L.L. Kirchner's Blog, page 115
October 2, 2014
Hello American Lady Creature
On my birthday* I got the news that Hello American Lady Creature is finally an ebook. It was like getting a birthday present and a start the New Year commemorative gift all in one. Get it here now for the low price of $9.99! And, for my delicious Kickstarter supporters, if you missed the email about your freebie, drop me a line here to get it! If you are not delicious, I’ll send it anyway. You won’t know! JK. You’ll know.
*This birthday went way better than the one I lived through in Qatar during Ramadan. Like in the book.
September 10, 2014
Ima Be On TV Doing Yoga
Tonight I’m taping a show, Carol Alt’s “A Healthy You.”
I’m excited, but not nervous, because I see this as an opportunity to share yoga practices that have sustained me through some horrifically shitty times.
Make no mistake, the asana practice — the physical postures we often think of as yoga — is a science. You can use it to release trauma from the body.
It’s not that I’m opposed to other kinds of therapy. Twelve-step recovery, of which I’m a huge fan, is basically talk therapy in a group setting. But there is a point where asking why isn’t useful, because there is no answer. There is no sufficiently good reason for shitty things that happen.
And yet life goes on, and so must we. It’s this physical practice that has enabled me to be comfortable enough in my body to explore stillness.
Stillness is where I have the opportunity to truly see my edge, and soften. Again and again. 
Only then can I be truly free of the craving mind. Total transformation.
August 14, 2014
GIVEAWAY!
Git it!
In this age of Reduce Reuse & Recycle, who doesn’t love a tote bag. Well, how ’bout this rad little number I made in celebration of my new memoir. I’ve got one I’m itching to give away, so sign up for my email newsletter and you’re automatically entered to win! U.S. only.
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Recent Posts
GIVEAWAY!
A Bittersweet Moment in Time
Belmont Book Club
NPR Interview
My 15 Minutes of Fame
August 6, 2014
A Bittersweet Moment in Time
Essentially I’m writing this post because I don’t want to forget this moment. It’s a sunny Northern California August morning, and I have the privilege of enjoying the Ellisons’ beautiful backyard, post-yoga practice, listening to Billie Holiday’s “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man.” (Mysterious title since she pretty clearly sings “that man.”)
I feel I’m nearing the end of my book tour and like it has yet to start. That’s the bittersweet part. What now? When I left India it was so clear. Scratch that, I was more willing to take risks. But life has gotten better and there’s more to weigh. I know someday I’ll end up in California. But I’m not done with New York City yet.
August 1, 2014
Belmont Book Club
Reading for a book club has to be my favorite thing. It’s also terrifying — do you really want to know what everyone who reads your book thinks?? But then, what’s worthwhile in life that was not, at some point, scary?
This group takes the cake, for longevity, engagement and panache. A book could be written about the lives that intertwine at the Belmont Book Club. This group has been meeting for 18 years. Their kids have grown up together. They have grown up together. And throughout it all, literature has sustained them. Even if sometimes it’s more goss than bookspeak, the night I got to be there they had great questions and insights.
Lynn made me a Scrabble board! I feel like Jon Stewart’s fiance when he conspired with Will Shortz to ask her to marry him through the crossword!
She added fresh peaches as a garnish to her Umm Ali…never woulda thunk it but it was genius!
The host, Lynn, made MACHBOUS! And Umm Ali!! And raita and mint/cous cous salad. AND THERE WAS A HOT TUB!
Lined up for this!
My favorite question was this: How do you have sex upside down?
There was a demonstration. Of sorts…
Being an author is the best job in the world.
July 11, 2014
NPR Interview
Is the Lady Creature a Feminist?
Guys, that headline is misleading. They weren’t asking if I was a feminist, but apparently the NPR interview is causing folks to look at the book in a whole new way. Yahoo! Because first and foremost, I wanted to tell a rich story. What people make of it, well, that’s on them. I thought the title/cover combo was a dead giveaway. But I guess, as with the best things in life, it’s complicated! Though, to be clear, yeah. I’m a feminist.
Have a listen, and let me know what you think here! (If you’re having trouble accessing WESA’s plugin, you can click below.)
http://www.lisalkirchner.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/WESA-HALCBOOK.mp3
June 18, 2014
My 15 Minutes of Fame
With all the technical difficulties, my half hour on the BBC turned into 15 minutes. Well, I couldn’t be more… CHUFFED! Despite that I had to listen to Jo on the phone and then speak into the microphone, which meant I was hearing an echo throughout, she made me sound coherent. Very impressed with Jo Good! Have a listen here:
http://www.lisalkirchner.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Lisa-Kirchner-w-Jo-Good-on-the-BBC.mp3
June 16, 2014
Surprise! People Love Yoga!
I know I’ve been teaching a long time. What you might not know, unless you know me personally, is that I never set out to be a yoga teacher. But I had such great teachers, then these opportunities came up. So I started teaching their teachings, and amazing things happened. Beyond the change the practice has wrought in my life, I get to see my students transform through all kinds of trying situations.
And as this “Yoga for Getting Over It” grows, I keep getting asked for more. Like videos. So I’m taping some tips and tricks, as and when I can. xL
June 13, 2014
#halcbook Is Not Exactly Rock ‘n’ Roll
So the #halcbook tour is off and rolling. WOW.
We launched at the fabulous Gallery at LPR (Le Poisson Rouge), we staged a play I’d written, ingeniously titled, Hello American Lady, starring (from left to right), Mindy Pfeffer (not pictured), Katherine Wessling, Katherine Conaway, Dina Plotch and Michelle Ciotta. It ran smoothly, thanks to direction from Tyne Firmin (not pictured).
That’s me signing books, which is one of the coolest things ever to happen to me. Well, that and Adrienne Cooper who’s sitting next to me. Native New Yorker, runs her own food and historical walking tour business (Fun Foodie Tours), and all around gal you want in your corner.
Greenpoint Press had a reading at KGB downtown. Fabulous night!
I got to do a reading at the Word UP bookstore in Harlem.
Then it was time to head to Pittsburgh. Hartley is not a huge fan of the car.
But he rallied when we got to my parent’s gym and saw this sign!
Or maybe it was the special coffee maker the original lady creature bought me.
Then came the day of the Pittsburgh launch. We all had our prep to do.
Worth it! I saw friends from high school, college, and even Doha!
Then the book actually came out, and started appearing all over!
Then it was back to New York City and how much do I love McNally Jackson? THIS MUCH.
And then last night, I got to present the book to the library that’s three doors down from the heat-leeching Victorian I loved so much in Edgewood, at the CC Mellor Memorial Library.
And I’m off and running again. This is what delivery of 100 books looks like.
Chicago, here I come!
June 9, 2014
How Much Do You Love Last Week Tonight With John Oliver?
After blowing the lid off “net neutrality,” which admittedly I’d totally ignored, John Oliver has done it again. This time, for soccer. Or, more specifically, for FIFA.
As a typical American with very little interest in soccer, or football for that matter, I’ve been amazed at how the FIFA World Cup may be doing for human rights what years of earnest blogging has been unable to achieve. So I want to thank John for putting it in terms even I can understand. Watch all 13 minutes to get the button.
