The Secret Ingredient to Growth: Mixing New Ideas Into Your Projects and Life

There comes a point in every creative project and every creative life where whatever worked in the past isn't working anymore. 

Have you ever felt stuck in a routine that no longer excites you? Or maybe you’re craving a spark, something new, something fresh that shakes things up and pushes you to g...

Continue Reading...
 
How Working with "Air" Supports a Calm, Creative, and Compassionate Life

Think about the last time you felt truly light. Imagine a time when your mind was clear, your creativity flowed, and stress felt far away. What if you could create more of that?

Air is movement, open space, and possibility. It reminds us to release what we don’t need to make room for more of what m...

Continue Reading...
Taking Time to Grow a Dream with Some Magic Seeds at Your Library

I live in a world of magic gardens, storytelling and imaginative innovation. We call this place a library. Even serious research is done through this lens. If you love your library as I do, this makes perfect sense. Many months ago, I booked Cornell Cooperative Extension to read, speak and plant see...

Continue Reading...
Why Imagination is Key to a Calm, Creative and More Compassionate Life

Imagine waking up 12 weeks from now feeling lighter, more connected to your work, your creativity, and the people around you. Imagine a season where you prioritize calm, creativity, and compassion. Not just for others, but for yourself. 

Can one word help? What if we allowed ourselves to dream firs...

Continue Reading...
Why it is Hard, but Necessary to Sit. Yes, I'm talking to You, Parents and Educators

I can't meditate! If you can hear yourself saying those words, then the idea of sitting, just to sit, can feel like an impossible luxury. Spare time doesn't exist. (At least not for anyone I know!) Taking a moment to sit might even seem counterproductive because there’s always another fire to put ou...

Continue Reading...
Sit, Write, and Move: Using Writing Yoga® to Shape a Happier 2025!

Happy New Year! Does it feel like the beginning of something fabulous? Hope so!

For the school administrators, teachers, and librarians I work with, the New Year doesn’t always mean a fresh start; it often means diving back into the whirlwind of lesson plans, scheduling (all those changes!), and mo...

Continue Reading...
15 Minutes to Feel Younger and Have More Energy [Writing Yoga® SWiM Prompt #2024]

One of my yoga teachers used to tell her classes how achy her joints were in the morning and how hard it was for her to get out of bed. There was a lesson in this. After a short time on the mat, she was back to feeling like her 20 year old self again. I first heard her say this 30 years ago, when sh...

Continue Reading...
Shape Poems for Kids & Adults - Take Note from a “Prehistoric Beach Warrior”

My poetry group meets at the Sea Cliff library and we were asked to write a “Shape Poem” and submit it for an exhibit. I walked to the beach and there were a few tiny sand crabs walking sideways in front of me. I thought I would write about them. 

When I got to shore, I saw a horseshoe crab, still ...

Continue Reading...
 
3 Ways Writing Yoga® and Water Can Help You Move Through Your Day With Ease

How do you get through the day? With effort or with ease? Of course, it takes effort to complete all the difficult tasks and challenges that you have each and every day, but it doesn't have to feel that way. It doesn't have to feel overwhelming, stressful, chaotic, like you're just playing catch up ...

Continue Reading...
 
5 Habits To Keep Vacation Benefits Alive All Year Long

We are not on summer break anymore! It's officially fall. so how do you keep the vacation feeling alive? How are you going to manage all the stresses of the day when you can't be on a retreat?

Here are 5 habits that definitely help:

Habit #1 To Keep Vacation Benefits Alive: Be Early

Make it a ha...

Continue Reading...
 
Can You Start Your School Year as if You Were on a Restorative Retreat? Your Dream has Come True!

Seriously, this is a dream come true! This summer I had the pleasure of introducing over 75 school administrators to Cedarmere for the first time. They could not believe their eyes! (And ears and nose too.) It is truly a magical place and something that nearly everyone can not understand until they ...

Continue Reading...
Top 7 Reasons Libraries Are Good For Your Mental Health! [WRITING YOGA® PROMPT #2020]

By some good fortune, I found myself working in a library. I didn't know librarians needed a degree in Library Science. I just thought anyone who liked to read could be a librarian and they can, but it is a bit more involved! 

A compassionate reference librarian told me the deal. She was not condes...

Continue Reading...
 
Learn Better Now! Here Are 3 Conditions That Help You Learn (& Teach) from the Writing Yoga® Method

Even if you don't have "teacher" in your job title, you are learning something new and teaching others all the time. Think about when you get a new phone, appliance, or computer upgrade. Think about being on the phone with customer service as they try to explain why the smart lamp you just purchased...

