32 Comments
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Megan Boegman's avatar

This was just yummy to read. And ''the unsteady power of letting myself hover'' speaks to much more than just the pose! ❤️

Corie Feiner's avatar

Thank you… yes. It is with and beyond the pose and serves as a physical and metaphysical metaphor for bravery.. and how scary it can be to be brave. That and I have a history of loving and yet being scared of heights.

Katie Bean's avatar

Beautiful ❤️ I love the lines "watch me float, watch me shake, watch me claim that I am magic"

Corie Feiner's avatar

Thank you! You can thank @Janine Agoglia for that one. She encouraged me to keep those lines in!

Janine Agoglia's avatar

They're great lines!

Corie Feiner's avatar

Thank you! I modified it slightly after recording the poem and felt satisfied. Reading out loud is part of the revision process so even if I am reading to myself, recording them or sharing the poems at readings sparks a new level. Thank you for being a part of this!

Journal Notes from Jamaica 🖋️'s avatar

Thank you, Corie, for this beautiful offering. Wishing you a beautiful and connected live session today. One love and namaste 🙏🏽☮️🩵

Sara Pam Neufeld's avatar

This is so beautiful, Corie! I relate deeply to this one as someone who had three abdominal surgeries and had to reclaim my core as strong. Hovering tabletop is one of my favorite poses for building abdominal strength for everyone except those with a large diastasis that can't support weight-bearing. That was me but thankfully not any longer, and I now do this pose almost every day.

Corie Feiner's avatar

Thank you for sharing. I have diastasis recti still from my last pregnancy 13 years ago! Yoga helps and I am doing physical therapy now. It takes a lot to reclaim the core and I am so glad you did!

Sara Pam Neufeld's avatar

Ugh, I'm sorry you've been dealing with it for so long. (My mom had it for 40 years.) Yoga can help as long as you know what aggravates it/ what not to do (anything that splays the rectus abdominis further apart). For a time my practice was limited to standing warrior poses and hip openers. Pretty much everything else (backbends, twists, anything quadruped, anything crunching the abs like boat pose) was contraindicated. A hard and humbling journey for sure.

Corie Feiner's avatar

It is for sure! Hence my Bodylove Poetry Writing Workshop, where we connect with and love up every part of ourselves even if it means that shame fest comes out - we hold it with love.

Pamela Leavey's avatar

Such a beautiful poem and a strong pose. I need to work on this one. Thank you Corie!

Corie Feiner's avatar

Thank you, Pamela! I need to work on it, too! Hence the poem to give me the strength to be with myself in a loving and magical way.

Pamela Leavey's avatar

I am slowly adding a little more yoga into my at home PT routine. It is so helpful.

Corie Feiner's avatar

They overlap so much. I also meld my at home knee PT with yoga. I read that a lot of British gymnastics and stretching were integrated into the yoga asanas.

Pamela Leavey's avatar

Corie it makes sense to incorporate yoga with PT. I’m so happy to be able to blend in some asanas that I always practiced in the past.

Paulette Bodeman's avatar

So good. Coming home to our bodies is essential for a life well lived. Thank you for helping us to do that, Corie.

Shartaya Mollett's avatar

Corie, this poem feels like an invitation home. The way you weave breath, strength, and belief into movement is so alive and affirming. Hovering Tabletop truly honors the magic of being here, in our bodies, in this moment. 💛

Corie Feiner's avatar

I am so glad it resonated with you and that it reaffirms our aliveness. Thank you so much for reading it. A poem is like a tree fall in the forest waiting to be heard. May you have a moment of magic today!

Rachel Zinman Yoga's avatar

this is such a wonderful poem and I loved that image of the magicians magic table. Thinkng about the power of this pose to is so important. The muscles we use. As I am now teaching older bodies I will definitely use this as inspiration when I teach this pose. Thank you!!!

Corie Feiner's avatar

Wonderful! So glad it will be useful to you!

Jacquie Bullard's avatar

I love how this infuses something so simple with wonder and magic. What muscles are we engaging to stay ‘in alignment’ in this pose? That seems secondary to the wonderful experience of just marveling how we can hover for a moment 💜

Corie Feiner's avatar

And be magic! 🪄

SJ Frideswide's avatar

I love this. There is so much joy in it, especially at the end. The joy of movement without judgement.

Corie Feiner's avatar

Thank you for pointing this out-- the movement without judgement and just being with the feeling of aliveness.

Sam Messersmith's avatar

I love the reminder that you can be shaky and still be strong. Beautiful Corie. Thank you. Very needed today.

Corie Feiner's avatar

I think this is the real strength. I’m shaky as hell these days not just because of the world out there, but the world in here. A lot of self growth going on which takes confronting patterns and old ways of being. I have to hold that. And that takes strength. Which, you got for sure.

Sam Messersmith's avatar

Thanks, your comment got me a little emotional 😭. Appreciate you.

Caitlin McColl 🇨🇦's avatar

beautiful poem (and article) Corie! I just did hovering table top this morning during my daily morning yoga! I love the use of the word 'magic' in your poem. it takes it from something challenging to something...well, magical and it makes you remember the magic and strength you have within you! :)

Corie Feiner's avatar

I am so glad it resonated with you!

The Sleepy Wildflower's avatar

Simply breathtaking. I love reading your poems several times in one sitting to soak up every word, to dissect each lines meaning and to ponder the ways that I relate. Sitting with your words is a balm for the soul. 🧡

Corie Feiner's avatar

Thank you. I am honored that this poem serves as a balm for you and for anyone else reading it. I really do sit with the poems and the poses for a long time and try to honor the history of the pose, the science philosophy of yoga, the actual physical feeling of the pose and the metaphor of the shape, and the healing journey of just being a human being right now. Sending more magic your way.