Welcome to Work / Life / Balance.
Work-life balance is an exhausting cliché. I know I’m tired, and I know it’s because I am “doing it all wrong.” We all are. It’s unavoidably true that work takes up inappropriate space in in a capitalist society; that just comes with the context, and it’s by design.
For that reason, Work / Life / Balance is NOT about balancing your work and your life and how to do however-many-hour workweeks and time studies and set boundaries and say no to your boss (I’m terrible at that last one and would therefore be highly unqualified to talk about it). It’s not about optimizing every element of your life to squeeze a little bit more work or life out of your days. It’s also not going to be about what to do if you feel like you’re burning out.
It is place for thoughts about how work and life weave together. It’s also unavoidably true that most of us have to work and that we spend a LOT of time at work; work and life are really inextricable. What’s further true is that many of us work at jobs that involve the same stuff as the rest of life - relationships, intellectual challenges, getting in (and out of) our own way, uncertainty, boredom, constant change. Interweaving all of these things, at work and elsewhere, can look like a lot of things - physically, energetically, socially - and it’s a concept that historically both fascinates and confounds me.
It’s also a place where I’m exploring what it looks like to structure my new work as a yoga teacher in a way that feels generative, supportive, and uplifting without creating more of the logistical work that my brain cannot (and does not want to) handle during the school year. I’m a middle school teacher with a background in professional theatre production, nonprofit management, and teaching artistry, and work has looked really different for me along a path through those fields. Yoga teaching is something I pursued to learn more, go deeper, and share the benefits of a practice that has transformed my work AND my life both; this space brings ALL of that together.
Work
Thoughts and anecdotes about public education, observations from shifting careers, and information about education policy. Almost certainly, there will occasionally be suggestions about what you can do to support teachers and students in this incredibly challenging moment for schooling. If you aren’t actively engaged with politics, I highly encourage you to read this section anyway.
Life
A section that falls more in the “update” newsletter vibe. Observations and questions from daily life, tiny joyful moments, surprising and confounding situations, and small thing expansions/challenging thing contractions.
Balance
Focuses on yoga specifically, and will include upcoming classes I’m teaching and how to RSVP and log in, as well as ideas about balance on and off the mat.
Input/Output
Recommendations of things I’m reading/watching/listening to that have sparked something. It’s also where I’ll share projects I’m working on, at work and beyond.
WHAT I CAN PROMISE:
That I am speaking as myself and NOT on behalf of my school district or any other public entity.
That I will respond to comments and questions, although the timeline for responses is TBD.
That I will not tolerate any kind of abuse or questioning of other people’s humanity in comments.
That I’m glad you’re here.
WHAT I CANNOT PROMISE:
That this will be published on any kind of predictable schedule. I am shooting for 1-2 times per month, probably on Sunday evenings, but it’s all a little TBD.
To be brief. I won’t be, or at least won’t be frequently. In addition to a fascination with spectra, balances, and dualities, my Gemini-ness draws me toward the philosophy of “the more words, the better.”
That the structure, format, or topics I’ve outlined here won’t change. They probably will.
There’ll be question/comment space for you to engage with in some newsletters; I have mixed feelings about comments generally, but have had a net positive experience with Substack discussion boards, so am willing to give it a shot. Feel free to engage (or not) as works best for you.
