Interview With Author and Yogi, Molly Chanson: Connecting to Your Inner Teacher and Transforming Your Life

After five years of writing her weekly inspirational email, Monday Mantra, American writer and yogi, Molly Chanson’s new book releases on May 8th. Yoga Wise: 365 Days of Yoga-Inspired Teachings to Transform Your Life is published by Llewellyn Worldwide, the largest independent publisher of books for body, mind, and spirit. It will be available in paperback and kindle. Chanson is also the author of Fallen Star: A Return to Self through the Eight Limbs of Yoga (Shanti Arts, April 2022).

How would you describe the story you tell in Yoga Wise?

In Yoga Wise, I use yoga philosophy, recovery, and my own experiences as a woman, parent, and spouse, in order to demonstrate how every answer we seek is available within. We are all more capable than we think. No matter how lost we feel, or how much we have betrayed our own hearts, it is always possible to return. In fact, the journey is made more beautiful when we embrace all parts. Yoga Wise is a way to discover your own inner teacher, so you can live as your truest self.

What inspired you to write this book? 

My readers inspired me! I started writing a blog and weekly email the same year I was getting sober and divorced. I was also practicing yoga every day. As I shared my experience, pain, and insight, I fell in love with telling my story in hopes that it would help others not feel alone. Friends and strangers emailed me and told me how my writing helped them. So I kept writing. I came up with the idea for a daily reader because I noticed themes in my writing which I thought would fit nicely into an accessible book. A little nudge from the Universe, as well as encouragement from readers has culminated into this beautiful book. 

Why did you choose this name for your book? 

The book was originally called “The Daily Practice.” I named it this because my yoga membership is called “The Practice,” and the book is meant to be read at the pace of one page per day. The team at Llewellyn brainstormed many ideas and came up with Yoga Wise, which I absolutely love. 

What can you share with us about some of the main themes of the book? 

The book takes the reader through 12 months and 12 themes. I chose the themes based on the path of healing and transformation that has worked for me. I use yoga philosophy like Saucha (cleansing) and Pranayama (breath). I also use my own themes which I found important on my journey such as “The Body” and “Unconditional Love.” While the book is about yoga, it is also about addiction and recovery, eating disorders and body image, and relationships. The final month and theme is my favorite – we end with Dharma (transformation). 

Were there any chapters that were difficult to write? 

Yoga has been with me my entire life, and it became a profound spiritual experience about 8 years ago. I have studied, trained, and researched under instructors and scholars whom I admire. A pesky question always arrived while writing: Who am I to write this? I want to impart the wisdom and lessons from yoga to the best of my ability. And the best way I have found to do this is to share my experience and how the practice has transformed me. 

What do you hope readers take away from your story? 

“You can!” One whole chapter is dedicated to rewriting stories – and I find this to be the most powerful practice. When I am disturbed, sad, or anxious, I ask what story am I telling myself? It’s usually something terribly negative like: You can’t; You’re not good enough; Who do you think you are?  We tell ourselves so many lies based on our experiences, and we become free when we have the courage to look at our stories and consider whether they are true today. 

When did you begin writing this book? 

I started writing my blog and weekly emails in 2017. I wrote the book proposal for Yoga Wise and submitted it to the publisher in 2021. I completed the first draft of the manuscript in 2022, and it is being released in May 2023.

Describe where you did most of your writing for this book and what were your writing habits. 

Stacks of books covered my kitchen table for months while writing. For this book, I had a firm deadline from the publisher, so I broke it down into pages per day. I mostly wrote at my kitchen table early in the morning – I got up before the kids and lit a candle. I did a meditation and then started writing. I got 2 hours in before the kids woke and got ready for school. I also wrote on weekends and evenings. I wrote on airplanes and in hotels. I wrote at a ski lodge while my kids were skiing, and on a beach while my kids were swimming. Thank goodness for laptops. 

What were your greatest challenges in writing this book? 

I loved and loathed all the research! I used Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras which is a very complex body of work. I studied and read books by so many authors and yoga instructors, and I did not want to get their words or their teachings wrong. My biggest successes throughout the process were when I read something from the sutras and could apply it to my own experience–when the ancient texts gave validation and explanation to something that had happened to me while practicing yoga. The way yoga weaves into my recovery and relationships always astounds me.

Which authors inspire you? 

Stephen Cope, Pema Chodron, Jhumpa Lahiri, Octavia Butler, Amy Tan, and Virginia Woolf.

What 3 tips advice do you have for aspiring women looking to write their first book?

1. Start and keep going – one page a day adds up to an entire manuscript.
2. Be committed – be willing to miss out and know you are honoring your heart.
3. Edit, edit, edit. There are many drafts, and then many more after that. The practice of writing includes writing A LOT that won’t be in the book. It also includes taking criticism and feedback and using it wisely. 

What are you working on next? 

I am in the exploring stage of my next book project, and I think it will have something to do with Dharma. 

More About Molly:

Molly Chanson, MA, is the mother of two teenage boys, has practiced yoga for over thirty years and completed her teacher training at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Massachusetts. She is an educator, writer, and entrepreneur who earned a master’s degree from the University of Illinois Chicago. Molly is the founder of The Practice, a yearlong online yoga course that teaches yoga as a path to transformation. She is the author of Fallen Star: A Return to Self through the Eight Limbs of Yoga (Shanti Arts, April 2022).

Contact links for Molly Chanson

www.mollychanson.com / email: molly@mollychanson.com

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