How To Harness Your Creativity
Yoga is a huge outlet for my creativity. When I was a kid I was always drawing, playing games and writing stories, but that all faded once I started studying and working in science/academia. It’s so indescribably amazing now to be a full time yogi; to be able to create my own sequences (for classes as well as my own practice). It’s also fun to make new shapes and try new challenges!
Here’s me being creative in some sort of half baby/ half normal bakasana hybrid. I love the freedom of expression I am able to cultivate through my yoga practice!
Creativity is Paramount to A Good Quality of Life
When I started studying at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition I learned all about the Circle of Life (see picture to right). I use this tool all the time with health coaching clients as it provides them with a great opportunity to see how balanced their life is. As I always say, you can drink all the kale smoothies you want but if there’s something key missing in your life then you’re not going to be happy or live life to the fullest.
How does this relate to creativity? You can see that creativity (orange segment) forms one of the 12 fundamental components to a happy life. You can see how creativity and BEING creative is just as important as healthy relationships / good health / a satisfying career etc.
How To Get Creative
Maybe you don’t have the biggest baddest artistic life of your dreams – yet 🙂 And maybe your job fulfils you but doesn’t give you the opportunity to get creative very often. That’s totally ok! I totally think you can live a highly creative life without making it your career.
I love and completely recommend the book Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat Pray Love so you know it’s going to be good) which is based on finding ways to harness your creativity. Even she says that you don’t have to make your creative outlet your day job. I love her concept around creativity and ideas – how “ideas are driven by a single impulse: to be made manifest”.
But what constitutes being creative? As well as being creative in my yoga, I also love arty textiles – and have just bought some materials and acrylics to make some DIY abstract art. I love free-writing too, maybe not fiction but just getting all of my thoughts and ideas down on paper which not only helps me ‘organise’ my mind, but also encourages me to actualise my ideas too.
Other ways of being creative can include (but are no way limited to): knitting, drawing, painting, macrame-ing, weaving, crocheting, cooking, visual arts, dance, expressive forms of exercise, personal style, photography and videography, music, acting, theatre, writing, learning a new language, DIY and interior design, hiking, gardening, singing…. oh I could go on forever!
Life is also about finding creativity every day. Maybe taking a new route for your commute, or exploring a new way to give a presentation at work. Perhaps it’s trying something new (like karaoke!) or finding a creative way to do something you do every day. Creativity doesn’t have to be a huge life shift; more rediscovering the magic in life one again.
How are you creative? Or what would you like to try? It can be anything from creating sculptures to singing in the shower!
