who is just beginning yoga. I know he'll relate!
Posted 06/03/2015 09:05 AM

Larry Schug:
As the poet, Barton Sutter, wrote in a book he signed for me, "Keep breathing". Everything else follows. Anita, you got it right in a beautiful way.
Posted 06/03/2015 07:37 AM

Supa:
Loved the poem tho' I've never done yoga. Then looked up vinyasa because I like discovering new words. Thx to both Anita and Katrina.
Posted 06/03/2015 03:36 AM

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