Karen Gibbons
I KNOW! Everybody has a blog these days. Well, all I can say is that my story has not yet been told. But don’t worry; I’m not intending to stuff you full of more mind clutter! What I wish for this blog is to now and then offer a practice that has been sweet to me, and maybe sometimes post an interesting photo. Occasionally, I will regale you with some of the juicier tidbits from my life. After all, my life is my source. Everything I do: yoga, art, or otherwise is just my way of negotiating my journey through life. To quote David Byrne, “Well, how did I get here?”
Once upon a time, I was an artist-mother-couch potato living with my young family in a lovely loft on the banks of the Gowanus Canal. When I began to practice yoga in earnest I had three smallish children. This was around 2000 when my twins were 7 and my younger son was 4 years old. I began to drag my sorry butt up the single flight of stairs to my neighbor Mary’s loft, where she would teach Kundalini yoga classes once a week. I would kriya my heart out for an hour and a half, feeling very un-fit. After all, my main source of exercise was running after chillins, all of whom had emerged from pregnancies confined to bed rest. No wonder my muscles were quivering in those early asanas. I would leave feeling triumphant. Both from the “high” I got from doing yoga, and the simple fact that I had made it through the class. Afterwards, sore muscles would be with me for days and I would say to myself, “I’m never doing that again!” I would keep saying it until the day before the class when I’d finally be able to move properly without pain. Then my thinking would shift and I’d say, “Let’s see what Mary is doing this time!” and off I would go for another hit of Kundalini.
Over time, I began to love the way I felt after yoga. That feeling began to last longer and at the same time, the sore muscles would fade more quickly. I was getting stronger in many ways. I became a less reactive parent. I began to understand how to make space for myself. I had always made time, however little, for making art. While it did not create more time, practicing yoga was giving me insight into myself that helped my art get to the point more quickly. I began to see that the quiet place I could find by messing with art materials was the same place I sought in my yoga practice. Cultivating both an art practice and a yoga practice was improving my mental health. Everyday challenges that previously left me anxious and depressed were now faced with good humor. I noticed ease in social situations that had never existed before.
One day, Mary asked me if I would consider doing the teacher training at the Energy Center, the yoga studio where she was teaching. I laughed out loud! I said, “Don’t be silly, I’ve barely practiced yoga.” I truly had no thought to do anything more than getting my act together. Yoga had revived my energy and revealed a way to get a handle on my life. From the time my twins were born I had been running a ragged marathon. Finally, I was choosing when to sprint and when to slow to a walk. A few weeks later, Mary asked me again. She said, “You should apply to the teacher training program.” And suddenly, like a switch had been flipped, I said, “Ok, what do I have to do?” I applied, was accepted and began the three-month program all in a span of about three weeks. I really had no idea what I was getting into, but I jumped in with both feet. I wanted to deepen my practice, which I certainly did. Everything was new. To begin with, the main training was in Hatha yoga, with only a segment of the Kundalini style. I had never even heard of a Sutra or an Upanishad, or much of anything else we were learning. And the practice schedule was intense. My mind and my body were opening and absorbing and I was truly transformed. I am as proud of that hard-earned certification as I am of anything I have done.
Around the same time Mary was suggesting a yoga teacher training, I had been toying with the idea of studying art therapy. I had been teaching pre-school art classes for several years. I loved seeing children discover their creative selves and their work blossom into unique forms of self-expression. I was also enjoying many fabulous art experiments with my own children, witnessing powerful moments of self-possession, growth and insight. This was also around the time that my older son received a diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism. The diagnosis was a confirmation of what we already knew; this was a child who had his own way of experiencing the world. His uniqueness created challenges for him, of course, but also challenged us as a family. And as I’m sure you can imagine, the other two children had their unique challenges to contribute as well. I had begun to realize that the gifts that allowed me to negotiate my family and my preschoolers with grace and enthusiasm could be honed and expanded. I attended an open house for the School of Visual Arts’ art therapy program and a light bulb went off! Art therapy beautifully married my skills. I knew why I made art, but sometimes wondered why I longed to connect with the viewer. I think it is because when a piece of art is successful a viewer might be able to vicariously “get” that transcendent indescribable, healing place that the artist experienced in its creation. I wish everyone could experience that flow state. I realized that in practicing art therapy I would get to help others to find that healing place in a way that could work for them. The program at SVA seemed perfect for me; I applied there and nowhere else- if I got in, I would do it, if not, well then fate would decide it was not for me. It seemed a little crazy, but I was drawn, perhaps guided, toward two intense years of grad school.
