Danielle Dayney

Salutations

Out your mouth, exhale

Cancer, violence, and death. Into chaturanga, progress.

Let your chest rise in cobra. Inhale.

 

Let breath out like a steady dragon. Inhale.

Downward dog. Fingers and toes pressed firmly to earth. Exhale.

Take in the dawn of tomorrow like the warmth of coffee. Progress.

 

Pro-gress.

Empty your lungs. Right foot forward in crescent. Inhale.

Left foot forward and bend at the hips. Exhale.

 

Breathe. Lengthen spine and reach for the skies above. Exhale.

Stand on the edge of the new year, arms outstretched for hope, love, and progress.

Palms together in prayer. Through your nose, inhale.

 

Photo courtesy of Kyson Dana/UPnsplash

25 responses to “Salutations”

  1. Chef's Last Diet Avatar
    Chef’s Last Diet

    Lovely.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Danielle Dayney Avatar
      Danielle Dayney

      Thank you, Nancy! It feels like I’ve been away for too long. Glad to get something back on the grids 🙂

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  2. prettyflyforawhitemom Avatar
    prettyflyforawhitemom

    Really awesome combo of the yoga and thoughts!! Nice idea!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Danielle Dayney Avatar
      Danielle Dayney

      Thank you! Yoga is so cleansing. I couldn’t think of a better way to welcome the new year

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  3. mixedbag Avatar
    mixedbag

    What a great concept, combining yoga and poetry! Enjoyed reading this 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Danielle Dayney Avatar
      Danielle Dayney

      Thank you, Hema!

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  4. innatejames Avatar
    innatejames

    The ritual of breathing works really well with your point here, Danielle.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Danielle Dayney Avatar
      Danielle Dayney

      Thanks, Nate! It’s making me want to get back into practicing.

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  5. cobwebsandconfetti Avatar
    cobwebsandconfetti

    I actually think this poetic form is perfect for yoga. The repetition, short lines and even stanzas correspond perfectly to the repeating poses of the form. Very cool.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Danielle Dayney Avatar
      Danielle Dayney

      Thank you! It wasn’t a poem at first, but managed to work itself into that. Glad you liked it!

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  6. brockbuildersteel Avatar
    brockbuildersteel

    Yes’ Breathe well indeed…

    I am purchasing Yoga blocks to better train my core… I suppose I best learn how to master my inhalations and exhalations for a finer tuned more sculptured workout.

    ‘Breathing is a good thing indeed, and living as and who you were born to be, even better’… I at first read this work of yours and though I was in study of the respectable passive / aggressive Martial Art ‘Aikido’… But I see it is a lesson in being who you were born to be, you know, life… and living it well…

    ‘As a side note Danielle if I may say, when I first lay my eyes upon your blog post with the Red Leather Boxing gloves, it instantly took me to the Music Video of ‘The Cowboy Junkies’ ‘Misguided Angel’ in my mind’ of a father and his wee mite at the Boxing ring. The feel of Ireland in that said. Keep up in writing your passions Danielle’.

    Liked by 1 person

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  7. Christine Avatar
    Christine

    You used the cyclical nature of the lines really well to illustrate the practice of yoga. Very cool approach. It’s almost a tritina, though not quite; to really nail the form you need the three stanzas plus one final line (not stanza) with the ultimate words in 1-2-3 order. But even so, it’s quite lovely!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Danielle Dayney Avatar
      Danielle Dayney

      I’ll update that now! Thank you for noticing and I’m glad you liked it 🙂

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    2. Danielle Dayney Avatar
      Danielle Dayney

      Actually I’m not sure my three words would work as one line. Oh well 🙂

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      1. Christine Avatar
        Christine

        No worries – this is how we learn, sometimes. I wrote what I intended to be a lanterne once, and turns out I missed the mark entirely. But now I know what makes a lanterne. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Laissez Faire Avatar
    Laissez Faire

    I felt like I had just interrupted a yoga class and felt a smidge guilty for watching and not doing. 🙂 Nice work with the inhale exhale to language the poem. I also learned a new word 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Danielle Dayney Avatar
      Danielle Dayney

      Which word was that? Glad you liked it!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Laissez Faire Avatar
        Laissez Faire

        chaturanga

        Liked by 1 person

  9. Donna-Louise Bishop Avatar
    Donna-Louise Bishop

    Great contrasts here with breathing, yoga, and poetic rhythm. Thanks for sharing.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Danielle Dayney Avatar
      Danielle Dayney

      Aww thanks, DL! Glad you liked it!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  10. d3athlily Avatar
    d3athlily

    This was such a perfect tritina in subject matter! The yoga breathing and the repetitions were especially great. You should definitely try more poems!

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    1. Danielle Dayney Avatar
      Danielle Dayney

      Thanks, Melony! I do them here and there.

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  11. Zoey_Hetrick Avatar
    Zoey_Hetrick

    Beautifully written.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Danielle Dayney Avatar
      Danielle Dayney

      Thank you!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Zoey_Hetrick Avatar
        Zoey_Hetrick

        Of course 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

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