Tension

TMB: For people who are creative, I think there’s sometimes this tension between doing good work and living a good life.

VL: And that tension never goes away. Balance is the most important thing in life and in film and in art. Of course, sometimes you create the most amazing art when your life is completely out of balance, and sometimes it takes finding balance to be able to move forward….Balance is the key to success in many ways. But, ironically, sometimes it’s when you’re out of balance that things happen as well….There’s no easy answer other than the fact that all experiences are creative, and we all deal with them differently. You’ll see some people who seem to have it all together and are successful, and then you’ll see some complete wrecks who also produce brilliant work. I think that’s part of what makes us creative. We’re all striving for something, and we won’t feel good until we get there.

(Check out the rest of the interview and one of my new favorite sites here.)

Being a yoga teacher means that I am constantly creating. My life and my work is art. I teach about 20 classes a week, 7 days a week. I am always creating. 

Personally, when my life is in balance, I get bored and long to "mix it up" but then my life goes whacka-do and I chastise myself for not having my life under better control.

How can I not be more disciplined? How could I let myself go so crazy? I beat myself up and get myself back on track... then... that boredom creeps up again... and we're back on the cycle.
The real challenge, I have found, is not to let the quality of your teaching suffer while going through this merry go round of life. Try to keep the classes all the same high quality from week to week. It's not like a writer who can write when they are inspired and then take time off when they're not. I better be inspired every week at the same time, same place in the same way. 
This is why I love his comment, "all experiences are creative." Perhaps the most valuable necessary skill I have taught myself over these last two years is realize that every moment is an opportunity to be inspired. You don't have to schedule a day off and head to LACMA, art is all around and so is inspiration. Sitting at Seabirds and giggling with my best friend over jack fruit tacos, driving the 1 at sunset and smelling the crisp night air, watching a favorite movie... This would be why I have now spent $25 seeing Gone Girl twice, in theaters. It inspires me. The eloquent way it was executed, the acting, cinematography, musical score... all of it an impeccable piece of art. You can feel the time, energy and love that went into every moment of the film. Being witness to such hard work inspires my own. 

Teaching... It is not for the faint of heart.