Yoga & Creativity: A Brief Discussion
(Dancing while on Yoga Retreat in Bali)
In 2007 I went on a 7 day yoga retreat in Bali. And yes, it was as amazing as you’d expect with two yoga practices daily, incredible food, great company, and touring Bali. It was unforgettable.
What stands out from that trip is that the more yoga I did, the more my creativity opened up. Between yoga sessions I couldn’t stop myself from writing my heart out. I had tons of new ideas. And my dreams were rich with symbolism.
And, after a few years of a strained relationship with my favorite art form - I started to dance again. I mean really dance from the depths of my soul. I would close the door to my room, put in my ear buds and allow all that was welling up in my heart flow out through my body in joyous celebration. My dancing felt expressive in a way that it hadn’t for a long time.
Entering back into my body through yoga opened up pathways of inspiration and expression that had been blocked. It was a tremendous gift and is part of why I still show up for immersive yoga retreats and trainings.
Creativity is Natural
I believe creativity is natural to humans. We’re born with it and it can’t be taken away from us. It’s why there are thousands of years old paintings on cave walls.
We express our creativity in different ways - some people find formulas for vaccinations others make friendship bracelets out of embroidery floss - but we all have a natural creative impulse.
The reason we don’t connect with and express our creativity is that it often gets blocked inside. When your mind is constantly worrying and your body is in pain it’s hard for you to be creative. The contraction inside is so strong that creativity is squeezed away. It’s like there’s a dam in the stream where creativity should flow.
How Yoga Helps
Yoga helps open up the flood gates. In yoga you move from contracted to open. You do it in your body as you stretch and strengthen your muscles. You do it in your mind as you center your thoughts. You do it in your heart as you focus on the present moment. By the time you’ve spent an hour going through postures and centered yourself with your breath, you feel different. Parts that felt contracted are now open. Parts that felt blocked are now flowing.
When your body, mind, and heart open up, your creativity rushes forward to guide and inspire you.
Yoga doesn’t make you more creative. Yoga gives you access to your natural creativity.
Get on Your Mat to Access Your Creativity
I saw the yoga/creativity link in action in a teacher training I assisted once. A student was doing deep work to write the theme for the class she would teach the next morning.
She was so dedicated and diligent... and it SO wasn’t coming. She kept getting stuck not knowing what to say. The harder she pushed, the more contracted she got. The more contracted she was, the less creativity she had. As the time wore on she got pretty frustrated and felt defeated.
She came to me to ask how to sort it out. So I told her to set it down and get on her mat for a few minutes. She was reluctant to stop working so hard. But since that wasn’t working she decided to try some yoga.
She got on her mat and focused on her breath and her body. She was intentional about opening. When she picked up her notebook again after 10 minutes she found that the ideas that had eluded her were now pouring onto the page.
Try it out
The next time you’re stuck on a creative project, try practicing a little yoga to get your juices flowing.
Set aside a time when you can practice yoga and then go right into your project.
Let go of thinking about the project while you practice.
Go deep into your body, your breath, and the present moment while you’re on your mat.
After practice, pick up your creative project and see how it goes.
It doesn’t have to be a huge time commitment - 10 minutes can be enough to make an opening. And, don’t worry if you’re not a trained yoga teacher - your yoga doesn’t have to be fancy. I’ve included a simple practice sequence at the end of this page if you need a starting point.
What I think you’ll find (because it happens with so many people) is that just a few minutes of conscious moving and stretching in your yoga practice will get your creative juices flowing. For many people this is exactly what they need to be able to get into a creative flow.
As a yoga teacher, I’ll say the most exciting combination of yoga and creativity is when they happen together. When I’m guiding myself or others through a yoga practice the creative possibilities are are endless. The yoga is not only a tool for opening up creativity but is an expression of that same creativity. I’ll tell you, it feels like MAGIC.
Practice and Create
So remember, yoga takes you from contracted to open on many levels. And that’s exactly what you need when your creativity isn’t flowing. The next time you feel stuck and start to worry that you’ll never create anything ever again, remind yourself that a few minutes on your mat may be all you need.
Wondering how to get started?
Try this Simple Yoga Sequence to Free Up Stuck Creativity
Do 5 rounds of Cat and Cow as you breathe deeply
Hold Downward Facing Dog for 3 - 5 breaths
Do 3-4 Rounds of Sun Salutations
Finish with a minute in Child’s pose or Savasana