Meet Melissa Carroll
Sat. Nov. 15, 11 a.m.-noon, at Jai Dee Yoga Studio and a Mindful Writing Workshop at The New Tampa Library 2-4 p.m. melissacarrollyoga.com
She's that enviable superwoman who's too easygoing, comical and pleasant to write off as another annoyingly overachieving alpha female. Yoga in the Park instructor, writer and poet Melissa Carroll has a new book out, Going OM: Real Life Stories On and Off the Yoga Mat, a collection of essays and anecdotes written by prominent writers about their experiences with the downward dog, planks and such.
Authors include Dinty W. Moore (The Accidental Buddhist), Neal Pollack (Stretch: The Making of a Yoga Dude), Cheryl Strayed (New York Times bestseller Wild), Claire Dederer (Poser: My Life in 23 Yoga Poses) as well as popular locals like Ira Sukrungruang and Gloria Munoz.
We caught up with Carroll before a signing and workshop this Saturday, events that coincide with Florida Bookstore Day.
Who was the first writer you interviewed for the book? Did things just snowball from there, or did you methodically choose the writers?
I first asked Elizabeth Kadetsky (author of First There Is a Mountain and The Poison That Purifies You), who is a tremendous writer and had studied yoga with BKS Iyengar in India. I saw her read in D.C. a few years ago, and was nervous to contact her, and nearly all of the writers. These people were like celebrities to me. They had books published! National bestselling books! Some held tenured positions! Some had spoken to Oprah! But wouldn’t you know it, the same day Elizabeth replied — she’s brilliantly thorough — she said that she’d love to contribute an essay for Going OM and the machine was set into motion. I had my list of writers, and simply went down one by one rather methodically.
Were there embarrassing admissions you could share?
Well no one admitted that they farted in happy baby pose, but here’s hoping for that in Vol. 2. However, Claire Dederer’s hilarious essay “The, Um, Sexy Yoga Essay” begins with a scene in which, while getting ready for bed, her husband asks her to demo some of the new yoga poses she’d been learning her first few classes. As she puts it: “And, reader, I did it: I hopped out of bed and — there on the bedroom floor in my shortie pajamas — I did the poses. I did downward dog and upward dog and plank and a couple of warriors and camel, the porniest pose of all. I would’ve done wheel but I couldn’t yet manage it. I did them all, and my husband watched very, very closely and was very, very happy.”
In which instances, did the writers experience change?
In nearly every story in Going OM there is some glint of change, because a serious yoga practice has that effect. The most dramatic shift that comes to mind is Ira Sukrungruang’s. In his heartbreaking story “Body Replies,” he reveals what it’s like to be a 375-pound diabetic man in a yoga class. He knows he’s got to do something for his health. He’s got to literally save his own life, but he’s entrenched in a cycle of self-loathing and destructive behaviors, until he digs his way out, and finds himself back at a yoga class, back at the gym, changing his diet, and discovering a little inner peace along the way.
So, you're leading a yoga and creative writing retreat in Italy? Please talk a little about that.
The Tuscany retreat is designed to give participants the time, space, and inspiration to tap into their creative energies that normally get pushed back in the rush of everyday life. It doesn’t matter if you are a publishing author or someone who simply enjoys journaling or poetry but never has the time. It’s going to be magic.
We are staying in a countryside villa; every day will include mouthwatering food, a relaxing yoga class, and a creative writing session—and of course local wine. When I first began offering workshops that combined yoga and writing, I figured the combination would either coalesce seamlessly or erupt in flames. Luckily it has been the former. Both yoga and writing ask us to be keen observers, to simultaneously look inward and make meaning of the world around us. We’ll explore how mindful techniques and being present can unleash our creative potential.
Do you have writers picked out for a Vol. 2 (hypothetically if not in real life)?
Here’s who I’ve got my eye on: Mark Nepo, Jennifer Pastiloff, J Brown, and Leza Lowitz. And if Elizabeth Gilbert calls I wouldn’t mind.
This article appears in Nov 6-12, 2014.