KonaYoga.com

I Write, Therefore I am

The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write a book about it.
-Benjamin Disraeli

I'm offering a journal writing workshop entitled KEEPING TABS on August 2nd and this illustration by one of my favorite artists, Julie Paschkis, is on the brochure. It depicts my enchantment with scribbling and the light hearted, super-powered life I've scripted. I have written for and to myself for most of my life and have a collection of journal books, black and white composition tablets and spiral notebooks to support a bookworm colony.

Writing on a computer, much less publishing what I write on-line, is a very recent practice. My left hand has led hundreds of pens over thousands of blank pages, in long-hand, for a long time.

My mother has kept diaries and journals for as long as I can remember and I have memories of visiting with her father, his journal written in Japanese, resting on his lap as he greeted us from his bed. My maternal grandmother, Haru Matsuda, also kept a journal and wrote poems that have found their way into books by Buddhist authors. So I may quite well have a journal gene spiraling within me.

Psychologist James Pennebaker's research has revealed that people who write about their issues and concerns experience higher levels of immunity and life functions. Professionals who had been laid off from work and instructed to write their deepest thoughts and feelings about unemployment, were much more likely to find employment than those in the study who were told to simply write about their day and those who did no writing at all.

More than just a spot to pour out gripes and grievances, my journals were the crumbs that I followed my way into the future. Twenty-two years ago I wrote: "To sit and spend time moaning & groaning about the negatives is a waste! I need to concentrate on affirmations and things positive." When my writing voice changed, my speech changed. It has made all the difference in the world.

I recently responded to a friend's questions: "How similar is your life now to how you imagined it ten years ago? Twenty years ago?" I commented on her blog: I thought I would have a whole lot more. But never did I dream that I would be this happy! The "whole lot more" that I refer to are just peripheral visions. My focus has always been to seek balance and joy and it thrills me to see that my wishes of old are here today and spilling over into my future, as it is written.

Illustration: Julie Paschkis

Lessons in Balance

 

True stability results when presumed order and presumed disorder are balanced. A truly stable system expects the unexpected, is prepared to be disrupted, waits to be transformed. -Tom Robbins

I give lessons in balance. I ask people to stand on one leg while they take their arms and other leg into heights of fancy. If they wobble and weave, I might suggest that they set their gaze on an inanimate object or brace themselves against a wall. Balance requires an active presence and offers a steady focus for the future.

I credit the teaching of yoga for much that I have learned about the practice and myself. I also credit Aadil Palkhivala for teaching me how to develop that art through his consistent message of "teaching with joy":

Our work is not merely to discover the expansiveness of hamstrings, but also to discover the expansiveness of heart. It is not merely to do a handstand without support, but also to do work such that, when the time comes, we are strong enough to stand up for ourselves, even when unsupported. It is not to hold a headstand alone in the center of the room, but to joyously uphold what we believe, even when we stand alone.(1)

And so, I seek balance of heart and mind just as I seek balance within my physical form. I envision a fulcrum serving as my inner, higher power. I might flail off to one end and without judgement or reprimand, it will guide me back toward the center. In some aspects of my life, I've stayed very close to the core, but in others it has been an active see-saw ride. The logo I created for Kona Yoga represents that fulcrum, that center, and my reminder.

Many of my lessons in balance were learned because, and in spite of, the fear of falling. Until one day, when I was quietly enjoying a stable moment, my "fulcrum" asked, "Have you ever noticed that your see-saw is less than a foot off the ground and have you ever considered taking me wherever you go?"

I give lessons in balance* and I take lessons in balance. Life is much more stable now, with less fear and less effort.

"Forever", oil on canvas, by Eric Zener.

(1) from Fire of Love, Teaching the Essence of Yoga by Aadil Palkhivala, The Innerworks Co., (2006).

*Lessons in Balance include private yoga sessions, bodywork treatments, and wholistic health guidance. A page with information will appear soon at konayoga.com and a separate site, LessonsInBalance.com is now being developed. Aloha!