I am not going to be Debbie Downer in this post, I promise. In fact, I've been thinking about ways in which I can transform my perceived struggles into little blessings in disguise. Let me explain.
Yogic teachings and philosophers have long referred to the concept that everyone and everything is your teacher. I am embracing that idea this week.
What if...
everyone I meet
every situation I am placed in
every failure
every struggle
every hardship
...represents a private lesson for me to learn and grow into the person I am meant to be? Each interaction and event are actually perfectly sequenced into the tapestry of my life to teach me something, at the exact moment, that I need that very lesson. We are subconsciously drawn to people and situations that help us grow.
I am embracing this logic, and well, let's just say I need it!! Times are tough, right? What an empowering way to move through the day. We can receive these lessons with gratitude, and hopefully, lighten up enough to realize that they are opportunities to grow, to become wiser, smarter, more compassionate, more loving.
Yes, in any given moment, we all have greater capacity to love. And gosh, sometimes we lose sight of this, but isn't the purpose of life to love and be loved? I am not saying it is easy, it is a practice, just like yoga. Maybe we could look at the yoga poses that present a challenge to us, as similarly unique teaching nuggets, little sprinkles of asana wisdom.
I hope you can join me for yoga class tomorrow morning (Sunday) at 8am (HST) which is now 10am (Pacific Time). Email [email protected] to receive the link to join, I would love to have you in class. Class is donation-based (Venmo: @LauraMary-Flynn).
The light in me sees and honors the light within you,
I recently shared with you that 95% of my time was spent catering to my academic career. Writing, researching, reading papers, reviewing papers, meeting with students (masters students I mentor, undergraduate students, and fellow PhD students). Aside from all of this and the massive amounts of time spent conducting research in the lab, there are other details that aren’t permitted to be shared on social media and typically require 30% of my time, overall. I’ve decided that rather than strictly keep my Instagram account professional yoga business details, I am going to make it real. Much more real. By extension that means all things social (Facebook, Blog, and Newsletter) will all be more real. In other words, my Instagram account represents all of the social media avenues through which I share myself with the world.
Figuratively speaking, I am taking back ownership of this account. I will share with you the real process of all things beyond the yoga mat, which is simply life really, and frankly much more juicy and interesting. I will still share yoga announcements, but I am finding these perfect little IG squares to be increasingly incongruent with my own life.
With every passing year of my PhD program, I’ve moved further away from this perfect little yogi, who lives her carefree life, as she frolics this beautiful island. Don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying the process (as best as a PhD student can), and I do love this island. However, in an effort to live my values, I feel the need to make a shift. I want to share a more authentic view of my life as I know it. A life in the present that looks very different than the life of three years ago. It is much more mature. It is much more scholarly. It is much more awesome.
Now, as I look at my feed, or where I’ve left it (I rarely post actual photos anymore), it has morphed into a stream of solely superficial shares. Partially, this was due to lack of time, but more likely it was reticence on my part to share the real struggle of life.
Recently, I realized that I felt totally detached from IG. I didn’t even enjoy popping in to see others photos. I was critiquing in my own mind what felt like inauthentic shares by others, yet, I look at my own shares and see that there is little representation of struggle or hardship. Additionally, what is present (mostly yoga) only comprises 5% of my life! I realized that the only way I would continue to use Instagram would be if I were willing to share an accurate representation of my own life.
When we are quick to judge others, it’s usually because we are also quick to judge ourselves.
So if you are reading this, and thinking, oh darn I just shared a non-deep post about an apple, you do you! My point is not that we should all strive for this vulnerability and be open to sharing, my point is that I was unknowingly uncomfortable by how my IG mirrored my own inability to effectively collide these two worlds (academics and yoga).
I am giving myself permission to share the details; because life is messy, hard, frustrating, but also beautiful, brilliant, and even spectacular in its mundaneness. I want to help my worlds collide and in doing so, share my process.
I want to add value. Be of service. Be a light. Be a teacher. Be a role model. And that starts with owning my own truth. It’s nothing radical or life changing, simply more real.
I no longer feel the same exhaustion of teaching thousands of yoga classes, I feel the brain the fatigue of staring at this computer. When I first became a yogi and IG was in its infancy, I was so raw and authentic in my sharing. Yoga opened my heart to a way of living that I had never experienced before and I was singing it from the rooftops, it was my own real life happiness and growth being depicted via these squares. I stopped this when the popularity of IG blew up, because it felt too vulnerable. And then I went back to school and I had a permanent excuse not to post! I told myself ‘I am a professional’ I can’t!
