Taking It To The Mat

I know I’ve posted before about my yoga practice, and yes, the Move From Hell, did interfere with that. A lot.  But I’m pleased to say that, after almost a year’s hiatus, I’ve gone back to the mat and I’ve managed to lose another 40 pounds this year. Even with the move! So woo-hoo, and Merry Christmas to me.

I love yoga for a lot of reasons, but today I want to discuss the way it relates to writing.

1.     Repetition. There’s a definite form and structure to every session—just like with books. Yet every one is put together differently. And the ways in which you experience a given session will change depending on how your body feels. Doing a particular exercise over and over again is a lot like editing—you’re constantly tweaking and repeating, refining your movements/words as you go.

2.      Variation. Every posture has almost innumerable variations (just like every trope does) and even with all of that, individual modifications are encouraged. As one of my teachers is fond of saying, “I’m in my body and you’re in yours. You know what’s best for your body.” As a writer, you know what’s best for your book as well. And what’s best for this book, might not be best for the next one. You’ll only know by getting to it and seeing how you feel.

3.     Getting to it—that’s really the key to everything, isn’t it? You won’t accomplish much of anything unless you put the time in. Regularly. There are no shortcuts. Well, there are Electronic Muscle Stimulation exercises that could, theoretically, get you in shape faster, but I’m thinking they wouldn’t really help with flexibility, so I stand by my original statement!

4.     Courage and Vulnerability. A month ago it dawned on me that I’ve become one of those people who set up their mats in the front row—which, trust me, was not always the case! With writing, as with yoga, you need to be okay with being vulnerable. With being “seen”. With being willing to look like an idiot—while wearing brightly colored, body hugging clothing. And maybe also while being considerably older, heavier and less flexible than most of your classmates. You do you,” is a valuable mantra. Also valuable is realizing that while you’re doing it (writing or yoga) you’re pretty much safe from judgment. Everyone disappears on their mat. No one’s watching you when you’re exercising, because they’re too busy focusing on themselves. No one’s watching you while you’re writing, because all the critics are in your own head, at that point. Afterwards…yeah, sure. People will likely judge you then. And that’s definitely one place where the peace of mind you get from yoga would come in handy. Another reason I think all writers should be yogis.  

5.     Namaste. I think this is a true story; although I admit it sounds almost too good to be true. It was told to me by a dear friend, shortly after she started yoga, and I have no reason to believe it didn’t happen exactly like she said. She was clueless when she started—as most of us are. She knew nothing about yoga tradition and nomenclature. But she was enchanted by one part of the practice in particular. She thought it was so lovely and encouraging how, at the end of the class, everyone would bow their heads and solemnly agree that they’d made “no mistakes.” I think about that often, especially when I, too, get to that part of class where we all intone, “Namaste.” Because, while that might not be what the word means, it’s not that far off either. There are no mistakes. Everything is perfect: the book you’re writing, your progress on the mat, Life.

Because next week is Christmas, I have two free reads available! I’d hoped to have a couple more short, holiday stories done by now, but…there are no mistakes. Also, I guess that gives me something to look forward to next year. Please enjoy, and Happy Holidays! 

Free For The Holidays

This Winter Night

Winter Hearts 0.25

Newlyweds Dario and Ophelia Leonides are passionately in love. There are only two things marring their happiness this holiday season—Lia's homesickness and her continued inability to conceive a child.

Dario would do anything to make his wife smile again. He's hoping to use the miraculous technology his father-in-law has pioneered, combined with the magic inherent in his native land. But calling upon the forces of Kokopeli may have unintended consequences. 

This prequel to This Winter Heart is available as a FREE READ.

Click HERE  to download.

Counting On Christmas

An Ugly Christmas Sweater Story

​

This Ugly Christmas Sweater short story features the characters Mike and Claire from Let Me Count the Ways (LA Love Lessons, book 3). Mike's been a very good boy this year and Santa Claire has the perfect present picked out for him--one that's both naughty and nice!

​

***This story was originally released as part of the Nine Naughty Novelists' Ugly Christmas Sweater story collection ~ Volume I***

​

Click HERE to download.

What Motivates You?

I’ve been thinking a lot about motivation lately. In part because I’ve been trying to find some! Bet you saw that coming, huh? And, in part, because (against all odds) in the last two months I’ve become fairly serious about yoga. Five or six classes a week serious. Which, frankly, kind of surprised me.

My last serious fitness regime (many years ago) consisted of running. ALONE. And slowly. It worked well. I had no trouble motivating myself to get out there and run six miles a day; I even occasionally pushed myself to run eight. If I hadn’t gotten pregnant...I told you it was a long time ago, right? I might even have kept up with it. Because it fit with what I thought I knew about myself.

See, I tend to think of myself as a loner, a self-starter, an introvert and something of a control freak.   I’m NOT the kind of person who always plays nicely with the other children. Not someone I’d expect to enjoy a class environment—not to mention the potential awkwardness in being (sadly, most of the time) the least fit or flexible person in any given class. Or the fact that class is located a good twenty minutes away—and that’s without traffic. On a road that’s hardly ever “without” traffic.

So why don’t I stay home? Why don’t I save time and gas and find online routines, or workout using some of the many exercise books and DVDs I’ve invested in over the years? Because, as it turns out, I can’t. I’m just not motivated.

The thing is, even though one of the nicest things about yoga is the emphasis on honoring your body and only pushing yourself as far or as hard as you’re able to go,  I still need the accountability to get what I need out of the practice. Otherwise, I’ll find excuses not to show up.  I won’t push myself to do the poses I don’t like, or that (currently) are too hard. And, even if I did try one or two of them, I certainly wouldn’t repeat them as many times! 

 I’d also miss out on the feedback, learning where I’m tensing up, where I can push harder, stretch further, surrender more.

So what does this have to do with writing? Well, a lot as it happens. Because, contrary to what I’ve always believed, writing is a lot more like yoga than it is like long distance running.

Yes, you have to do most of it alone (and, in my case, slowly). Yes, you have to get yourself out there and do it—no one else is going to do that for you. And if you can’t keep to a schedule and occasionally push yourself to do more...well, you’ll never get anywhere.

BUT...

I need accountability. Otherwise I’ll watch those deadlines fly by. I won’t push myself to write the books I don’t feel like writing, or the scenes that are too emotionally painful. I won’t stretch myself.  And, yes, I need feedback—from readers, from editors, from critique partners, even from reviewers. 

I'm still honoring my own process, my own voice, but I've gained a new appreciation for the ways in which writing is not as solitary a pursuit as I first thought. 

So that’s me. Those are the lessons I've taken away from the mat. What kind of motivation works for you? What does your writing practice look like?