I had finished my yoga training in the Spring of 2003, thinking right up until the graduation ceremony that I had no intention of teaching. During the ceremony, reflecting on how much had changed for me, I suddenly realized that I had to share my transforming experience of yoga. I began to teach right away. I continued to study and expand my knowledge. When I began art therapy studies that Fall, I realized that psychology, yoga philosophy and art were all one endeavor for me. My thesis was on Yoga and Art Therapy with Mentally Ill and Chemically Addicted patients in outpatient rehabilitation. The study and practice of integrating these threads continues to be compelling and fascinating.
Now I am pleased to be launching YogaandArtNYC.com. I look forward to helping people heal themselves with yoga and art therapy. It has been ten years now since that tender time when I completed my initial yoga training and embarked on a new career. My twins are now college-aged and my younger son is in high school. I have maintained a strong yoga practice. I have become a member of the 440 Gallery, a collective gallery where I show my art. My depth of knowledge and experience as an art therapist has grown. I have written for the Art Therapy Journal and presented at a number of educational venues. I have creatively joined these practices in many ways. I have nearly completed a certification program in integrative yoga therapy. Like most people, I have had joys and sorrows and ongoing struggles. I am currently grappling with a challenging menopause, poised ungracefully amidst my mother’s dementia and an impending empty nest. Whew! Fodder, no doubt, for some pithy future blog posts. Let’s just say, that without my intimate affair with yoga and art I would merely be a survivor. I would prefer to think of myself as a thriver on a journey, which I hope you can now be part of as well. Welcome to my Yoga and Art NYC adventure.
Heal yourself with yoga and art!
Congratulations Karen! This is so interesting. You drew me right in with your wonderful narrative. I look forward to following your blog (bit of a blog stalker myself!). I would love to read any literature on this if you could refer me to some sources. All the best….B.
Oh Karen so beautiful! I love your story, so inspiring. You would be making your cousin and your Aunt so proud, although in life they both were tremendously proud of you all the time. Byrdie only called one person, other than Sue “amazing” and that was you (you know praise wasn’t a common quality in her world but, she was very proud of you.
<3d
Congratulations and thank you for sharing your story. Looking forward to reading about your journey.
Who would ever imagine that the insanely talented artist who built a community of creative folks (and entertained them on the rooftop over a peculiar top-floor apartment on DeKalb Avenue) would become such a strong woman, a dedicated mother and daughter, an insanely talented painter, and an innovative art therapist? You have found your path, and it is a brilliant one! Congratulations, kiddo! Hugs, Hank
Karen~Yours is a well-told story of a searcher finding their bliss. It is so inspiring! Since we met just last year at Kripalu, I have admired your intellect, grace and enthusiasm. You go girl!
Namaste,
Maryann
Karen, Thank you for sharing your beautiful narrative. Just reading it inspires me and shines a small light on the inner, healing presence. If I were in NY I would attend your program in a heartbeat. I am going to share your link(s) on facebook as I do have some Goddard contacts in the area; whether they know it or not, I believe they would thrive in your presence. I’m so excited for you. I’m sorry about your Mom; I hope your family is rallying together to support her and each other. We’ll have to talk, too, about the empty nest, combined with the power of the 5th decade. Much love, Ellen
What an inspiring description of your journey! I am looking forward to joining you for yoga and art. Its sounds like the perfect combination!
Your story is inspiring ad so beautifully told. I feel privileged to have been around to know you through some of these times.. Congratulations on bringing this site into being. Thank you for sharing yourself and opening a pathway for others. D.
Many thanks to everyone for your kind comments.
@Barbara: not much literature yet, although I know others are combining yoga and art, I guess I will have to get writing!
@Hank, that apartment was peculiar wasn’t it?
Love and namaste to you all!
Karen
Wonderful read! So poignant!
Love it!
Mary
Thanks, Mary!