As you can see, with my stack of journal articles 5” thick, on most days I feel like my brain might spontaneously combust. Because I am pulled in so many directions, and this dichotomy of subjects/business was overwhelming me in its differences. I want to give 100% to each of the various hats I wear, as I know we all do. The reality is I am an academic and a yogi and a dog mom, navigating through real life struggles, and honestly ready to share this perspective. Spoiler alert, it is very difficult. But I hope to share some of my yogis tricks of the trade.
Writing the truth in my newsletter the other day - 95% of my time is spent on things other than simply yoga – I realized, it was no one’s fault for not realizing this but my own. It highlighted that I’ve only shared pieces of my life on this account with you, in a way that is wholly inaccurate.
Real talk – my academic life doesn’t care about my yoga business, and my yoga business doesn’t care that I teach and research at a University. I think my own inner frustrations at both sides not realizing this is ultimately what made me acknowledge that I have these two careers – side by side – but no one (other than my husband) knows about it!
I realized that I hold the key to making my own shift, to ameliorating problems, to living more authentically, to truly unlocking more happiness and growth.
In my teaching of yoga classes (see? I always have to specify if it’s academic or yoga teaching), I often share the struggles of academic life. But by no means do I share the nitty gritty, the daily grind, the sheer frustration (Why isn’t this analysis running? Ah there is a data entry error! Where is it? Not sure, let’s go through 1,000 files and find it.)! Likewise, in my academic life, I never fully share the role yoga plays in my life. Cue me sitting in a meeting thinking but not verbalizing, ‘well meditation would help calm the nervous system down.’ My IG account – as an extension of my life - will be that new living truth.
Writing the truth the other day also felt damn good. It was like a big exhale. Because, here is the thing, I do think these little squares can be of service. I do love the platform it offers: to share a window into our own world with a simple photo and the power of words. These little squares are extremely helpful resources and sources of community.
Anyways, thank you for reading this far. I definitely plan to continue to update you with all things yoga offerings (and there are plenty!), but I want to invite you to join me on this new journey that is much more a balance of teaching yoga and navigating my way through the world of biomechanical research. I want to invite you into my world as an female academic, who practices yoga off the mat and in her life. I already feel excited about this new chapter. Maybe I should run a biomechanical analysis of the alignment of handstands? That would be fun! Any volunteers? See? I am stoked!
Lastly, HUGE mahalo to my Goal Chasers Summer 2020 cohort for helping me realize my own potential. I am hearing my own voice more clearly, trying to practice being above the line, living my legacy, and focusing on my values. I am so grateful to these women for being a part of this program that I offer. I said on the first night of lecture, that I’ve opened this work again because I myself need to DIG IN to the heart of the matter and figure my sh*t out. As we progress through the series, I keep finding more clarity, more ah-ha moments, and more hell yesses.
It has been some time since my last email to you! To be specific, you haven’t heard from me since July 2018! Wow. A lot has happened since that time, and I mean a lot. There simply is not enough paper space to give you that type of update here.
I wanted to reach out to you though! I usually reach out over my school recess periods, but the year 2019 proved to be a no-break-type-of-year. Truly, I had every intention of reaching out to you this March over Spring Break (which ended yesterday), with a very different type of update. But then COVID-19 struck.
In a COVID-19-free world, my update would have been thoroughly optimistic. I would have told you all about how my promising research study began on Saturday, and how I was nearly done with my PhD, or at least in the “final chapter” – but alas, times have changed. I am in shock by how quickly the direction and flow of life can be altered, and oddly, it’s simultaneously a reminder of life’s preciousness. For now, here I sit (writing like an old English novelist), to bring you a very different type of update. To be clear, everything from the hypothetical update is true, less the research study beginning.
The study is currently on hold, as non-emergent orthopedic surgeries are not currently happening right now, nor would I want to violate social distancing protocols and expose the elderly to me! For these reasons – along with a myriad of others – my study will take a backseat.
I now have “free” time to actually sit and write up my research. I am working on a number of papers, analyses, and a little yoga project! Let me explain. For the last year, I have been teaching one group yoga class per week (Sundays 8am at Kaimuki Studio) and otherwise my teaching has been 100% private and corporate yoga.
