TENSE - RELAX

dawn
outside on the patio it is cool and bracing
breezes tumble and gust around the flagstones
an orange sun peers gingerly through the trees
fat pigeons flutter
a male blackbird alights
glancing suspiciously from side to side
eyeing this intruder unsurely
as he unfurls his navy blue mat
the intruder begins his routine
seated cross-legged on the mat
his sinews and tenons engage
his joints and muscles commence battle
his mind tries to calm his myriad thoughts
to concentrate only on his breathing
still focusing
he stretches out his legs and rotates his feet
tense - relax
tense - relax
now he points his feet straight forward
tensing and relaxing first the left and then the right
he folds his foot across his knee
and rotates the ankle with his hand
curls the toes back one by one
pummels the sole of the foot
pulls his knee up to his chest and holds it there
ah! a pleasing tension in his buttock muscle
slowly the stiffness in his body is melting away
his thoughts are steadily calming
his mind is emptying
his wayward concentration is applying itself
his indiscipline is being reined in
now he leans back on his hands and rotates his head
first clockwise then anti-clockwise
slow wide circles that loosen the neck muscles
he rotates his arms in wide arcs
then twists his waist to the left and the right
each part of the body in turn
submits itself to this discipline
except the mind
which stays under constant restraint
focusing on the pose and the breathing
and then reflecting back on the pose as the body rests
make no mistake!
those ancients of the orient
knew exactly what they were doing
when they developed these poses
they still have a few tricks to teach
us arrogant twenty-first century occidentals...
at the end of the routine
i propel myself backwards into a reverse headstand
squinting as my feet are silhouetted
before an irridescent blue morning sky
golden sunlight laps around the edges of my feet
giving them an unworldly glow
way up above
a white contrail cuts a scar across the sky
meanwhile in the acoustic distance
the traffic tears violently through the serenity
i imagine these intrusions gone
a morning when the pilots fail to show up at the airports
when the commuters all turn off their alarm clocks
and en masse roll over and go back to sleep
or make love
or decide instead to go down to the garden
and unfurl their yoga mats