Saturday 7 November 2015

A New York State of Sound


This past summer, I spent almost 3 months in New York City. I travelled alone, making it an adventure of independence. It was about taking a little time to myself to work out my next plans and current thoughts. My aims were simple; to dance, to write, to discover, and to challenge myself to really be alone for the first time in years. With some modelling thrown in to pay my New York rent!

Before I left for the states, I contacted around 40 different yoga studios in New York City, enquiring if they had any opportunities for work/study students. 3 replied to me, and 1 of those replies was filled with kindness and open welcome. A week later, I found myself sitting barefoot in the reception area of Sacred Sounds Yoga Studio on Bleecker Street, being warmly accepted into the beautiful sunlit studio space by the incredible and altogether humble owner, Stephanie Tang. 

After telling Stephanie a little about myself and this story, Stephanie grinned at me in the pure way only she can and asked nothing more of me than to volunteer my time on a Saturday in exchange for a full program of yoga classes. I happily accepted, and so began a summer of daily classes and solo yoga discovery - accompanied by some incredible new friends within the studio!

Still now, I listen to the music played at the studio to bring back my centre of gravity. Still now I wake up early to practice the yoga sequences I was taught. Every day I carry with me the lessons I learnt on the mat and in the company of the other students and staff there. For this, to Stephanie, and to all who I met at Sacred Sounds in the summer of 2015, I am immensely grateful. 

And so, making a little change from my usual blog style of writing, I will share with you a piece of poetry that I hope will express a little of my time within those sacred New York walls. It's official. The Liberty's Arts & Wellness Studio has a role model for it's future! 


'Dedicated to Stephanie, and every teacher, friend and colleague at Sacred Sounds Yoga Studio, NYC'.




SACRED SOUNDS
-This Now.

Dropping sounds.
Bated breath.
A distant, ‘Hallelujah’.
Pause my blood, as we realign each compass.

Curled toes relent from fixedness,
as soles find floor and soul finds core.
I capture breath into the lowest corners,
And exhale.

Muscles break from solitude, as they mesh and warm to one another in earnest.
Creaking bones, cracking joints, divided thought.
Inhaling the scent of my flesh as it heats.
Flow through and around me now,
I  A M  R E A D Y.

Let us be lost, to find.
To be blinded in order to discover.
Take our moments and stir them into the illusion of time.
For we are open now, united.

Below skin’s surface lie gentle waves of energy.
I trace their outline respectfully, as they stir and shift in their beds.
With each touch, each sacred sound, I discover the soaring and the fallen.

Close the history books now.
Stop this train.
Let’s alight from it’s aching carriages and walk a while together.
Take my hand, for I will hold the centre of yours eternally.

No fear, lies here.
Weightlessness brings no danger to this forward journey.
For love was never the answer.
It was our cause.

Namaste