Due to COVID-19, my yoga private sessions have been moved to the Zoom platform! Likewise, I have also moved my Sunday morning yoga class online. Yesterday was the first group Zoom class. After class, I shared a photo of our practice to my Instagram account, and I was moved by the enthusiastic response.
Over the years of teaching yoga in Hawaii, I have seen many of my students come and go. Some lived here and practiced with me for a few years before moving back home; others are from Hawaii, but moved off island for their medical residencies in NYC, Phoenix, San Diego, and Boston, to name a few, surely I’ve missed many more of you docs (you know who you are). Other yoga students now live outside of the US, and I was lucky enough to meet them while they were on island studying. I’ll get to the point, I promise.
After I shared the photo of my Zoom class and disclosed that next week and indefinitely, until we ride out this pandemic, I will be hosting my class online, you all began to sign up. I now have sign-ups from Honolulu, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Boston, New York City, Connecticut, Everett (WA), Ålesund (Norway), Strasbourg (France), Japan and beyond.
Point is, this was a huge burst of light in my day. Not simply just hearing from all of my past students, but knowing that you are all there and listening. I felt the pull to offer something more.
A yoga practice with online instruction, isn’t the same as practicing in person, but it gives me hope that I can stay connected to so many of you, even after you move off island. I’ve never felt the desire to platform myself online via YouTube or other streaming services (translation: I was too nervous to make the leap). Now, however, I want to. I want to share yoga with you all, in our time of need. The world needs yoga right now.
I have also been feeling the need to do something, for the world, for my community, for a cause. Earlier this week, I sent this meme out to my brother and sister-in-law...
At the time I sent the meme, I really hadn't yet done much to help. I played my part and practiced social distancing. I bought my food - not too much, not too little - but otherwise, I felt I was contributing to the general state of panic, and not much else. To be honest, I didn’t feel there was much I could do to help. I can’t simply open up the checkbook and make it happen. After all, I am a pro-student and a small (super small) business owner.
I promise, my story here will all tie together. During my run last night, I waved a dramatic hello to the bus driver. I realized, in that moment, that he was a modern day hero. I ran some more, and thought about my recent transactions at Whole Foods, because who doesn't think about food while they are running?
Kidding aside, I thought about how I had praised the cashiers and employees, for also being heroes - now I was running and smiling. I truly believe they deserve thanks for being so brave. They go to work so that we can all continue to be fed, and in doing so put themselves at risk. My small contributions of praise hopefully help a little, but I want to do more.
So finally, as I was hitting the sweet spot of my run (about 20 minutes in), I had the idea of using this online platform for my Sunday yoga class as an opportunity to give back. My Sunday class will hopefully help replace my lost income from my regularly scheduled yoga classes, which are now canceled, while also contributing to the community. Because of you, my students, near and far, we can come together on this platform and make a difference.
During the quarantine period of COVID-19, here is my commitment to you all: I will teach a weekly donation-based Sunday morning yoga class (8-9:15am HST) and I will be donating 50% of the proceeds to a local business or community need. It might be my yoga student's bar that needs to close, or my favorite vegan restaurant in town (Juicy Brew), or a community need such as PPE for our local medical doctors and nurses.
This isn’t just a health crisis, it’s an economic crisis as well. I know more people that work in the retail, restaurant, and tourism industries than don’t. If you can’t make a donation, please take class, and I hope it brightens your day and eases the stress of our current situation.
Now, if you are still reading this, first of all, respect. Second of all, if you can’t make class, here are some other ideas for you.
More thoughts from my evening run:
1) Practice gratitude: Thank you lungs, for allowing me to breathe fully, for extracting oxygen from the atmosphere and passing it off to my bloodstream, and releasing CO2 from my bloodstream and back into the atmosphere. I appreciate you so much right now. I’ve been hearing stories of COVID-19 patients finding gratitude for their lungs, and I want you to know right now (still talking to the lungs), that I love this moment of feeling your full power and health.
2) Appreciate those around you: the bus drivers, the cashiers, the husbands, your parents, your family, your friends. I know I am not alone, when I say that we have all upped our contact-game this week. On Saturday I ‘zoomed’ with my 13 best friends from home (all at once). I know you have all called your friends and family, keep it up. It matters. Your actions matter. Reach out to people, they want to hear from you.
3) Thank you, food: holy bake-athon, we have been cooking and baking and are on par to become Michelin Starred Chefs by the end of this quarantine. Let’s appreciate the simple joy of cooking and breaking bread with the ones we love.
