yoga for writers

source

this post is not novel. it’s probably been suggested by many, but i don’t care. it’s a personal opinion (as are all my posts i guess), but i feel strongly enough about it to mention to you. 

i am a writing machine. my brain works constantly, day and night, night and day. i have notebooks strewn about my house, an on-going “notes” section in my phone, post-its stuck to my desk, in my purse, etc. 

i decided i needed to do something to combat those constant brain marathons. 

a year and a half ago, i was stressed out. i hated working out (i missed high school old sport of dancing every week for hours), but i needed something in my life to de-stress and make my insides feel good again. i broke down and found a groupon for the local hot yoga studio, deciding that i would give it a month. 

i went, almost died, but i felt good. and i took my friend (the owner) nora’s class so i got to ogle at her newly fit body post-pregnancy. she honestly didn’t look like she even had HAD a baby (and apparently she gained 70 pounds). so even though i died a little that first class, i felt 100% committed to giving it another try. i mean, if that was the outcome…bring. it. on. 

source

ok, so now, i am an avid attendee. i go at 5am at least three times a week. i started at the 12 pm class. then i went down to 9:30 am. then i started going at 6 am. and now 5am. my parents are still in shock since i am the absolute worst waker-upper in the world (or at least i used to be). i wake up at 4:30 and am back at my house by 6:15 or so, up and energized and ready to tackle the day. 

if you are thinking that you could never ever ever...i didn't think so either (about myself, not you). 

so here's my spiel: if you are like me, writing when you're not even writing, taking on the regular world, loving hard, thinking harder, worrying, moving from the minute you wake up at the crack of dawn till the moment your head fit the pillow...you need something like yoga. it doesn't have to be yoga, although i highly recommend it because you get a two-pher. (work out and meditation) 

just find something that calms you down a couple times a week:  a place you don't have the option to keep your cell phone by your side, a place you aren't allowed a watch or clock, a place you're not allowed to chat with your neighbor, a place you can't control the music. i fully believe that meditations/meditation-based workouts have something to do with your lack of choice. if you don't get to make everything perfect, you learn to let go, you learn to go with the flow*. 



*and trust me, your ideas start flowing, too. i can't tell you how many ideas i've had for not only this blog but a character, an entire title even, while i was in yoga. it always happens at the end of the practice, when i am spent and calm and happy i came to the class. boom, ideas. and boom, you can skip to your phone (quietly) to type it in your notes section!

things to take to your first yoga class: comfy, tighter fitting clothes, a hand towel, a big water jug (try to drink a lot before you go in though so you don't need it during), a yoga mat, a beach towel or yoga towel if you have one, and for me...my inhaler :)  oh, and a change of clothes and a towel to dry off your body after a quick, refreshing shower post-class.

just try it for a week. see how you feel. it, like writing, is a discipline. and let's be honest, it's not like writing is keeping our bodies "fit"! we must supplement! (says the chick writer with tennis elbow strictly from writing too much.) 

cheers!

source

(i thought this little child from a boulder, co studio was the perfect way to end)