Funny RIGHT now!

Laughing Dog by Meteo

A decade ago, I was sitting in my sunroom with a group of friends including the very wonderful Lori Gibbs. At the time, Lori was not the amazing comedienne that she is today. We were telling each other stories and laughing until we had stitches in our sides, and Lori began trying to convince me that I needed to try doing stand-up comedy. My reply to her was that I don’t know how to be funny on demand. My funny has to spring out at me like a kitten under the bed.

It’s still true today, and I notice it quite a bit when I blog. There are some hilarious bloggers out there. I love a funny blog. Slightly smarty pantsy, sarcastic, punny – yep, they ring my bells. I think it’s great that people can do that, and it’s certainly a popular kind of blog to read. Sometimes, I feel bad that I can’t write that sort of blog. But… I just can’t do it.

So, you know how some people have shy bladder and they can’t pee if someone else is in the room? I have shy humor. If no one is waiting for me to be funny, I can be (I even got a high five at the dinner table this week from a 17 year old boy, which I feel confident is the apex of humor approval). I can, and do, whip out a joke during a meeting to introduce a little levity and relieve some stress. I love to make people laugh. But, if everyone is looking at me, waiting for me to be funny… nuttin, honey.

I hope you’ll still love me anyway, and I promise to spring my humor at you in the least expected (and/or appropriate) moments of the blog. Hey, what’s orange and sounds like a parrot?  A carrot!

Ba-dum-dum.

Blogging Ambivalence

Ambivalence - a work by Christine Marie Larsen

I like to blog. I like to read blogs.  But, I must admit that right now I’m feeling a little bit of ambivalence about blogging.  It all comes back to the question of why, I guess.  I don’t blog just for myself, to be honest.  If I just wanted to journal, I would do that and not have to worry about what I was writing or who might read it.  I blog because I think I have something to add to the larger conversation about yoga and veganism.  I blog because I want to be a part of that larger conversation.

But, recently, I have been torn.  It seems to me that the most popular blogs (individual posts, or blogs overall) in the vegan world are those associated with printed cookbooks or books about veganism. I’m fine with that, and completely understand it.  It just makes it seem redundant for me to post yet another recipe for vegan chocolate peanut butter cupcakes or spicy corncakes.  In the yoga domain, as far as I can tell, controversy is the key.  Posts that are about sex, have some beautiful semi-nude yogis, involve admission of some sort of “horrible” unyogic flaw, or that mock the superiority of yoga culture (all the while embracing the superiority of the mocking of the superiority?) seem to be what sells.  Here too, I understand why such stories get a lot of hits and if that’s what people want to read, that’s what they should read.  However, I’m not going down that road.  I’m a regular person seeking a greater unity.  I have regular flaws.  I don’t need to sex them up for anyone, not even myself.  I also view my personal family or relationship stuff as belonging to my family and my relationships, and won’t be blogging about it in detail. I don’t view that as “dishonest,” but as respectful that my relationship stories are not just about me. I’m not in relationships alone and I can’t just tell my story without bringing others in.  Additionally, I have a day job to watch out for.  And, trust me, you don’t wanna see me nekkid.

So, yeah, I guess I am feeling like I have lost a little bit of my focus for blogging – a little bit of my reason behind it. I need to find it again.  I need to figure out who my audience really is – little though it may be – and what that audience wants and needs from TheVeganAsana. And then, I need to figure out how to provide it.

Which means, dear reader, that if you are here reading today, it would be very useful for me to hear from you why you read this blog, what you would like to see more of, and how it does/should function for you.

Yours in blogging service (and ambivalence),

L

Building Yoga Community through Blogging

It’s April, which means that it is time for YIOM (Yogis Inspiring -and inspired by – Oneness Month).  During this month-long celebration of the online yoga community, a group of yoga bloggers have agreed to attempt to blog each day about some aspects of yoga.  The blogs will all vary.  Some will be about an asana that struck a chord that day.  Some will address the philosophy, history, current issues of yoga.  Some may focus on meditation.  Various yoga types will also be represented.  The overriding goal is to share yoga with one another and with others, to illuminate the beauty of how yoga practice aids us in creating peace, unity, and oneness.

In Buddhist practice, a sangha is the sacred community of ordained (or pre-ordained) monks and nuns.  Being in a sangha helps members to be supported in their practice, grow their practice through interaction with like-minded others, contribute to the process for other members, and also provide a resource for those outside to the community to gain information about Buddhism.  Similarly, a yoga community or yoga sangha provides for its members informational, social, pragmatic, and emotional support.  It provides practitioners with a “home base” from which they can branch out into yoga in a variety of paths that feel new, always retaining that connection back to the stability of the group.

Yoga sanghas may be created through personal relationships with others who practice, through a shared yoga studio or gym (maybe the most common), through a connection to a guru, etc.  And now, with the vast array of social media available to us, we can more easily create and maintain a sense of community with a wide variety of people around the world.  It is my hope that YIOM helps us to do just that, as it also provides a lot of wonderful food for thought, information, inspiration, laughter, and enjoyment along the way.

You can learn more about http://theveganasana.com/YIOM, but I’ve also added the blogroll below for easy access!

Namaste,

L

YIOM Blogroll

The VeganAsana
Living in the (k)Now
Along For The Flow
Yoga Saves the Day
Vogue Yogini
Yoga for the Long Run
Philosophy Fitness
YogaLifeWay
Flying Yogini
Seva Soule Yoga
Om La La
Yoga Insights and Excites

Yogi Crystal
Imagine Balance
Lissabliss
Namaste*Heather
The Curious World of L
Faern-In-The-Works
Me and Les Girls
Yoga Sutras
Yoga in My School

Musings from the Batcave

Positivity.Green.Yoga
Moving Only Forward
Glow Green Girl
Ups and Downs of a Yoga Mom
yogameansunion
Light on Light on Yoga
Yoga Emergence
Jo Griffith Yoga