Yoga by Nature
Poetry from the Heart for the Heart
My 2nd collection "My Magpie Mind" is available now!
"Writing poetry has continued to be a safe place during the stormy seas of COVID19. In “My Magpie Mind” Orla’s warm words reflect the dark and light of her magpie mind, the challenges of family life during a pandemic but also her deep connection to nature and the opportunities of a mid-life awakening including her journey into wild swimming in cold Scottish waters."
Each booklet is individually stamped by linocut artist Kim Sullivan and costs £10 plus £3 for postage if you require it (delivery is possible locally). Payment can be made via bank transfer or Paypal. Please just email Orla to purchase your copy!
You can subscribe to Orla's new writing at....
Green Olivine
Orla's first poetry collection was published in 2019 and is sold out! However digital copies of the pamphlet cost £5. Please just email Orla for further details.
"Green Olivine is my first venture into publishing my words. It is a celebration of the fruits of many years of spiritual practice and of an inner-confidence that came with the passing of time. For many years writing in my journal has been a refuge for me. It has helped me to process and integrate my mindfulness practice into my life. For example, if I felt a surge of anger as a result of a parenting challenge and I was able to press pause on a habitual outburst, I would sometimes retreat to my bedroom and write it out! What happened? What was really going on? What lay beneath the anger? Often the truth would appear just as the ink hit the page and sometimes the truth would take the form of a poem. And with truth comes insight and growth. The final encouragement for me to publish these words came while on family holiday in Lanzarote watching my daughter collect green olivine crystals on a beach of black sand. I hope that you enjoy these simple words and that by speaking my truth in this way I can gently nudge you to do the same."
300 Years
300 years from now
How will you be, my beloved
Baby steps, gentle steps
Value each one
Your ripples of kind intention
Infuse the Earth
They deserve your appreciation
And patience
Never doubt the power
Of walking a conscious life
Of planting seeds of compassion
Growing roots of care
Adopt the pace of an Oak tree
Allow your heart to
Blossom softly
Over years, decades
Lifetimes
TESTIMONIALS
"A real treasure of words, of courageous, clear, true words. I loved the humanness that spoke through them, the relatable struggles ... the spaces between and connections, the longing for something other, the brief blessings of being in the midst of it all... beautiful. " K. Janson
"Hi Orla, I received your little book this morning and I L-O-V-E it! You remind me of Mary Oliver style poetry but it’s clear it’s intimately yours. Thank you for sharing your deepest thoughts and observations please continue writing in this beautiful way." L. Gerletti
"I have enjoyed reading your Green Olivine poems. I almost feel I am “ with you or more deeply inside your whole being" when I read some of them- it’s strange in that it feels like me talking but I know it’s your words! There’s a deep resonance of feeling- I hope you continue to produce such lovely thought provoking words in this form." V. Oswald
“If you are lost, write. If you find yourself lost again, go back into your words until you are unlost. Your words are the most powerful sanctuary, and wisdom, you will ever find.”
Caren Gilbert