A Poem for Revolved Chair Pose

"But I tell you, as my heels press / to the earth for dear life that here, I am fierce, I am difficult, I am haughty /and immense. Call it what you will--" - from Revolved Chair Pose, by Corie Feiner

Parts of me were in exile and lived in the wilderness of my soul until I learned to come home to Self.

This week I was rattled to the bones, and there was a small, scared part of me that went into hiding. And I allowed it, held it, and tended to it so that I could return again to the work of the heart.

This need to nurture my wounds so that I could reclaim my power came through in my poem for Revolved Chair Pose, which is poem 95 out of 108 for my collection A Poem for Every Pose. This collection, which honors the depth, presence, mythology, history, culture, and tradition—as well as my own personal experience with each of these physical and metaphysical poses—came to me as a vision during a mystical experience while practicing Hero Pose roughly three years ago.

As I scribed Hero Pose, then Peaceful Warrior, then Headstand, I realized I could keep going and write A Poem for Every Pose—a title I didn’t like, but that stuck. I have stopped often asking myself, Who am I to write these poems?

And over and over again throughout the years, when I stopped writing these yogasana poems at number 33 then 54 then 84, I would get this answer—

You are the one writing these poems because you are the one saying yes.

And I do this with humility and grace. And I am so grateful to share them here with you.

I have learned to guide myself into the state I need to be in to write these poems and to see myself through when I feel discouraged, write flat words or just can’t quite hit it. Revolved Chair Pose was one of those poems where I felt myself not knowing where to start and then ended up scrapping the first five drafts. Ok, ten drafts. But when I read about the deeper meaning of the Sanskrit words for chair pose not actually translating to “chair,” but to “fierce” or “proud,” something in me started to buzz. Something in me asking, What is the seat of my power?

I hope this poem for Revolved Chair Pose not only enhances your yoga practice but also speaks to something in you that needs to feel seen, held, uplifted, strong.

I encourage you to read this poem out loud to yourself so that you can hear yourself say these words.

Revolved Chair Pose

By Corie Feiner   


It may look like I am sitting on some 
throne in some sanctified seat twisting 
my body in prayer, my eyes gazing 

behind my stiff left shoulders to see 
the story I used to call my past 
dissolve. But I tell you, 

as my heels press to the earth for dear life 
that here, I am fierce, I am difficult, I am haughty 
and immense. Call it what you will—

twisted, revolved, awkward, my core 
held in so strongly that it becomes 
the diamond of my undigested soul. 

There are times I did not feel worthy
of this seat and I could not find my way
to stillness. Not on the earth. Not in the sky. 

But here, as I sit in the seat of my sovereign soul 
every part of me lights on fire until 
I ignite and I come home from exile 

and finally know what it means 
to wear this crown. 




Sanskrit Name: Parivrtta Utkatasana

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Paid subscribers can listen to me read an audio recording of my poem for “Revolved Chair Pose” here.

Listen to "Revolved Chair Pose" {for paid subscribers}

If you want to learn more about Revolved Chair Pose

you can watch this informative instructional video by Substack writer and yoga instructor Janine Agoglia here.

Better yet, you can enroll in one of her online classes.

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Extended Child’s Pose is from my series, A Poem for Every Pose.

Every poem can be integrated into yoga practices and shared with anyone who teaches yoga, practices yoga, loves yoga, or just wants to feel inspired.

Yoga teachers who read these poems in their classes and on retreats often read them before, during, or at the end of class in place of a Rumi, Mary Oliver or John O’Donohue poem.

They serve as a bridge from the physical movements to the other more metaphysical aspects of yoga and open up the possibility for somatic self-healing, radical self-love, and grace.

I encourage you to read through my other poems to see which ones call you. If you are a yoga teacher and want a free pdf of this or other poems, please DM me.

I will be offering this service until the completion and publication of what will be a beautifully illustrated reference-style yoga poetry book of all 108 poems.

Thank you, as always, for your time and presence. Please leave a comment as one of the most wonderful things about this platform is how we connect and have conscious conversations with each other. I always respond.

With gratitude,

Corie