Continue Reading...
 
Weekly Planning Tips: How to Organize Your Week and Expand Your Time

Do you ever feel like there aren't enough hours in the day? Or do you ALWAYS feel there aren't enough hours in the day. If time is a human construct, can we find better ways to shape our days? 

Over the years I have tried a lot of different planning systems. As a librarian, organization is my thing...

Continue Reading...
 
Need More Focus and Compassion in Your Life? Here are the Top 5 Ways a Mindfulness Rock Can Help! [Writing Yoga® Prompt #2024]

What happens when you hold a rock in your hand? Go ahead, look around your house and pluck a rock out of a flower pot or decorative jar. No rock? Take a walk in the park and choose your pick!

Hold it. I’m not talking a fancy crystal, just a plain rock, so don't go nuts. 

Whenever I need to feel ce...

Continue Reading...
What Do You Gain from Subtraction Goals? 2024 New Year Writing Prompts from Writing Yoga®

As the New Year approaches, we often feel pressure to add more. More tasks, goals, habits, and achievements. But what if, instead of piling on, we focused on subtraction goals? Rather than creating elaborate to-do lists or ambitious resolutions, consider the power of letting go. Subtraction goals in...

Continue Reading...
 
How to Stay Calm and Relaxed this Holiday Season and Start the New Year with Confidence! A Video from the Writing Yoga® Lab [Prompt #2023]

The holidays are fun, but they can also be seriously stressful. Between endless to-do lists, packed social calendars, and last-minute surprises, things can feel a little overwhelming. A lot of what happens this time of year is outside our control, but we can control how we manage our mindset, our ti...

Continue Reading...
3 Ways to Embrace the “Rooting” Phase in Your Creative or Personal Life [Writing Yoga® Prompt #2022: The Opportunities of Unseen Action]

Finally, the weather cooperated and New Yorkers were able to get outdoors and not get soaked. We've had many weeks of rain on the weekends so whenever the sun appears, we go to mountains, beaches and parks and welcome the warmth. 

We go to the trees. 

Weekends indoors were "productive" for us. We ...

Continue Reading...
How to Handle the Unexpected [WRITING YOGA® PROMPT #2021]

Last week we wore winter boots. Today, I jumped in my 10 foot wide pool. Good thing I didn't close it early.

Over the weekend, there was a street fair that had not been held in years due to weather and well, the pandemic. You saw everything from ski jackets to tank tops and no one really got it rig...

Continue Reading...
Letting Go When You Lose Something Irreplaceable [WRITING YOGA® PROMPT #2019]

For much of history, it has been tradition to burn journals of loved ones when they pass over to the other side. I would like that to happen with mine please. But what if you didn't have a choice?

I recently saw Eileen Myles speak about having their journals housed in the archives of Yale Universit...

Continue Reading...
How to Handle the Stress of the New School Year with the Writing Yoga® Method [WRITING YOGA® PROMPT #2018]

It's never too late to go back to school! I took two graduate courses this summer, even though I have been an educator for over 20 years. Learning and teaching are inseparable practices. Plus, we all must stay current to thrive.

I became a librarian for the love of books and reading but there is li...

Continue Reading...
12 Ways to Get Luminous with the Writing Yoga® Method! [WRITING YOGA® PROMPT #2017]

What does it mean to live a luminous life? This question has been tossing around my mind for many years. Being luminous is a state of being, a way of life, philosophy, health care routine, presentation powerhouse, parenting energizer, and teacher motivator. It also can put us on the fast track to he...

Continue Reading...
Is it Time to Change Your Perspective? Hang Upside Down! [WRITING YOGA® PROMPT #2016]

Wait, you want me to hang upside down?  Hear me out, there are many ways we can change our orientation on the planet without going to the monkey bars. Yesterday, I did a simple forward fold, my feet were wide apart, my hands supported my weight on the ground and I noticed three things: 1) My head fe...

Continue Reading...
Can Creativity Bring You Happiness? Yes! Here's How [WRITING YOGA® PROMPT #2015]

Think of something you love to do. Do you consider it "creative"? Cooking is creative. Travel is creative. Planning a party is creative. Pretty much everything you do in life requires you to problem solve and yes, that is creative! If you have a headache thinking about problems to solve, it's not as...

Continue Reading...
Happy Accident or Does Meditation Increase Your Chance for New Opportunities? [WRITING YOGA® PROMPT #2014]

When was the last time you thought about someone and they called you out of the blue or showed up on line next to you at the grocery store? Or maybe you noticed something in nature that required multiple factors to make it happen such as the sun fitting perfectly between two buildings in a big city?...

