3 Poems to Inspire ‘Dharma Talks’ as a Yoga Teacher

Let’s talk ‘Dharma Talks’. For anyone who has taken a modern-day yoga class, you may have noticed most studios have adopted setting an intention, devotion, or mantra chanting at the beginning of class. But what is Dharma? Why do we, as teachers, choose to open class this way?

Dharma, in short, can be defined as “Virtuous Duty.”

When an instructor shares their inspiration for a “Dharma Talk” it is extracted from an honest place of human understanding & recollection of learnings from their own life path. Excerpts, quotations, and poetry are commonly drawn upon to strike a common thread among the group, without the burden of personal detail.

To tread on a path that is not truly yours can feel like wearing a shirt one size too small or brushing your teeth with someone else’s toothbrush. You can do it, but it just doesn’t feel right. As a student of yoga, you can sense intuitively when a session isn’t being shared authentically. We have all been there, no shade. This is why I felt called to begin this blog for teachers and avid students. For there to be an exchange that provokes deeper thinking with compassion and gratitude, to elevate others with what I have learned, so far.

The starting point of a ‘Dharma Talk’ can be inspired by language used in poetry or philosophic principles in a quote. To approach a meta concept with a grounded sense of Self, is the secret sauce. The poem or passage you choose to share is read and expressed with your heart. Throughout the class, continue to weave your message in moments of pause. This elevates the overall experience for your students and advances your ability to conceptualize the roots of sacred literature as a teacher, furthermore, finding true meaning in the words you share.

Experiencing the potency of an honest ‘Dharma Talk’ by a beloved teacher is like uttering words that have been waiting to be said, so long held in, a sigh of reprieve from the burden of secrecy housed in our minds. ‘Dharma Talks’ serve as a primal reminder of our likeness, taking form of shared humanity. Words that unite and are passed around our thoughts, often being related to our closest ache or tug of joy, there really is nothing quite like it. You leave a space feeling connected beyond material relation or superficial dialogue.

In theory, this allows the yogi or practitioner to dedicate their practice to something bigger than themselves, and even more important, something bigger than just an epic workout ahead.

While the physical benefits of ‘asana’, the poses expressed in yoga, are highly regarded and most celebrated, the sweet nectar of this ‘Dharma’ fruit, lies in the belly of forgoing the immediacy of our senses, the pull of our desires and asks us to unearth warm and fertile grounds in ourselves, aka vulnerability, with proper boundaries. It is then that we can surrender and devote ourselves, with sincerity, to a greater entity. Insert your belief here.

Should this topic pull your interest for a deeper dive, a text often shared in 200-hour teacher training programs across the West, The Bhagavad Gita, illustrates the magnitude of following one’s own Dharmic Path.

The three poems I have chosen below are from a variety of works I have pulled inspiration from, in my practice, as a yoga teacher. They may resonate, they may not. My hope is this blog will inspire you to do some digging of your own, build your repertoire, or as Michelangelo said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set it free.”

Poetry Feature I

‘I Touch the Earth, The Earth Touches Me’ By Hugh Prather

“Getting out is getting in

Going in is getting through

(Around is not through)

“I am here” is getting there

“Wish I were there” is staying here

(Moving is standing very still)

Having is getting

Wanting is not receiving

(Being is very filling)”

Poetry Feature II

‘Bird By Bird’ By Anne Lamott

“You get your confidence and intuition back by trusting yourself, by being militantly on your own side…Don’t look at your feet to see if you are doing it right. Just Dance.” (112)

Poetry Feature III

‘A Hole in a Flute’ By Hafiz Translations by Daniel Ladinsky

“I am

A hole in a flute

That the Christ’s Breath moves through –

Listen to this

Music.

I am the concert

From the mouth of every

Creature

Singing with the myriad

Chords.” (203)

References

LAMOTT, ANNE. Bird by Bird: Some Instruction on Writing and Life. RANDOM, 1994.

Ladinsky, Daniel James, and Hafiz The Gift: Poems by Hafiz. Penguin Compass, 1999.

Prather, Hugh, and Paul Kinslow. I Touch the Earth, the Earth Touches Me. Doubleday & Co., 1972.