Simplicity, Eliminate Clutter, Be Real To Find Your Style

Writing is very yogic. I am reading William Zinsser's "On Writing Well" (that I'm pretty sure I read in college but want a refresher), and many of his principals of writing are similar to principals of teaching yoga.

One of Zinsser's first principals is simplicity. He says that writers need to be clearheaded and say what they want to say the simplest way. As a yoga teacher, I need to be clearheaded when I teach class. In fact, one of the most important parts of teaching yoga for me is taking a few moments before class starts to get grounded or present, so I can teach class from a clear space. To be simple in writing and in teaching yoga, we need to be clear about what our objective is. If the reader or student is confused and finds it hard to follow the writing or class, they often won't come back for more.

Another key principal Zinsser discusses is eliminating clutter from writing, which ties into simplicity. Do we really need to say, "a personal friend"? Can't we just say "a friend"? I also love his example that we don't need to say, "At the present time we are experiencing precipitation." We can simply say, "It is raining." If I give my students every single alignment cue for a pose, will they get the pose any better? They are probably more likely to tune me out completely. Where can I eliminate unnecessary words to allow students to have space for their practice and presence, instead of my voice constantly in their head? If I have a class of experienced yogis, instead of saying, "step your right foot forward into warrier one pose," can't I just say, "right foot, warrier one"?

Zinsser goes on to talk about style. Many writers are afraid that once they simplify what they are saying and eliminate clutter, it results in no unique writing style. But Zinsser argues differently. He says this is real and raw, and that is the kind of writer readers want to keep reading. I am constantly working on be "real" in my classes. You'd think being real shouldn't be so hard, but throughout life, humans are told how to behave, what to say, what others think. How often are we really "real" instead of acting how we think others want us to act?

I love these three ideas for both writing and teaching yoga: simplicity, eliminate clutter, be real to find your style. In fact, they are great principals for living your life!