I am really excited to share this poem written by Danna Faulds, who is an amazing poet and dedicated practitioner of Kripalu Yoga. The first time I read one of her poems I was going through recovery of my eating disorder. My heart was locked, my mind was blank, and my soul was completely lost. In my journey, I started to do yoga and learn about mindfulness, both of which were very helpful in connecting with my body, but it was not until I read this poem that it seemed like all of the pieces were falling together. The ice was slowly melting and my shell showed her first cracks. Don’t get me wrong, recovery will only gets harder by that time, since everything buried under a thick layer of eating disorder will find its way back to the top.
Self-Observation Without Judgement
Release the harsh and pointed inner
voice. it’s just a throwback to the past,
and holds no truth about this moment.
Let go of self-judgment, the old,
learned ways of beating yourself up
for each imagined inadequacy.
Allow the dialogue within the mind
to grow friendlier, and quiet. Shift
out of inner criticism and life
suddenly looks very different.
I can say this only because I make
the choice a hundred times a day to release the voice that refuses to
acknowledge the real me.
What’s needed here isn’t more prodding toward perfection, but
intimacy – seeing clearly, and
embracing what I see.
Love, not judgment, sows the
seeds of tranquility and change.
From “One Soul”
– Danna Faulds
This liberation, although freeing, was met with hardship as I endured the process of releasing everything buried under a thick layer of an eating disorder. I would love to hear what your initial feeling was when reading it.
Want to read more of Danna Faulds? You can click here!
