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...

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,...

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...

Happy Earth day, Writing Yogis and mindful ones! 

We are having so much fun trying out this form of poetry that I just invented with my students in library classes. It’s the “Anamatopoem.”

Click on the video to see how it works. It’s a great way to celebrate Earth Day for kids and adults.

When we...

Humans, just like all of nature, move in spirals. We may even feel crushed by backward momentum, but once we see the other side, our rewards can be tremendous.  That's the gift of a spiral path.

Writing Yoga® Mindfulness Prompt:

Lumi Sit: Take 5 minutes in silence. Close your eyes. Breathe. Say to...

Do you remember thinking as a kid that the year 2000 was some mythical place in the future where robots ran the world? The robots aren't quite there yet and 2000 was 20 years ago! 

There is a good chance that this is a milestone year for you. Where were you in 1900, 2000, 2010?  Maybe you were a ki...

“There are only four kinds of people in the world. Those who have been caregivers. Those who are currently caregivers. Those who will be caregivers, and those who will need a caregiver.” - Rosalyn Carter

I’ve witnessed so many teachers and nurses dedicate all their time and energy to the people the...

The baby boomers paved the way for us to think differently about getting old. They just aren't having it!  Studies show that it's possible to feel and look years younger than you are by developing healthy habits including practicing yoga, journal writing and meditating. Writing Yoga® combines all th...

I was driving home from work when I suddenly and completely understood the mother of one of my characters. “Siri, take a note.” Bing.

I told my phone what she wore, the color of her bedspread, the pots and pans piling up in her kitchen sink. A fictional character was speaking to me. She was there r...

When was the last time you felt really relaxed, calm, and centered? If you have a regular yoga and meditation practice, it might happen once a day. When you’re in the writing zone, cooking zone, or off on a run, you may forget yourself and feel as if you’re floating in a fluffy cloud. That’s what ke...

It used to be a big joke in my house. Mom’s got a vision board. Let them roll their eyes at me and my ‘little arts and crafts project.’ I don’t care. They work.

In 2015, I dreamed up beauty, wishes for my family, success and travel on a cheery pink piece of construction paper. I dreamed of love, de...

Venus stands in the middle of Dallas. She’s golden, glowing and powerful, but her bedroom is a mess. Could it be she has too much to wear? This artwork, Venere deglistracci dorata (Golden Venus of Rags), by Michelangelo Pistoletto was created between 1967-1971, long before Forever 21 sold disposable...

Some of the best mothers I have ever known never gave birth. One is an artist who plays with legos and crayons on the floor at dinner parties with the host’s children. Another is a teacher who has raised thousands of children over her long career and now goes to her former student’s weddings.

There...

While standing on a line to a midtown diner in New York City (don't ask), I overheard a visitor from the South say, “Imagine if this was always your view of the sky?” She looked up, tried to find the horizon, but without it, she felt lost.  And I felt like I had been missing something my entire life...

A horse rides through the streets of Dallas. Soon he will be back on the range, dusting dirt off his jeans, but for now, he’s suspended in a painting on the 12th floor hotel wall.

I passed this cowboy on my way to the rooftop pool. He tipped his hat. At least I could have sworn he did.

The man pus...

  One morning, I set an intention to go to the Yoga Journal Conference and just like that, a ticket somehow manifested for me on Facebook.  No joke. Cindy Mussman Valentine and Michele DeNocola of Yoga Shack in Bethpage had made an offer to donate a ticket and I was the lucky recipient.

The next da...

You have a better chance of visiting the Statue of Liberty if you DON’T live in New York than if you do. This post goes out to all the New Yorkers who can’t find time to visit and for rest of the world who is fascinated by the green lady with a very tired arm.

Zoom in to the fire. It’s copper, and ...

I was in a castle. The castle was in the clouds. I stood under the giant’s table listening to the song of the harp and the sound of golden eggs dropping from a hen.

When was the last time you suspended belief and stepped into a fairy tale?

