Not freaking out when there’s no milk left
Feeling calm and collected before your driving test
Smiling coolly at the colleague who really winds you up
Sipping green tea from your recyclable cup.
Wanting to wake up just as dawn breaks
Getting ready takes as long as it takes.
Even if you’re late for work and the kids are moaning
You’re in your full stride with no sign of groaning
Even if the car won’t start and the little one’s teething
Close your eyes for a moment and start your deep breathing.
Think less aches and pains, and better sleep patterns
A lean slender figure which would normally fatten.
I’m talking strong bones, flexible muscles, improved arthritis
Maybe once a quitter, now an unstoppable fighter
Confidence soaring to an all-time high
The self-belief and dignity are almost at a tie.
Even when agonizing over social propriety
(Which would usually be overridden by consuming anxiety)
The stress and the pressure of modern-day life
Wouldn’t be the worst thing you could sacrifice.
And though we’re not talking of any religion or cult
(had to just point that out, we are all adults)
You know Shiva, Ganesh and even Guru Brahma
If they could see you now, looking a million times calmer
They’d chant for you and wish you much peace
And be proud of you for taking this moment to seize.
Iyengar claimed it can keep old age at bay
So next time someone asks, you should guilt-freely say
‘I’m only (insert your ideal age here)’
They’ll gasp and cry ‘what’s your secret dear?!’
This is where you come to pass on the word
Think back to the first time you’d ever heard
‘yoga’ and all it’s fine healing features
And all you have learned from your wise, prudent teachers
Remember it’s not just a workout or chore
Remember that first class how you wanted to soar
Through the skies and shout to those missing out
And enlighten the world to what it’s about.
So I hope if you have any stress, worries or tension
That reading this poem, just giving a mention
To Yoga and how it can change your being
By liberating you, releasing you, expanding and freeing.
Take a deep breath and fill your lungs with your prana
Inhale it all in, and feel your mood grow calmer
Exhale it back out, in the form of negative light
Breathing out a big black cloud, and breathing in the white.
Spirits are lifting, nothing else is here
Except the endless peaceful sphere
Of stillness, tranquility, all thoughts cease
And all that remains within you is peace.