How Yoga Helps Writers

In downward dog, the view of the sagging, rippled skin on my thighs offers a testament to the power of gravity. And I make a mental note: no more shorts for yoga class — capri or long leggings only.

But instead of continuing to lament the loss of my skin’s elasticity and youth, I listen to my instructor and allow the posture and breath to carry me. Somewhere along an inhale or exhale, the title of a short story in progress comes to me: “Non-Contact Force.” Later that day, long after I leave my mat, I make a connection — the title is connected to gravity, which happens to be a non-contact force.

Coincidence? I don’t think so.

Yoga helps us access creative ideas and thoughts. Once I accepted this and began including yoga as a regular part of my writing practice, I began seeing more examples. There was the day when my instructor told our class to “open your heart, look up” while we were in a low lunge. I kept breathing, kept pushing my heart toward the sky. And in that moment, I understood that when I’m struggling to bring a character to life in my fiction, it’s because my heart is not open to the character’s plight or internal struggle.

Other times, ideas for stories or scenes creep into my brain while I’m sitting in lotus, and blog posts seem to outline themselves while I balance (or fall out of) half moon or crow. Savasana makes me nearly as prolific as Faulkner. (Okay — huge exaggeration).

Creative people the world over — from celebrities to best-selling authors — talk about their yoga practice and its connection to their creative processes. Two of my favorite authors are among them — Dani Shapiro and Elizabeth Gilbert. Shapiro has authored multiple best-selling memoirs and novels and she hosts writing and yoga retreats on the East Coast. Gilbert wrote the international best-seller Big Magic, a book on creativity that I love so much I own it in the print, Kindle and audio versions.

Science supports the impact of meditation and yoga on creativity, and when movement is connected to the breath, yoga is considered a moving mediation.

According to Karen Macklin, a writer and yoga teacher in California and co-founder of Heart and Hand Yoga, “meditation and yoga grant us access to the deep places of our psyche and consciousness that inspire creative ideas to emerge, while simultaneously offering us tools to work with some of our biggest obstacles as artists.”

Yoga international touts the positive effects yoga has on the brain and its ability to boost our moods, while also offering a list of sixteen yoga poses that are most beneficial for writers.

Yoga Benefits for Writers

Mental

• Reduces stress and anxiety — Writers and other creatives are plagued with anxiety and imposter syndrome: “Am I good enough? Can I do this? Who do I think I am? What if I fail? Other people are better.” Yoga and all of its messages related to acceptance, self-awareness, breathing, and “stay on your own mat” act as antidotes to these thoughts.
• Improves breathing — Deep, intentional breathing grounds you in the moment and helps create a meditative process that opens you to ideas you didn’t know were hiding behind all the noise in your head — the demands of family and work, the to-do lists, and the critical internal dialogue.
• Creates Discipline — Yoga, intentional breathing, belly breathing, connecting breath to movement, and breathing through moments of discomfort require practice. Some days are better than others, but showing up on the mat is what counts. Writing and creativity are the same. Practice improves the craft. Some days are better than others, but showing up to write your words is what counts. In this way, the two are connected.

Dani Shapiro says this: “Yoga has taught me this. Each time I press my palms together over my heart in Namaste, coming back to center at the end of each pose or sequence, I am offering myself the opportunity to begin again. Lost? Begin again. Sad? Begin again. Caught up in the past? Daydreaming about the future? Begin again and again. The writing life is painstakingly slow.”

Physical

• Improves posture — Sitting in a chair, hunched over a computer creates all kinds of body issues — tights hip flexors, hunched shoulders, slouchy posture, sore back, and neck. Yoga helps lengthen the spine, open the hips, open the chest, and roll back the shoulders. And yoga makes you mindful of how you sit and stand, where you hold your shoulders (up near your ears?) and whether you are engaging your core.
• Strengthens muscles — Speaking of core, yoga strengthens your core muscles, which helps protect your back from injury. It strengthens your forearms which can reduce the risk of carpal tunnel (a problem for some writers). And if you have a good yoga instructor who reminds you to engage your glutes when in chair pose or half moon, you’ll be less likely to injure your knees.

I suggest keeping a yoga mat near your writing space and the next time you’re experiencing writer’s block or you can’t seem to work your way through a problem in your plot, unroll the mat. Who knows what might come to you in downward dog.