4) Clean: yes, clean your house; if you are stuck inside your home, make sure it is clean and an enjoyable space to be in almost 24/7. If not, you will go bananas. Also, it is a fun and rewarding activity, I’ve found. Thank you to my sister-in-law for reminding me about this particularly fun and energy balancing activity.
5) And lastly, tell people you love them, because you do. <3
Thank you all for reading. Please reach out! I would love to hear from you. Also, for those of you who don’t know what I do now or what I study, the answer is biomechanics. While I am sure that answer doesn't clear anything up for you, because most folks don't know what it is, this is now a reminder to myself to update you on all that I study, in due time. I promise it won’ t be another 2 years from now, but much sooner.
Don’t try to see things through the distances. That’s not for human beings.
Move within, but don’t move the way fear makes you move.
Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened.
Don’t open the door to the study and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.”
-Rumi
My undergraduate alma mater’s slogan was “creative thought matters,” at the time, I admittedly thought the slogan was a bit silly. As I was more on team jock/science nerd in the division of our liberal arts campus. The large part of my school was composed of artists: musicians, studio artists, writers, and actors. Many go on to New York City and work in theatre or open an art studio.
With every year passing, I find myself more and more aligned with that slogan. Creative thought really does matter. We all have this wonderful and vibrant yet individual creative energy within us that we must unleash. We need to go within in order to not go without, in order to not go without realizing our potential. If you left that creative bulb of energy within merely settle at your core and in your heart, because you fear expressing yourself, you might never find out what you are capable of. For instance, if I had continued taking art classes through high school, who knows what I would be doing now. But I didn’t. None of my friends were enrolled in art classes, and as a teen who was part of a very close knit group of friends, I was scared to break away from that status quo.
Flash forward to college and there I was at a hippy dippy liberal arts school, where the art classes were graded so harshly that majority of students received C’s. In college, my fear was lowering my GPA and thus I never quenched that creative thirst. Post-college, I found myself lost without athletics, I found yoga. Really found yoga. I was committed to a daily practice and I wanted more. I was thirsty for knowledge, and I wanted to quench this spiritual thirst as well. I signed up for yoga teacher training, even though every fiber of my being was terrified. I was always nervous, incredibly nervous, of speaking up in classes from elementary school all the way to college. Despite feeling my stomach twisted up in knots, I managed to hold myself up in front of a class, and share my voice through teaching asanas (postures). The process of teaching yoga and expressing my creative thought, listening to my inner voice, and sharing it all has been incredibly healing for me.
Today, this Rumi quote has reminded me that we all need to stay creative, play music, paint, dance, write, and express ourselves somehow. Tap into the inner world within you, who so badly wants to express, wants to express something to the world. Whatever you do, don’t let fear stop you. Fear of not fitting in, fear of receiving a poor grade, fear of falling, and any other fear that you’ve conjured up in your head. Let it go. Let this creative thought and expression bring your closer to finding what you love, so that what you do on a daily basis is also what you love. Today, go within, so you don’t go without. Namaste.
I am not quite sure how you arrived so quickly. Let’s not talk about how long it has been since I’ve posted!
Life can get busy. We are all guilty of rushing from one thing to the next, always piling more onto our ever busy and overwhelming schedules. Even if you love what you do, sometimes, you need a break. When an unexpected break is handed to you, take it! Whether that break is a sweat session on your yoga mat, a trip to the gym, to your meditation cushion, to the beach, or to a coffee shop … s.a.v.o.r the time. We don’t allow ourselves enough breaks, where we can truly pause in soak in the feeling of treating ourselves and clearing our mind of all the clutter of life. Pausing to feel grateful for even being here in this world and to truly enjoy our lives.
This week, I had a few unexpected breaks; the universe will hand you ‘me time’ for a very important reason, so when it happens, enjoy it. Go bury yourself in a good book, write in your journal, go for a run, fold/twist/bend/handstand on your yoga mat, and smile as you enjoy some sacred time for yourself! That’s right, I think you should go nourish yourself! No, it isn’t selfish. In fact, by devoting time to yourself the time you spend with others becomes that much more valuable to both you and them.
Step back and reflect on how good you really have it. You are here, breathing, living, and surrounding yourself with people you love and in some manner sharing your love through your passion(s). Fill up on gratitude for all of those goodies that you already have in your life.
