Breathwork & Gateless Writing
Updates, Monica, and a Poem
When I was in kindergarten at Shasta Meadows Elementary, I wrote a story in verse about a fly. I felt the pure pleasure of the new sounds in my mouth (fly, why, lie, fry, try, sigh, die). I asked my teacher, Mrs. Farley if flies cry. She didn’t think so, but also didn’t shame me for asking. Mrs. Farley kept my wonder alive. “Let’s look it up in the encyclopedia,” she suggested. I remember the feeling in my body of realizing that writing offered me bowlfuls of words, delicious sounds, and so many questions. I wasn’t afraid. In fact, I was having fun.
For fifty years since then, I have been writing. And for the last thirty years, teaching; I work with college students who arrive to class and still haven’t finished or started their essay even after the due date has passed. When we unpack the real reasons, it’s always fear. Fear of making mistakes, being handed back an essay that isn’t passing that confirms their low sense of self. They are stuck inside and out. Where is their curiosity, their wonder, their joy? It certainly isn’t in the classroom.
But I’m really no different in the creative realm. I worked on my memoir and certain poems for years before making real breakthroughs. Why? Similar to my students, I had a huge inner critic that armored up during my MFA program. I like to call her Veronica. Veronica basically cannibalized many of my ideas or first drafts before I could hit save. Someone famous has written on the same theme. No one will care. I have nothing to offer. If I had talent, I would already be…. These inner thoughts would sidle up to self doubt. Then, my pragmatic Virgo voice (Veronica at a whiteboard.) would say something like Stay in your lane with academic writing or better yet, just grade those essays.
When I started using Gateless writing methods and Transformational Breathwork, I knew that I had found a way in: a way to write the cringy draft and withhold judgment long enough to let my overactive editing self take a vacation and not run the show. And, somatic practices like breathwork paired with writing work. Is it for “serious” writers? Absolutely, check the Gateless Writing website’s alums. It is also a way in for writers who are stuck or new to writing. Basically, the body remembers stories that the brain tries to erase or evade. Transformational breathwork allows the brain to slow down and invites the body forward. It’s a powerful experience to have and to lead in others. I offer 1:1 and small group sessions. If you have questions or feel curious, email or dm me to learn more.
P.S. Flies don’t cry, but they are way more cognitively complex than we realize.
Women’s Wellness Retreat: Spring Renewal
Thank you to all of the women who said yes last Saturday!! I had a powerful day guiding this group of women in Gateless writing and Transformational Breathwork while collaborating with Janine who provided energy healing and vibrational support with tuning forks. Christine framed our day with an opening and closing circle where she created a safe environment to be vulnerable and later integrated all we experienced. Holiday hosted us and offered a restorative yoga session that helped us move and warm up as the weather was unusually chilly. So much love for MJ at The Board Shop Mill Valley who kept us nourished.
We are all offering our various heart centered services online and in person.
Janine Cook Somatic Journeys and Ritual Facials
Kimberly Escamilla Transformational Breathwork & Gateless Writing
Christine Falcon-Daigle Transformational Coaching & Writing Groups
Holiday Johnson Private and Group Yoga instruction & SUP Yoga
Monica Moments
Many of you have met Monica, my über emotive dog that we adopted in 2016. She’s a handful, but has also healed my heart in a bunch of ways. One of those ways is continuously making me laugh with her human-like expressions. I love matching inner thoughts to her photos.
Costa Rica Update—62 More Days…
As many of you have followed me for some time, you know that while I’m in Half Moon Bay, California teaching at the nearby community college, that my husband Michael and younger son Lazlo are in Costa Rica. This is the longest we have been apart. It’s been hard and the longing comes in waves. But Michael is doing such a fabulous job single parenting Lazlo, handling our wacky dogs, and managing our home. FaceTiming has taken on a lot of importance so we can stay connected. I have been spending time with close friends and of course, my son Harrison. So each day I’m trying to both be present and stay connected to my life in Costa Rica.
Poem for the Day
Shoulders
by Naomi Shihab Nye
A man crosses the street in rain,
stepping gently, looking two times north and south,
because his son is asleep on his shoulder.
No car must splash him.
No car drive too near to his shadow.
This man carries the world’s most sensitive cargo
but he’s not marked.
Nowhere does his jacket say FRAGILE,
HANDLE WITH CARE.
His ear fills up with breathing.
He hears the hum of a boy’s dream
deep inside him.
We’re not going to be able
to live in this world
if we’re not willing to do what he’s doing
with one another.
The road will only be wide.
The rain will never stop falling.
Big Love,
💜 Kimberly
The road will only be wide.
The rain will never stop falling.
I hope you never stop sending out Big Love, and sharing your beautiful, rich, wacky, wonderful life with the world. I am forever grateful to be a star in the same constellation as you.
Deep bow, and huge hug. xoxo