For as long as I can remember, I have teetered on the edge of calling myself a writer. In the same way that someone might hesitate to claim the title of runner, musician, or gardener, despite regularly doing the thing, I’ve tiptoed around it.
My first memory of being called a writer was in grade one, when my story was published in an anthology of the city’s best young writers.
I vividly remember attending a special, invite-only writing camp in grade three or four with a friend I saw as wildly brilliant. She included the country of Fiji in her essay. I remember thinking, Fiji, oh my god, what is Fiji? Her writing felt worldly and clever, and I was inspired and intimidated.
Encouragement and a Path Forward
My family told me I was a great writer. And when I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up (something I’ve only just realized I was doing right all along), I was encouraged towards Communications & PR because I knew I loved writing—and I especially loved using it to lift others and help them tell their stories.
Yoga, Writers, and Creativity
Years later, while living in Manhattan, I trained to teach yoga alongside writers of all sorts: poets, journalists, lyricists, novelists, playwrights, and the like. They came to the mat not just for movement, but to soothe the mind, find clarity, and tap into their creativity. Many spoke about how yoga and meditation were essential to their writing process, to unblock the block. One told me his only choice was chainsmoking or yoga, and thankfully, he was choosing the latter.
I’ll never forget the class listing I saw at my yoga studio: Yoga for Writers. I never went. I always meant to, but couldn't quite show up due to that unfortunate sense of perceived fraudulence.
There’s a Writer in All of Us
Over time, I’ve come to believe this: there’s a little writer in all of us (and a big one in a brave and lucky few). Writing is just one form of creative expression, but it can unlock joy, freedom, and lightness in a way that surprises us.
Artificial Intelligence may be able to produce for us, but the high a writer gets from authentic expression and creation can not be replicated by proxy. Our expressions are so uniquely us, so uniquely human, and I am certain they are essential for survival.
A Long-Held Dream Coming to Life
This idea for a yoga and writing workshop has been in the back of my mind since 2007. And now, it’s finally coming to life.
I’m so thrilled to be co-hosting Movement & Words: A Workshop for Body, Mind and Creative Voice with the wonderfully talented Mikka Jacobsen. Mikka has been coming to my Mom + Baby classes with her beautiful little one for a while now, and I had no idea she was such an accomplished writer—she’s that humble. When I invited her to collaborate on this idea, I was delighted that she said yes.
Join Us
Please join us for this very special afternoon of movement, creativity, and learning:
If you love to read, you might love to write. Two writers whose rhythm, lyricism, phrasing, and piercing vulnerability have stopped me in my tracks lately are Hanif Abdurraqib and Hala Alyan. Their words are so poetic, so precise, so achingly actual, that I’ve found myself wanting to scream—in glee, in pain, in awe.
Readers, whose writing is doing that to you these days? I truly want to know.
