Modernist poetry and yoga may seem at first glance like very different disciplines; look closer and you’ll see they have much in common. Both are most productive when approached by warming up—be it physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually—and finding flow and rhythm is key to each experience. The exploration and experimentation of a modernist poem or yoga practice helps guide you to a deeper understanding of the self and the world, and how each are intimately intertwined. To get there, poetry and yoga both require mindful reflection and attention to the precise alignment of words/bodies. This four-part series explores this intersection of body, mind and spirit through gentle yoga illuminated through the poetry of Marianne Moore, T.S. Eliot, E.E. Cummings and Langston Hughes. Each 75-minute session is suitable for all levels--no prior yoga or poetry experience is required! Session writings and themes include:

1.        “The Fish,” Marianne Moore: Introduction to Tantra, non-duality and the practice of moving deeper into life 

2.        “Burnt Norton,” T.S. Eliot: Kalapurnata (living in the fullness of time) & Rahasya (temporality) 

3.        “if everything happens that can’t be done,” e.e.cummings: Non-dualism, nature and the heart as the source of wisdom, Moksha (liberation)  

4.        “Freedom Train,” Langston Hughes: Obstacles to liberation and freedom; Abhaya (fearlessness).

Mercedes de Acosta was many things: a playwright, poet, novelist and cultural influencer of the early 20th century, but is perhaps best known for her liaisons with Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo and other celebrities. Unlike other lesbians of her day, Acosta would not conform by retreating into a closet. Her sense of self, strength of will, and ability to meet professional and personal rejection with resilience are among the reasons she is regarded today as an LGBTQ+ icon whose depictions of lesbian desire, experiences and struggle inform and inspire. What gave her the confidence to live the way she did? This 90-minute workshop introduces you to de Acosta’s work and legacy and invites you to take a deep dive into what it means to be truly authentic. The workshop will feature readings from her memoir, Here Lies the Heart, and an extended yin yoga practice, featuring passive, longer-held poses to invoke stillness in body and mind. The practice will be accessible for all bodies and experience levels; the only prerequisites are curiosity and an open heart.

You won’t find Mercedes de Acosta on anyone’s short list of great early 20th century writers. Her outspoken personality, dramatic relationships and touching memoir all outshine her early poems and plays. Yet her first collection of poetry, Moods (1919), offers touching insight into the mind of a young, ambitious artist in the midst of the modernist movement. In keeping with modernism’s emphasis on experimentation and subjective experience, de Acosta’s prose poems offer intimate and sometimes deep insights into the nature of desire, expectation, intuition and revelation. This 90-minute, poetry-inspired yin yoga practice includes passive, longer-held poses that invoke both stillness and openness in body and mind; you’ll listen from this place of openness to the writing poet Charles Hanson Towne describes in his introduction to Moods as having “a haunting quality, a breath of mystery, as though a ghost walked into a garden.” The practice will be accessible for all bodies and experience levels; the only prerequisites are curiosity and an open heart.

Take a yogic dive into Walt Whitman! We’ll begin with Leaves of Grass, the poetry collection he spent forty years of his life writing, rewriting, and expanding. We will return, as Whitman did, to key themes each session, expanding our understanding of Leaves of Grass and other important writings as we deepen our connection to ourselves. Each 75-minute session will interweave poetry recitation with meditative reflection for a truly unique experience that blends body, mind and spirit. Session writings and themes include: 

1.        Song of Myself: Introduction to Whitman and key themes in Leaves of Grass

2.        I Sing the Body Electric: Nature/Sexuality/ Humanity in Leaves of Grass

3.        When Lilacs Last in My Dooryard Bloom’d and Wandering at Morn: The Civil War’s Impact on Leaves of Grass

4.        The Wound Dresser: Whitman’s Dharma

Give yourself a Valentine's Day treat: poses and poetry designed to deepen self-acceptance and gratitude for the wholeness of your being. This 50-minute class features the works of Derek Wolcott, Rumi, Mary Oliver and Hafiz.

Give yourself the gift of an hour on your mat, moving mindfully while exploring themes from this popular Rumi poem, including self-awareness, acceptance and gratitude. The gentle flow sequence will be suitable for all levels.