The Conductor as Yogi:  The Clearing

It wasn’t the first time that I heard powerful words while sitting on a yoga mat.

Last week, as a prelude to the practice, my yoga teacher read this poem by Martha Postlewaite, called “The Clearing:”

Do not try to save the whole world or do anything grandiose.

Instead, create a clearing in the dense forest of your life

and wait there patiently,

until the song that is your life falls into your own cupped hands

and you recognize and greet it.

Only then will you know how to give yourself to this world

so worthy of rescue.

I think a lot about how the everyday things we do—the teaching, the practices, the words we speak—impact others in a larger way.  How the ripple effect of our actions can impact “the whole world,” and I believe this is an important reflection for us as we move through our life; a guide for our work and how we spend our time.  A way of finding purpose in the mundane, to know that we are using our time well.

But we are human, and life can be messy.  Without balance in our thinking and efforts, without regular pausing and self-compassion, we can put enormous pressure on ourselves, draining our energies as we try to respond to every need, fix every problem, or make everyone in our sphere of influence happy.  To “save the whole world.”

Professionally, pressures to create programs or build organizations can feel grandiose and while we may choose to pursue a big goal with excitement and vigor, along the way we find ourselves in need of “clearing the dense forest” of our life.  To create even a small space—physically, emotionally, in our daily practices or our commitments—to listen and receive.  To intuit our unique way of accomplishing our goals while retaining who we are and what we need to be well and authentic in the process.  To wait patiently in this space, this clearing, and allow “the song that is your life” to emerge.

The image of the song falling into our “own cupped hands” is powerful.  It signifies for me an openness, a willingness to receive, rather than pursue—which is refreshing, isn’t it, in our do, go, accomplish world?  It also means we need to embrace trust, rather than fear. Trust that good is out there and will come to us and we will be able to steward and grow what we receive, in ways that may not be evident now but will become clear.  We only need to be aware so we can recognize our song and (as passionate musicians), “greet it.”

We all want to be significant, to know that we are making an impact in some way (OK, back to big picture thinking).  But we need regular times to make a clearing in the dense forest of our life if we are going to see with clear eyes the next step in our journey and our unique way of living this one and only life.

“Only then will you know how to give yourself to this world so worthy of rescue.”

Martha Postlewaite

Dr. Ramona Wis is the Mimi Rolland Endowed Professor in the Fine Arts, Professor of Music, and Director of Choral Activities at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois and the author of The Conductor as Leader:  Principles of Leadership Applied to Life on the Podium (and newly released video course through Forward Motion, the online learning center from Manhattan Concert Productions).  Dr. Wis is a 500-hour CYT (Certified Yoga Teacher) and a certified Brain Longevity® Specialist, a research-based certification on yoga and integrative medicine for brain health and healthy aging. Reach her at: or ramonawis.com.