In honor of the annual Poetry Week, starting this Thursday, January 30th, we went out and explored how poetry and yoga complement each other and enable the critical mind to transform through imagination processes. Of course, Yoga has become such a big practice, with so many variations and different goals in mind. They can focus on the physical body, pay attention to the invisible mind or even help you explore spiritual disciplines you didn’t know about before.
Hatha, Vinyasa, Deep, Yin, Yang, Slow, Power… And the list goes on and on. One thing all of them have in common, however, is the rooted desire to connect the mind and the body.
One might wonder: but what does any of this have to do with poetry?
The answer lies in the common ground they share. They both share an ancient history and both can affect your mental state and impact your emotions. Poems can trigger certain feelings you might also discover when you’re in a deep meditative state during yoga. Imagine what could happen if you combine the power of the written word with deep personal discoveries? A wonderful journey where you find yourself to be a part of the story, and gaining a deeper understanding of the art of words as well as yourself.
Why reading and listening poetry still matters today
A study conducted by author Douglas Matus, examined how reading poetry can benefit humans. Here follows a short summary of the reasons why we should pick up that poetry book again:
It improves your Verbal Skills and Memory
It improves Critical Thinking
It develops Empathy and Insight
It encourages Engagement with Other Art Forms
We can reflect on these benefits and connect them with the ancient practice of yoga and see that they do not seem too different. Perhaps yoga is not the best tool to improve your verbal skills, but it does improve critical thinking of your own self as well as it can help you develop certain new insights.
Another study by The College Theology Society 1980 stated that yoga and poetry not only complement one and another but even seem to contain the same transformative factors. They describe the poetic process as the transformation of consciousness, the same transformation one experiences when practicing yoga. Or in short: your imagination is able to transform your very own consciousness through both poetry and yoga.
Do you want to try it out, guided by professionals?
Come and join us at The Conscious Club in Amsterdam for our monthly session of Yin & Storytelling or Yoga ๑ Live Piano ๑ Poetry, and let us explore these critical thinking and imaginative aspects to transform ourselves.
Can’t wait to get started?
Here are fourteen of our favorite contemporary and classic poetry works to indulge in!
Written by Suze van As