I know you’ve heard me say many times that what we’re doing together isn’t about the pose and you don’t have to be good at it. In fact, “good” doesn’t even exist in how we think about yoga. We’re in another world entirely, where the pose is a portal to your own experience, to sensation, to being in connection and collaboration with your own body exactly as it is today.
If you love that about yoga as much as I do, I want to invite you to practice more of that spirit with me in a new way: Attuned Writing. In the same way our yoga isn’t about the pose, Attuned Writing isn’t about doing “good” writing. Just like our yoga, the writing is a doorway into attuning to what’s true, what’s present, what’s coming up from the ground and through your body. It’s about meeting yourself on the page, like you meet yourself on the mat.
Here’s How It Works
I read a poem and give you a few jump-off lines to get you going. You know how we usually start our yoga with a few breaths? That’s what the jump-off line is: an inhale. Then you put pen to paper, exhale, and we write for 10-15 minutes, pen never leaving the page (we write 2-3 times per class). We write quickly so we can be in the moment and not give the inner critic space. This isn’t about finding the right word or grammar or that one teacher who critiqued your writing twenty years ago who you can never get out of your head. This is about truth and being in the flow of your own life.
After we write, everyone reads what they just wrote out loud (yes, everyone! No skips! That’s part of what makes the container of the group so powerful because we’re all in it together, me included). And here’s my absolute favorite part: after you read, all we say is thank you. You get to allow your words to stand and be witnessed and held just as they are. And let me tell you, if you haven’t experienced that before then it’s more powerful than I could ever describe. I always feel like my spine is longer after and I can take a deeper breath, whether I am reading myself or listening to someone else read.
This isn’t a writing class in any traditional sense. It’s a truth-telling, remember your bones, aliveness experience that we create together through poetry, writing, letting our words be heard, and the body.
This work is inspired by Laurie Wagner, the creator of Wild Writing, with whom I recently completed a teacher training. I will be bringing my experience as a yoga teacher and writer, too, but mostly I will be bringing my full self as a human who shows up with the real stuff of life between her fingers, ready to feel it in her body and get it onto the page.
Want In?
This is for you if:
- You want to apply the heart and permission we practice here on the mat to the page
- You feel enlivened thinking about getting to go deeper into your life in this way
This isn’t for you if:
- You want feedback on your writing; you want writerly advice like grammar, structure, publishing, etc.; or you want to bring pieces you’ve already written to class. We write everything together in the moment. No writing experience or identifying as a capital W “Writer” required.
- You want a yoga class or a space to chat; we will connect with our bodies, but we won’t be doing any time on the mat or chitchat.
- You aren’t willing to read each piece to the group or keep your camera on during our time together. I ask you to keep your camera on so that people can feel comfortable knowing we’re all in this experience together and that your words will stay within the container of the group.
Dates and Details
This group will be small; I’ll be accepting no more than 8 people. If you felt a zing of yes in your body while reading this, I’d love to hear from you! Hit reply and let’s talk about if this feels like a good fit for you. I’d love to know what most resonates with you about this group!
WHEN (Example Schedule)
Six Mondays, 4:00-5:30pm PST | 7:00-8:30pm EST
- Feb 20th
- Feb 27th
- March 6th
- March 13th
- March 20th
- March 27th
WHERE
Zoom (I will send you the link to join upon registering. There will not be recordings provided, and I ask each person to keep their camera on during our time together.)
WHAT YOU NEED
Stable internet access, a notebook/journal, and a pen (hand writing is encouraged, though of course if that isn’t possible that’s okay).
COST
$180 for the series (paid in full or in two monthly installments of $90 each)
REGISTRATION
This will be available whenever our next group starts!