During the week of Valentine’s Day, I honored the holiday in my yoga classes with a theme brimming full of love. It wasn’t girlfriend, boyfriend, or significant other love; I was celebrating that full-on unabashed love we all need to give ourselves. This love shouldn’t just be commemorated on Valentine’s Day, but each and every day of the year. I’m talking about letting go of self-judgment, taking care of yourself physically, mentally, spiritually, and believing in yourself.

I found the perfect poem to convey a loving affirmation to my students and shared it with them when they were coming out of savasana. Well, I should say I shared it with some of my classes. Yeah, I have a little yoga teacher confession to make. During an evening class, I turned the lights down in the room so the students could settle into savasana, and the room was pretty darn dark. I sauntered over to the only light source, sans glasses, and started to read the poem. About three lines in, I realized I was screwed because my blurry eyesight was not registering the words. I fumbled through the poem, and luckily no one laughed.

My words of wisdom to all you yoga teachers out there are: Don’t be afraid to wear your glasses when reading materials in class, and go out and invest in a miniature flashlight that you can shine on your reading material when in a darkened room. And, one more bit of wisdom: Admit your mistakes to your students, and you will get a lot of love and compassion, not to mention a good laugh from them. I’ll just add this to my list of embarrassing yoga teaching moments and learn and grow from it.

But I digress, back to the poetry….

I’d like to share this poem with you. It comes from The Poetry of Yoga, an incredible anthology of yoga poems written by modern-day yoga poets. If you are yoga teacher seeking yoga poems to read in class, or are someone who wants to deepen their spiritual practice, please check out my recent review of The Poetry of Yoga for more details about how the collection was compiled and to order your very own copy.

One Love

By Jana Dvorska, from The Poetry of Yoga, Volume 1, Page 132

Come into the light

Hold each other’s hearts

Keep a tranquil mind

Full of hope and serenity

Believe anything is possible

Imagine yourself where you want to be

It will become reality

Limitless imagination will change the world

Set your intention and accomplish

Believe it and you will live it

Come together

Unite as one love

The universe is infinite unity

Universal is love

Be love

Feel love within your entire being

Let it radiate out into the world

Touch everyone you meet with your light and love

 

And if that poem was not totally yoga-loving-licious on its own, here’s a little musical accompaniment to bring the love full circle.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdB-8eLEW8g[/youtube]

Win a FREE copy of The Poetry of Yoga

The Daily Downward Dog has been given two copies of The Poetry of Yoga to give away. To enter for you chance to win one of the copies, leave a comment below to let me know how much you love the mash-up of poetry and yoga. I will randomly select one winner on Monday, March 5 and another on Monday, March 12 at noon EST from all of the comments left on the posts that include excerpts from the anthology.

If you are loving this poetry as much as I am, please consider purchasing a copy of the book, which is available at thepoetryofyoga.com, and help spread the word about this book to the yoga lovers in your life. For every book that is purchased, a donation is made to One Common Unity, so you get the gift of poetry and the warm fuzzies of helping others. You can also follow the creation of the second anthology on the website and on their Facebook page.

 

One Love Music

Love – it’s not just for Valentine’s Day.

Thinking of incorporating a love theme into an upcoming yoga class? Here are a few non lovey-dovey songs about loving yourself and others, which are perfect for any yoga class playlist.

Give Love” – MC Yogi (you can download a free copy of this song at www.yogafriends.com)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpVUih5nY9g[/youtube]

Could You Be Loved” – Bob Marley

Put a Little Love in Your Heart” – There are many recordings of this song, but I used the collaboration from Al Greene and Annie Lennox that is available on iTunes.

True Colors” – Cyndi Lauper

Have a Little Faith” – Michael Franti & Spearhead

Seeds of Love” – Tears for Fears

Seasons of Love” – From the Rent Soundtrack

All You Need is Love” – The Beatles

I’m sure there are a ton more, so if you feel so inclined, please share some love and your favorite love-themed songs in the comments below. I would LOVE to hear from you!

Join me for a week of Beach Yoga Bliss in Aruba April 11-18, 2015)….our mantra for the week is I AM LOVE!

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