Tell Me All About It: Q&A with Roseanne Harvey

Happiest of Mondays, bloggies! Today, I'm overjoyed to be starting the week off right by posting the second installment in my newest blog column, "Tell Me All About It," a Q & A series with individuals who *inspire* me (and from whom I want to learn!). This month we're chatting with Roseanne Harvey, the voice behind the acclaimed yoga blog, It's All Yoga, Baby. 

All images courtesy of Roseanne Harvey

Roseanne is a former yoga magazine editor who started It's All Yoga, Baby (IAYB) in 2009, after her magazine closed. She started IAYB "with a mission to spark conversation and inquiry into the practice," and writes about all things related to yoga (obviously!). She "believes in the yoga of service and engaged living, and [her] blog is a space to put forward an expansive view of what yoga is and can be...[it is] the world seen through a yoga-informed lens." Roseanne is based in Montreal and is also a yoga teacher, consultant, freelance writer, and editor. I am inspired by her witty, thought-provoking blog posts, her passion for yoga, and her willingness to be an outspoken voice that often critiques the "commercialization" of yoga.

Read on for the inside scoop and all things Roseanne + yoga....


Why did you start blogging? Why have you continued to do so?
I started It's All Yoga, Baby when I found myself unemployed after the yoga magazine I'd been working for (Ascent) closed in 2009. I wanted a way to keep up my writing practice and stay connected to the yoga community that I'd tapped into while I was at the magazine. I also wanted to have a place to explore my own thoughts about yoga, find my voice – as editor of Ascent, I had to often speak for the magazine and write in the already established tone and voice. But I wanted to discover what *I* had to say.

I've kept doing it because it's infinitely fun and rewarding. I took a six-month break last year to focus on other projects, but I missed blogging more than I'd expected. Now that I'm back, I'm here to stay.

Where do you find inspiration for your blog posts?
I spend a lot of time reading other blogs, scanning social media sites, monitoring Google alerts. I find inspiration in whatever yoga conversation is happening at the time. I also find inspiration in other media sources (for example, last year's TIME Magazine's Person of the Year issue ("The Protestor") inspired a post about "Yogi of the Year: The Protestor." I'm also inspired by what's happening in my own yoga practice, and in my community.

What's your writing process like?
Slow and painful. I take notes, write lists, rearrange, rewrite. If I start to feel really stuck, I get off the computer and write a first draft by hand – that usually helps me focus and reenergize.

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How do you try to live a mindful, "engaged" life? 
The little things: eating organic, being involved in my community, taking time for self-reflection. I find that being a good friend and a good listener is a powerful and humbling practice. I just spent two years serving on the board of a radical youth organization committed to health and social justice – I approached this as a practice (being committed, not giving up when things got uncomfortable and rough) and it was one of the most engaging things I've ever done.

If you could study under anyone for a year, who would it be?
It's a tie between Michael Stone and Judith Hanson Lasater. Both are teachers I respect and would love to learn from.

What's your favorite book and why?
Raymond Carver's Where I'm Calling From. I love short fiction and every piece in this collection is brilliant.

How do you stay balanced? How do you unwind?
Balance is a challenge for me -- I have a tendency to get involved in too many projects and not leave myself time to do things like eat and sleep. Of course, yoga helps me stay balanced, as does exercise. I see a healer regularly, and she keeps things in check on an energetic level. My favourite way to unwind is to go out with friends – dancing, seeing live music, burlesque, performance art.

If you were exiled to a desert island and could only bring 3 things, what would they be?
My laptop (even on a desert island, I'd find a way to get online; also, I'd load it up with photos of my previous life and write on it if I couldn't get on the internet), a little Ganesh statue I've packed around with me for years, and my cat.

If you could give one piece of advice to new bloggers, what would it be?
Just do it! Blogging is an iterative process, so keep doing it and your voice/worldview will emerge. Connect to other bloggers in your niche (and if you're not sure what that is, just find other blogs you love to read and comment regularly). The best part of blogging is the relationships you'll develop.

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Former and beloved IAYB banner image by Montreal artist Jonathan Himsworth.

Want to learn more about Roseanne and It's All Yoga, Baby? Here are a few quick links:

Blog: itsallyogababy.com
Twitter: @itsallyoga_baby
Facebook: facebook.com/itsallyogababy
In print: 21centuryyoga.com (a book that she's co-edited with Carol Horton about yoga culture, practice and politics; available September 2012)

Thanks for taking the time to tell me all about it, Roseanne!

Have any requests for other inspiring people that you'd like me to feature in this new series? If so, let me know!

Namaste,
Mary Catherine