I didn’t have to search high and low for my gratitude-fill this week. This has been one gratitude filled week. Even though life has been quite busy, I am incredibly grateful for my life: my loving guy, my family, my forever friends, my students, my body, my health, and beautiful Oahu.
Love List for October/November:
1) Homemade soap (thank you Tawney), the soap is way bigger than it appears in the photo, she gave me a huge chunk!
2) Homemade vegan baked treats (thank you Jules), these were indescribably delicious. She also made vegan pumpkin donuts at the Wine'd Down with Laura Mary class that were equally as drool worthy.
3) Homemade CDS grouped by genre (thank you Larina and Shelley), this was the sweetest surprise present.
4) Magic Island Beach Yoga Class (Thursday at 5:30), my favorite class of the week!
5) My beautiful and adorable niece, Catalina (the ladybug).
6) Vacations to Maui and epic adventures and discoveries (including this tidepool on the side of this cliff) with Kaho'olawe pictured in the background.
7) DoTERRA- I use Deep Blue rub on everyone in yoga class, it is truly amazing! I actually liked it so much that I signed up to sell it. If you want some DoTERRA products/oils, let me know and I can order whatever you want. Here is the link to my page to place orders.
8) Ava Anderson- The most transparent cosmetic company. I use all of their toxic-free products (shampoo/conditioner/facewash/chapstick etc.). I also liked this company so much that I signed up to sell it. Let me know if you are interested in anything from my site. Here is my page too place orders.
First of all, I get to write this post from the comfort of Whole Foods (Kahala), before I teach my 2:30pm class at CorePower Yoga. I have never felt I am more on the right path, in the right place, than I do now. I love helping and working with people. Teaching yoga is exactly what I am supposed to be doing right now.
I am 100% self-motivated to do what I love; it is scary, thrilling, exciting, and energizing. It is infusing me with even more passion and drive to share and continue on this journey, doing what I love, yoga.
I am even more excited about what is to come, and the unknown of it, is propelling me forward to work even harder. I feel very fortunate to be making what I love into a sustainable profession.
My Advice:
Sit down with a pen and paper and reflect on where you are in life. What drives you? Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Is the job you are in, going to take you there? If not, how can you begin to make moves to get yourself there? Just start thinking, writing, planning, and doing.
I love to wake up with the sun shining on my face, while I am lying on top of the sheets and comforter; and after 9 hours of sleep, the bed looks as though no one has even been on it. My mom would always joke about this when I was a kid, “Laura, did you even sleep in this bed?” … I still do it, Mom. Since Derek has been away, I’ve pushed the bed all the way up against the wall, where Derek’s surfboard rests, that too is the kid in me…goblins anyone?
I love waking up and knowing that I don’t have to get out of bed, but I do, because I am eager and excited to get my day started, because Sunday is my day. French vanilla coffee from Down to Earth? Yes please. Coffee is pretty much the best simple pleasure, ever. Paired with some yummy toast with fresh ground peanut butter, organic honey, and cinnamon on top (I am a toast lover). YUM.
Light up some candles and turn on some Norah Jones…
And it’s right to “work” I go. Planning my sequences for my 3 classes today. Planning my future. Constantly, pinching myself, and experiencing so many reality checks on life, for I just can’t believe the amazing turn it has taken.
Just asking myself, some small questions...
I feel so much abundance all around me. Good things keep happening, and one notion has become really clear to me: abundance attracts abundance. I am so thankful for all of my friends and family who are continually fueling my inspiration because they too are inspired. Abundance attracts abundance. Now it is time for yoga with my three friends.
Happy Sunday everyone!
Surround yourself with those people that fuel your own inspiration and find one small pleasure that lightens your day and makes you smile.
Do any of you have a friend that simply rocks at giving advice? I do. Her name is Jackie. We grew up living three houses away from each other. We hung out almost every day, we would meet each other one house over at a house we dubbed the “Scary House,” simply because they never had lights on and it was set back far away from the road.
We spent many hours of our childhood together, and through tears, laughter, fights, challenges, she was always there. We would connect daily, to either kick the soccer ball, throw the baseball, play flashlight tag, bike ride, and eat handfuls of chocolate chips, and plums, like it was our job. We have been best friends since kindergarten. I am blessed with an amazing group of friends back on the east coast.