Continue Reading...
 
What Do You Do When it is Hard to focus? Trust Your Butterfly Brain [WRITING YOGA® PROMPT #2013]

In yoga and meditation we often speak of "monkey mind." It's as if a monkey is swinging in your gray matter while your focus tries to follow. Good luck following that monkey. All you can do is slow it down because there will always be distractions. 

My students created a pollinator garden at our sc...

Continue Reading...
Feeling Stuck? Summer is a Great Time to Be Spontaneous! [WRITING YOGA® PROMPT #2012]

Jump in a jalopy, splash at the shore, or kick up the grass and go on foot because it's time to get outside and do something different. Whenever you feel as if you're standing still or moving backwards, try changing directions. Move forward differently. 

What is one area of your life you would like...

Continue Reading...
Watch Out, Anxiety and Depression. Pull up a Lawn Chair and Stop the FOMO [WRITING YOGA® PROMPT #2011]

Studies show having FOMO, aka Fear of Missing Out, can increase anxiety and depression.  The US surgeon general just released a report on how especially bad it is for kids. Social media, of course, is largely to blame.

No wonder; it seems like everyone on social media has the most fabulous clothes,...

Continue Reading...
Feeling Rushed, Hurried and Awkward? Learn from the Heron! [Writing Yoga® PROMPT #2010]

If you have ever visited or lived near a river, lake or marsh on North America, you have seen herons.  With snaking necks that snap up prey, you never know when they will strike. All the while they manage to look so graceful and calm. 

Most of their time is spent waiting. They don't rush, they don'...

Continue Reading...
Mother's Day is Your Day Too! Make Your Own Creativity Retreat & Honor the Mothers [Writing Yoga® PROMPT #2009]

Before Covid, I taught several yoga classes a week and was either presenting Writing Yoga® workshops or planning them during every second of my spare time. I miss my yoga students! But I had no time to focus on doing the work I was meant to do. Now, I can serve even more people, take time to practic...

Continue Reading...
 
Creative Writing & The Garden Factor in Schools [Writing Yoga® PROMPT #2008]

Who was the best writing teacher you ever had? What did they do to inspire you and get your thoughts onto the page?  

A classroom community can elevate your thoughts, synchronize ideas, and produce profound writing. As educators, we have to work hard to NOT interject what we think. The best teacher...

Continue Reading...
Celebrating Library Week and Poetry Month with Yoga and Mindfulness [Writing Yoga® PROMPT #2007]

Greetings Readers, Teachers, Yogis and Librarians!

Library Week and Poetry Month both fall in April and with all of the yoga classes popping up at libraries over the past few years, you will have plenty of opportunities to sit, write and move!  This is the special formula from the Writing Yoga® met...

Continue Reading...
How to Craft Your Own Instruction Manual for a More Positive Outlook [Writing Yoga® Prompt #2006]

The cranky man on the supermarket line has a lot to say about you and the terrible state of the world. Everything is going to "hell in a handbasket." The lines on his face detail decades of serious frowning. When someone he knows says, "Hi, how are you today?" The man replies, "Could be better" and ...

Continue Reading...
 
Keep Going, Turtle! Don't Let Labels Slow You Down [Writing Yoga® PROMPT #2005]

If you know me well, you know I am a tropical climate kind of human. You don't see turtles and egrets walking in snow. My family has been coming down to Florida for decades, not in a fancy kind of way, but in a swim in the gulf, grill some veggies and walk on the Pinellas Trail kind of way. 

On a w...

Continue Reading...
Can't Plant This….Yet. Early Spring is a Great Time for Reflection and Mindful Walking [Writing Yoga® Prompt #2004]

Much of the year, most of us live and work in climate controlled environments. Bugs are not welcome. Spring invites us to get outside and create.

In the school where I work as a librarian, the kids are developing a native pollinator garden.  I didn't even know it was a thing! The idea is to plant n...

Continue Reading...
Ugh, Drama! How to Joyfully Skip through Workplace Challenges [Writing Yoga® Prompt #2003]

A recent challenge with a coworker left me reeling. I often hear from clients and colleagues about serious challenges, inequities and outright mean-spirited behavior that they must deal with on a daily basis. Maybe that is you?  I rarely experience conflicts and live in a way that makes conflict rar...

Continue Reading...
 
Walt Whitman: Man or Mall? A Writing Exercise For the Multitudes [Writing Yoga® Prompt # 2002]

You can't blame the people of Long Island. Until recently, most cultural, literary, and historic landmarks were hard to find.  As a reader of blog posts with Whitman in the title you might not believe me, but it seems that more Long Islanders have heard of the Walt Whitman Mall than its namesake.

