Feature Interview: Sarah Herrington

You’re a regular contributor to All Things Girl, but for readers who are just meeting you, tell us a little about yourself. What are three things we should know about you?

I am a poet/writer, long-time New Yorker and yogi. These three things influence each other. I love words, find inspiration in New York and in yoga. Both yoga practice and meditation keep me in touch with space as a source, and poetry is equally concerned with the space around words. Being in New York constantly inspires me and feeds me with stories, but also calls for me to have practices for continually grounding myself, checking in, and exploring internally. For me, both writing practice and yoga allow me to do that.

I see writing, of both poetry and fiction, as a kind of spiritual practice, too. Its a way of paying close attention, which is a way of expressing gratitude for what’s around you.

You’re a poet, writer, and yogi. How’d you get started writing? What topics do you typically write about?

I have been a writer my whole life. I actually remember asking my mom as a little kid which I’d be able to do first, read or write? I’ve always been interested in words, and story. I would write stories and often illustrate them, too, as a child. As a teen I began to write poetry, finding the smallness of the form could hold the largeness of my emotions at that time in a way that was respectful and true to my feelings. I’m interested in asking questions in the form of writing. I write about what I observe and because I’ve been in New York so long a lot of my writing personifies New York.

In the Young Adult novel I’m working on the Empire State and Chrysler buildings are characters as important as the people in the story! I like to notice and write about small things too, a leaf, a lyric in a song. Because I practice yoga and meditation, I find themes from these practices weaving their way into my art, like sutras. When I write about my viewpoint I hope that it is to inspire others to do the same. The page is a great and accepting outlet, it is a safe space. The page can absorb and hold a lot and help you figure out things.

When did you first fall in love with yoga? What prompted you to pursue becoming a yoga instructor?

I didn’t practice yoga until after college, though I’d explored Buddhist meditation before (I actually remember buying a book about Zen Buddhism in Middle School around the same time I was reading Catcher in the Rye, and put a quote by Krishnamurti on my wall, not knowing he was a Yogi!) In my early twenties I started exploring yoga and fell in love. It was a way of embodying mindfulness, open heartedness, concepts that can’t be learned only intellectually.

I often felt myself filled with creative energy after yoga practice and would want to go home and write, from a clear mind and open heart. Yoga helped me to heal, both heart wounds and body injuries, and really helped join my body and mind. It helped me to become a better friend to myself, as corny as that may sound. I found through yoga I began to hear my intuition more clearly and live differently without really trying. I started to live more from the inside out. I remember another early discovery: after yoga class I’d naturally want to eat healthier foods. I think yoga is good for writers, too, because it gets us out of our minds for awhile. (or into our minds in a different way) Yoga just helped me so much and brought me so much joy, I began wanting to share it through teaching. For several years I taught yoga full-time at an all-girls school in Manhattan, and now I teach and write.

How has your life been enriched by your passion for writing and yoga?

I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to both explore and share writing and yoga. Both are passions of mine because they help me and connect me with others. I think both are moving meditations!

One reason I wanted to write from an early age is because so many writers, dead and alive, have helped me, sometimes even really saving me. If you’re going through some feeling or experience and feel very alone with it, reading a book or poem by someone else who is expressing what you’re feeling is amazingly supportive and validating and encouraging. Writing/reading can make people feel less alone and can help you explore other ways of being and thinking. Sharing your experience through honest words is one of the best gifts you can give.

I am very interested in trying my best to be honest, and both writing and yoga are practices of big honesty. You can’t lie to yourself in yoga. If you can’t get your foot behind your head, you just can’t, and you have to see how you deal with that. In writing, there’s nowhere to hide. Its hard to lie to yourself and others there, even in fiction. And what’s the point? Both practices ask that you be brave. Some of the bravest people I know are yogis and writers, because they ask questions and explore and aren’t afraid to fall over or use erasers.

You share your passion for both through your mentoring of young girls. Tell us more about the mentoring you’ve done. Why do you feel it’s so important to mentor young girls?

I have always felt aligned with helping girls and young women. I’ve mentored teen girl writers in the New York City public school system through an organization called Girls Write Now, and taught yoga and literacy in an all-girls public school in Manhattan for about 3 years.

Historically, girls voices haven’t been as heard in literature and the arts, so I’m all about doing what I can to encourage voice. Yoga helps girls to feel empowered and know who they are, and helps to heal the mind/body disconnect endorsed by our culture with its obsession with appearance. I relate to a lot of “girl experiences” and just want to use my energy to support other girls and women to be themselves, proudly. As I continue to figure out what that means to me. :)

Tell us about your latest writing projects.

I am writing a book called Om Schooled, coming out next fall, about how to teach yoga to kids. It will be part teachers-guide and part true-life story of the several years I’ve spent teaching kids yoga in inner city schools as well as studios. I hope it helps other teachers and brings yoga to more children. When I started teaching kids yoga I read every book I could find but still didn’t find exactly what I needed. I’m writing the book I wish I’d had, with curriculum guides and tips for combining school life with yoga, and how to introduce yoga to parents and administrators. I’m also putting together a collection of my poetry and a collection of my short fiction, called Karma Girls. I’m excited about all of these projects…they’re like children with very different personalities I’ve been raising. Karma Girls features a few stories which have been published here, in ATG…its a punkrock collection of short fiction with mostly female protagonists.

You recently received an amazing honor. You were named as an up-and-coming poet in O Magazine. How did you get noticed by the magazine?

I received an email from the staff of O, The Oprah Magazine, asking if I’d be interested in being in their up and coming poets issue! At first I thought I was being punked, and was waiting for Ashton Kucher to jump out somewhere. After he didn’t show I realized this was real, and I was beyond honored. They had a team scouting out “new” poets, and found me, from my publication in anthologies and online, from my work doing readings, making poemvideos, and mentoring and teaching poetry in New York City. This honor has inspired me to put my first poetry collection together and I’m gathering both previously published and unpublished poems.

Most writers are also avid readers. Which authors have inspired you? Do you have a favorite book or author?

One of my favorite writers is also a friend and mentor, Francesca Lia Block. Her work is amazing. She is known for her magical realism and real life meets fantasy stories (who can tell the difference?) set in Los Angeles. She writes both prose and poetry.

As for poets I have many loves! I feel very aligned with the Beats, in part for their exploration of Eastern spirituality and Western life. I love the work of Theodore Roethke. His poems are both delicate and fierce. I love children’s literature, too, for it’s creativity. Roald Dahl is a favorite. Oh! And Walt Whitman very much. And Emerson and Thoreau. I was really into that transendental stuff before I even realized those writers were very influenced by the Bhagavad Gita and yogic spirituality. They feel like kin.

The list is long, always, and evolving!

What projects are on the horizon for you?

In addition to collecting my short creative work I’ve been working on a young adult novel called Billboard Girl. I think even in my prose you can tell I’m a poet.

Want to read Sarah Herrington’s work? Visit her online at SarahHerrington.com or connect with her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sarah.herrington2