Whenever I needed an ear to listen to the dramas of my life, Jackie was my girl. She would patiently listen, and offer her truthful advice once I was ready to hear it. One of the best pieces of advice she ever gave, and still gives, was “change is the only constant.” The only thing you can be 100% sure of is that life is constantly changing; your world on a micro and macro scale is in constant flux.
Accepting Change
This week, I have been reminded of Jackie, as I am practicing both on an off of my mat accepting change. Rather than run the other way in the face of uncertainty, Jackie has instilled in me the beautiful reminder to embrace, and more than that to expect change. Change, for better or worse, is a part of life.
“The survival of the fittest is the ageless law of nature, but the fittest are rarely the strong. The fittest are those endowed with the qualifications for adaptation, the ability to accept the inevitable and conform to the unavoidable, to continually harmonize with the existing and changing conditions of the universe.”
Yoga offers the opportunity for us all to hone in and practice this skill of adaptation. You never know when you will be faced with change, but by practicing on your mat the acceptance of change, you will prepare yourself for real change off of your mat. For example, if you show up to class and your favorite teacher isn’t there, suit up, let go of the expectation you had, and get ready for a refreshing change and experience in class with someone new.
Practice acceptance on your mat, as some days you will be tighter than others, and some days you will be able to hop through to seated from downdog and other days your will find no space to do so. Change, happens everyday on your mat. Rather than judge yourself for those moments when certain postures just aren’t happening, find acceptance in knowing that this moment is just as important as the one where you make a leap forward in your practice and hold your handstand for 10 more breaths than usual.
Welcome Change
Change is not something that we should fear. Rather, it is something that we should welcome. For without change, nothing in this world would ever grow or blossom, and no one in this world would ever move forward to become the person they’re meant to be. - Anon
Practice non-judgment, you are exactly where you are supposed to be, and in the end, it will all work out. If it hasn’t worked out, it’s not the end.
Have you ever had the experience where you are doing what you love, feeling peaceful, and happy, and suddenly you are flooded with brilliant ideas and you feel you can solve all of your problems, no scratch that, the world’s problems? I often have this feeling after a great yoga practice, while I am in meditation or savasana. Sometimes it even distracts me and makes me want to come out, so that I can take action, write my thoughts down, and make something happen. When the time to come out of savasana or meditation arrives, suddenly, you just feel peaceful and no longer do you have those brilliant and peaceful plans to disseminate and share.
What is the lesson here?
The lesson is to do what you love, whether it is practicing yoga, running, surfing, rock climbing, painting, cooking, or playing soccer, do it. Whatever it may be for you, the more you do that one thing you truly love, the one thing that floods you with inspiration, calm, focus, energy, and happiness, the more at peace, connected, strong, whole, and vibrant you will feel.
Your problems will suddenly seem manageable; your life will fall into place, in a manner that makes sense. Where you know that you can take the appropriate action steps to get to wherever it is you want to go.
More than that, by doing what you love, those around you will feel inspired by your presence. Subconsciously, they too will do more of what they love and their light will shine brighter in harmony with yours. In essence, by doing what you love, the world will feel the effects and be better off.
Today, go do what you love. Commit to it, with your intention: I will start today.
Happy Monday everyone! I hope this poems stirs you the same way it does me. It gets me going, I read it all the time. But seriously, go out there and live and be real and be you. Be as true to yourself as you can be, through the good, the bad, and the ugly - go out there and live. <3
We Have Come to be Danced
We have come to be danced
Not the pretty dance
Not the pretty pretty, pick me, pick me dance
But the claw our way back into the belly
Of the sacred, sensual animal dance
The unhinged, unplugged, cat is out of its box dance
The holding the precious moment in the palms
Of our hands and feet dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the jiffy booby, shake your booty for him dance
But the wring the sadness from our skin dance
The blow the chip off our shoulder dance.
The slap the apology from our posture dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the monkey see, monkey do dance
One two dance like you
One two three, dance like me dance
but the grave robber, tomb stalker
Tearing scabs and scars open dance
The rub the rhythm raw against our soul dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the nice, invisible, self-conscious shuffle
But the matted hair flying, voodoo mama
Shaman shakin’ ancient bones dance
The strip us from our casings, return our wings
Sharpen our claws and tongues dance
The shed dead cells and slip into
The luminous skin of love dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the hold our breath and wallow in the shallow end of the floor dance
But the meeting of the trinity, the body breath and beat dance
The shout hallelujah from the top of our thighs dance
