Forest Prayers, a Haiku

Being in the woods

is like being in a church.

Each tree, a prayer.

NOW IS THE HOW

Today is Wednesday January 12th

2022.

It is 3:02 p.m.

I have just returned from a four-mile walk

in the milky light of the sun.

Patches of ice on the black road 

looked shiny to me.

The trees were dark,

stark winter statues

that will come

alive in spring.

Now I am back

from my walk

and I am 

having

something

of 

an 

EPIPHANY.

I am feeling the NOW in the way I often do

these days

when I just stop.  And sit and breathe deeply.

And keep feeling the air filling me up

and then emptying.

I am hungry so I go to the kitchen.

I treat myself to a salad:

goat cheese crumbles, purple radishes, chunks of apple,

pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

ALL DAY LONG I HAVE BEEN 

stopping.

And stopping.

To feel my body. My breath.

It started with morning yoga,

and in particular,

Breath of Fire.

Breath of Fire is well named:

You start by 

chanting the mantra

“Om namo guru dev namo.”

It means: 

“I bow to the Divine wisdom within.”

You sing it slowly three times

before doing any Kundalini yoga practice.

Then you start the breathing by

sitting up straight and 

sucking your abdomen in against your spine. 

You keep your mouth closed, and so

air explodes out your nose. 

Afterward, the belly automatically fills up with air.

You keep repeating this in and out breathing over and over again

as rapidly as you can.

I did Breath of Fire for several minutes this morning. 

It energizes my whole body!

After Breath of Fire, I did what yoga teachers say you must do: 

lay down in corpse pose and rest for a few minutes.

******* 

Here it is now 4:15 p.m.  The sun will set in about half an hour.

I made myself a cup of turmeric tea a few minutes ago and added milk and

a teaspoon of golden honey.

I am savoring every sip.

I sit here and feel the empty time.

No thoughts.  Just breathing and observing 

the snowy view out the window

as it slowly gets darker and darker.

The emptiness is full of silence and peace. 

I breathe slowly. I close my eyes and go inside 

and I feel my breath as it fills my lungs and abdomen. 

I sit and sit and sit.

I feel the sacredness in the stillness.