Yoga Lessons in Writing

Okay, pain is no fun. But I love that creators can turn their pain into something beautiful that not only informs but also inspires others. Today, I’m excited to feature poet, Christa Fairbrother, who is also a yoga instructor. She has used her yoga skills to manage her pain and guide her writing. Join us today for a special yoga lesson … in writing. 

Welcome Christa! 

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Shel Silverstein was my favorite poet when I was a kid. He has a poem called Sick, where a girl has a long list of ailments that she insists are preventing her from going to school, but when she finds out it’s actually Saturday, she’s magically cured.

As a chronically ill adult, I still wish it worked like that; that being sick was an affectation I could use when it suited me. But since that isn’t the case for me or anyone else with autoimmune diseases, I’ve taken inspiration from Shel Silverstein and used my health to fuel my work as a writer.

I wasn’t an overtly sick kid. I just had clusters of weird symptoms that didn’t coalesce into a diagnosis until the birth of my second son. Being in my late thirties, I’d had a busy life and had a hard time balancing the severity of my diagnosis with my accomplishments.

I’d had a busy life and had a hard time balancing the severity of my diagnosis with my accomplishments.

I’d been a yoga practitioner forever and credited yoga with helping reduce my symptoms and inflammation. My inadvertent success in self-management inspired me to become a yoga teacher who helps other people with arthritis and chronic pain.

In becoming a yoga teacher, I discovered there was more to yoga than mat yoga; there’s yoga in the pool. That blew my mind, and it’s what I’ve specialized in since. The properties of water science; buoyancy, pain relief, viscosity, are game-changers for so many people, I decided that to help more people, I’d write a book.

I had written journal articles and had a graduate degree, so I’d written, but I wouldn’t have called myself a writer. Ironically, this decision coincided with the COVID pandemic, so it created the time for me to get the book done. The book made its way into the world and pushed me to reach further, be more creative, and return to my original love of poetry.

The aqua yoga skills I lay out in the book are what continue to help me in my chronic writing journey as well.

• Be flexible – Some days you feel great, some days you don’t. You have to leave room in your life for whatever comes. That’s not just a time management principle but something to apply to your sense of self.
• You have to include relaxation – Every aqua yoga practice includes a few minutes of relaxation. That’s even more important when you’re chronically ill. A short break won’t cause the world to end. Take it.
• Be buoyed – What would give you a little extra support? An extra cup of tea, an ergonomic pen, a quick chat with a friend. Make your writing life easier with some help.
• There’s no P in our OOL – Don’t pollute your water. Be astute and fair in your self-critiques, not cruel. Don’t talk to yourself in ways you would never talk to another person.
• Use feedback – Aqua yoga teaches you proprioceptive skills; reactions based on actions. What feedback do you get about your work that you can apply?
• Just keep swimming – Your writing matters to you. Keep doing it. It’s not a race; it’s just one move after another to help get you to your goal.

That’s the most important takeaway. Don’t let chronic illness drown your creativity. You can’t change being sick, but if you have to swim in its ocean, use the salt.

The book made its way into the world and pushed me to reach further, be more creative, and return to my original love of poetry.

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Pain is a door

we are always on the wrong side of. A cat scratching to be let out, let in; it knows the other side is better. Doctors call every woman Alice. Give us pink pills labeled Eat Me like Valentine’s hearts. They shrink us, but once little, we no longer reach the keyhole, and we’re still too big to slide under. Now petite and ineffectual, this was the real purpose. To make our voices small, so there’s no speaking our truths to the power of pain.

the burbs, every door
bell rings alike, but opens
up to unique tears

Originally published in Equinox

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Self Portrait with Lupus, Latin for Wolf

I am entre chien et loup::
Between dog and wolf

domesticated/wild::
friend/foe

devouring myself on both ends::
between dawn and day

dusk/dark, the owl hour::
a screech owl between

a shriek, or a purr::
trill like a little frog

Between white/brown::
strong tea with a drop of lemon for bite

I wake for the long train whistle::
listen for the dead of night

There is no problem that can’t be solved::
if you can reach from here to the horizon.

Originally published in Honeyguide Magazine

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