A poem written by a 12-year-old yoga student.

The hum of almost nothing

Yet you can hear that something is there

You toes squishing into the soul of the floor

Finding something within it

That nobody else knew by looking

That’s not what it is

It is not looking, it’s feeling

It’s a belief to move on

It’s a fight to stay up and stay strong

It’s to remember what really matters

The way you move ever so gracefully

So much so that you didn’t know you could be this way before

Learning is what it is really, I think it’s learning

Not how to do it

But who to do it with

But when to do it

But what to bring to it

To stretch your arms up or slowly bring them down

To touch the sky and think

Or to lay on the ground

Pressing your hands into the mat

It’s doing it alongside a friend

Or someone who will become a friend

That makes it the perfect practice

It’s the way you feel when you’re done

As you barely whisper one word across your lips

Yet you still know it’s there

It’s all I ever looked for but haven’t found

Until Wednesday night at that small room with the calm wood floors

With the crowd of girls

With the squished together yoga mats

And the light and airy teacher

Looking at us and smiling

That makes it all that much more perfect

It’s a careful practice where people who look graceful and quiet are really loud and tough

It’s not just one thing, It’s a bundle together

It’s Strength, Compassion, Wonderment, Love, Achievement, Goals and Relaxation

The end is like dessert

Soft, smooth, sweet and calming. But always gone too fast.

People usually wish that they could become perfect at something

But I like how I am not perfect at it

I like how I have to push myself

I like how my arms shake and my legs buckle

But I tell myself to stay up

I love when she says you can move on if you want

And I suddenly feel like I want it

I love how after I smile

And the worried feeling in the pit of my stomach is gone

And I’m loose

I like how the way I do it is in my hands

I like how I don’t look like my friends

Or the lady on the front of the magazine

I like when I can’t do it

That makes it more fun because then you have to try

That’s what makes it all that more of a class

If you’re good at it already

You achieve too fast and stay in the pose while others learn and listen

That’s a good part too

As her voice tells me what to do

And suddenly I am doing the motions

And I am doing what I always thought I could never do

We’re not allowed to say never in our yoga class

We’re not allowed to say it outside of our class

Once we join we know it’s true

Never is not an option

The world is our choices

The world is a yoga mat

The world is a place full of wonders

Half of the wonders sit in a small room with the hard wood floor

The squished group of girls

And the word that is whispered off our lips at the end of practice

Alost like it’s not even there

But we all know it is

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Editorial Asst: Lauryn DeGrado/Editor: Renee Picard

Photo: elephant archives