Yoga instructor, adjunct Butler professor, and recent Butler MFA graduate, Emma Hudelson, conducted the first 2016 conversations@efryomson event: Wordbending: The Yoga of Writing. Emma admitted she usually does not condone pairing yoga with something else. However, yoga and creative writing seemed like a natural fit.
“Writing, done mindfully, can be part of a yoga practice just like asanas are,” Emma wrote on her blog. “Writing is the process of quieting and focusing the mind enough that meaningful language can be produced. According to Yoga Sutra 1.2-1.3, ‘Yoga is the mastery of the activities of the mind. Then the seer rests in its true nature.’ Sounds similar, no?”
The participants in the workshop agreed. “My event last week was more of an experiment than a workshop,” Emma wrote. “What happens if you do a little light asana (Surya Namaskar A and the three closing lotuses) to help writers focus, then give them some prompts? They write. And, unless they were lying to me, they write usefully.”
If you were unable to attend the workshop, Emma was kind enough to explain the workshop on The Buddhi Blog so you can try it yourself. Happy wordbending!