Why I Show Up

Ode to Katy and Why I Show Up

Eyes opening I reach for the dreaded device,

Why… Why do I do it?

What good can come of it?

Gut wrenching news of a world imploding

Cruelty and merciless suffering

What then must we do?

Heavy heart…

I reach for the yoga mat

I walk out the door

I hear the melody of spring

Birds speaking urgently to one another

I drink in the green, the pink, the white

The colors of spring

I breathe in the sweet scent of hope in the blooms

I arrive at the space

Katy is there, students milling around

Always a feeling of connectedness and possibility

Upon entering

We breathe

We move

We listen for complex cues

Lovingly introduced

Arms and legs moving every which way

And always the breath

We breathe

Our instructor continues to weave…

Movement, sentiment, chaos, injustice, beauty, poetry, humor

Reminding us through all modalities

That life is full of natural sweeteners

Feel them, acknowledge them

Recognize how we are mixing our own cocktail each day

Choosing our own story, our own sweeteners

Our own lemon wedge or umbrella or olive or salted rim

To garnish the drink we choose to sip, gulp or choke on…

Only we can create the sweet or sour or sweet and sour elixir

Legs up in the air or knees bent with calves resting on the chair

We decidedly move into resting pose

Katy finishes the poem

Hands in prayer or at the heart center or thumbs to the third eye

And we bow…

Thank you, thank you, thank you

Teacher, Guide, Friend

You are our natural sweetener

Thank you…