At The Broad art museum in Los Angeles last week, I walked...

Nothing like a bee sting to interrupt your Zen.

I raise my hand in the lawn for a seated twisted yoga pose.  My waist is wrung out like a wet rag. I think I’m so graceful, my fingers reaching for sky. My arm moves in slow motion toward the grass. I’m fully in the moment, describing the pose to my s...

It wasn’t the golden trimmings or the opulence of the mansion that struck me. It was the child strapped between roots, light hitting just the right way to reveal what nature had tried to hide.

The Banyan tree took over, growth by growth. A statue of a child is hidden inside it, on an estate that wa...

Nothing great can happen in life without imagination and intention. Yogis know this. We set an intention for the hour or so that we clear our minds and move our bodies. Do writers do the same thing? Do you?

I’m just returning from a wonderfully overwhelming trip to Los Angeles that ended with the A...

Running late! I decide at the last minute that the black pumps might not be so comfortable for walking around the city. I change shoes and head out the door.  I pick up my friends for our last minute plan to see my musician husband play a private concert in the Gramercy Park area of Manhattan. It wi...

People often ask me, “What is this Writing Yoga thing?” Here’s the short answer:  It’s alchemy. True Alchemy. It turns paper to gold. Well, not literally, but it’s my unscientific opinion that there’s a profound chemical reaction charging up your body and brain when you put these two ancient discipl...

What does it mean to be an expert?

It feels much better to be an expert at something than to sit in a room and feel completely lost, but being “lost” can be just the thing we need to grow.  Take some time today to get to know the expert in yourself and the expert inside people you know.  Is there a...

If you want to write a book, lose weight, find a new job, move into a new home or invite anything wonderful and new into your life, you’ve got to start with gratitude. Don’t take my word for it. I certainly didn’t make this statement up. It’s universal law. You can find it repackaged in self-help bo...

Wow! My head is spinning from the Dodge Poetry Festival this past weekend. So many incredibly brilliant poets who kept us thinking, moving, teary-eyed, inspired and falling even more deeply in love with the art of poetry.

The poet Alice Oswald who lives in Devon, England recited her...

Today, as you sit to write, pull up an extra chair. Welcome your shadow. Good morning, shadow. I don’t like you. I don’t like what you say in public. I don’t like what you hide in private. I detest your habits, mannerisms, biting sarcastic tongue.

Look at the way it makes itself at home, slurps you...

As a creative person with a busy life, where do you go to relax, unwind, and let ideas flow?

Practicing yoga on a paddleboard in the middle of the Long Island Sound is how my friend Michelle does it.  It’s one thing for most of us just not fall off the board into the water, but moving through sun s...

Pete Vanderberg knows the sea and he knows his way around the page too. He writes about family, the Long Island beaches, and sailing, but there’s a flavor that comes from his experience serving in the US Navy that makes this book so unique.

Peter Vanderberg and I went to grad school together (discl...

I mistakenly thought my friend was taking pictures of her toes. She had her feet up on the front seat’s armrest and her phone held up to her face while she reclined in back. We were on a three hour car trip upstate and I was learning all about Snapchat.

Snapchat (for those of you who have been livi...

Nathaniel and Gil entered the stark warehouse below Canal Street; sage-scented fumes engulfed them and new age music droned.  A hand-written placard listed all the sample sessions

“I’ll grab a shot of wheatgrass juice and check out Sufi dancing,” Gil said. “You can go  for a chakra consultation.”

All I wanted was a week to write without getting up to walk the dogs, sit in traffic, clean the kitchen, or answer the phone. I had work to do and it wasn’t getting done. A writer friend told me about AROHO (A Room of Her own). She said it was a writing organization for women and that I should apply...

In honor of National Novel Writing Month, we have a terrific guest blogger! Enjoy some wisdom from writer and yoga instructor, Barbara Joy Beatus, and good luck to everyone who is writing 50,000 for NaNoWriMo. – S. Lipsey