F...

Continue Reading...
The Spiritual Life of World Poetry on St. Patrick's Day and Every Day

I've been obsessed with this collection of poetry called Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World by Pádraig Ó Tuama. I bought the audiobook for a trip knowing nothing more than the title.

From my journal: On the plane/close my eyes/relax my hands/ press play. It's familiar words, my former poet...

Continue Reading...
Valentine's Day Self-Care with Journal Writing, Mindfulness and a Good Book!

What does your Valentine's Day look like?  Maybe you are having an overpriced meal with someone special or perhaps you are staying home with the cats and reading a page turner. This holiday can be rough or wonderful depending upon where you are in life. 

What I love about mindfulness practices and ...

Continue Reading...
12 Words to Boost Creativity and Why Creativity Matters

Does the word "creativity" make you think of paint, clay, and kids playing dress up?  We all start out creative, but school and adult life might make us think that creativity is something to be left to artists and geeks. Then we get to the workplace and are expected to be innovative and productive. ...

Continue Reading...
A Word for Every Teacher and Student at the Start of the New Year: Abundance

Our principal asked us to pick a word at the start of the school year. The word would be our North Star to guide our goals, inform our lessons, and inspire us to do great work. School initiatives sometimes fall away as the year progresses, but a good administrator won't let that happen.

She didn't ...

Continue Reading...
Books and Bliss: How to Stay Calm During the Holiday Season

It’s the official start of the most chaotic time of the year. Take the pressure off and read a poem, quote or chapter of a book. Bibliotherapy is one of the best ways to escape the stressful buzz of cyber Monday and nurture your spirit.

What books most inspire you?  Take one off the shelf anytime y...

Continue Reading...
 
What Can "Beginners" Teach Us About Writing, Teaching and Life? How to Feel Energized and Not Get Stuck in a Rut!

When have you been a beginner?  It can be a little bit scary, but also exciting and invigorating to be brand new at something. Yoga teaches us how to approach arriving on the mat each day with a new attitude. Holding a beginner's mind can help us perform better as writers and teachers too. Do you ag...

Continue Reading...
 
Back to School & Feeling Focused & Calm (at least that's the goal!)

Even if you are not a teacher or a parent, you still can feel a back-to-school kind of energy in the air.  Everyone seems to be running around trying to settle back into the routine of learning and more structured days. 

If you are looking for quick ways to stay calm, focused, and  find joy the wor...

Continue Reading...
10 Journal Writing Ideas To Get You Writing! [Writing Yoga® Prompt #2001]

After working with thousands of students over the years, I know for certain that most people believe they do not have enough time, talent, or energy to live the life of their dreams.  I also know it's just not true!

Keeping a journal helps us to consider our deepest desires, dreams, goals and chall...

Continue Reading...
What's the Difference Between a Beach and a Library? [Writing Yoga ® Prompt #2000]

Give me a beach. Find me a corner in the reading room. I know, I know, not everyone likes a beach. Some people can't stand the stillness of a library.  That's okay, we all have destinations we love and ones we avoid but if you ever spent time watching sea birds wade, you know how much there is to le...

Continue Reading...
Reinventing Mondays: Do One Thing Today that Makes You Feel Luminous

What would happen if you decided today would be amazing?  Ditch the long lists, struggles, “I should….” or “someday I will…”

Just do an activity you love and do it today.

Maybe it’s dinner with friends or family. Maybe it is writing one paragraph of your novel or dancing to a favorite song. It cou...

Continue Reading...
Top Ten Words for a Calm Holiday Season the Writing Yoga® Way

Can you hear those sleigh bells starting to ring? Does the thought of the approaching holidays bring on some stress? Break out your journal and write for some instant stress-relief! 

Yoga philosophy teaches us to listen to our instincts, stay focused, be a warrior for what matters, and show compass...

Continue Reading...
Who Was Your Favorite Teacher? Back to School Edition [Writing Prompt #263]

Mrs. Diller made me feel like I could do anything.  It was first grade and we had class pets, peanut butter cookies, and lots of granola because nobody seemed to have allergies or be afraid of carbs back then.  We had tables set up in each corner of the room. There was a red table with velvet cloth,...

Continue Reading...
Write From Your Dreams! [Writing Yoga Prompt # 1254]

One night, my mother and sister had the same dream as I did.  It was a realistic dream, just a normal day at a busy city park.  I sat at a long picnic table loaded with snacks and canned seltzer.  The park was crowded, but my family sat quietly around the long table. Okay, take back the realistic pa...

Continue Reading...
1 2