A Poem for Volcano Pose

"Sometimes it takes complete and utter destruction in order to allow ourselves to be reborn..." - excerpt from Volcano Pose by Corie Feiner

Dear Ones,

Thank you for taking the time from your busy day to read this short post, poem, and yoga festival announcement. There is so much to grab our attention these days and I am grateful that you have taken a moment for yourself to land here.

What is Balance?

On my thirtieth birthday, I asked my dear friend who was studying to be a shaman to come to my home and hold a ceremony.

It was small and intimate with a few of my friends and my then fiancee sitting in a circle in my dark apartment in Sunnyside, Queens.

But what I remember the most from that sacred evening was the conversation we had while sitting with her at my kitchen table afterwards, munching on cashews.

I told her that I was seeking balance in my life, and she looked at me directly in the eyes and said, “Keep in mind that sometimes balance looks like a volcanic explosion.”

This struck me because I think that up until that moment I had thought of balance as serenity, quiet, a kind of nothingness.

But at that moment I re…