3 Yogic Practices That Support a Creative Life
Through my creativity coaching group and the mentorship program I am part of, I have been give the opportunity to share an article about how yoga can support our creativity.
It has been published in “Psychology Today” and “Thrive Global” together with other amazing tips from my creative fellows. I am very grateful for this opportunity and feel humbled.
Here is what I wrote:
“While we all know the benefits Yoga can have on our body, mind and spirit, in this post I would like to talk more specifically about how Yoga can support our creativity. Let me share three yogic practices that I have discovered to be helpful in my creative process.
1. Prana, also known as Life Force, is the energy that keeps everything alive. In essence, it is the creative power. Prana runs in our bodies through certain channels and therefore so keeping these channels clear is essential for the creative energy to flow.
Sun Salutation, which is a repetition of 12 poses connected through movement and breath, can support this flow. Movement helps stimulate Prana and blood flow creates heat which can burn away physical and mental blocks, and ignites the creative and transformative fire in us. I usually start my day with Sun Salutations or I do a couple of rounds whenever I feel my energy is stagnant and I need to get back into my creative flow.
2. The right side of our brain is associated with creativity and the left side with logic. We all have one side that is more dominant than the other, yet using both sides of our brain is important for our health. Alternative Nostril Pranayama is a practice in which we direct the flow of Prana and oxygen to one side of the brain at a time while restricting it to the other side.
Done at a certain intensity and in a certain number of rounds for both sides, this practice can stimulate connections in that portion of the brain that might be dormant or less used, and so improve creativity and logic. I prefer to do this practice at a higher intensity in the morning, which is more stimulating, and at a lower intensity in the evening, which is more balancing and calming.
3. Research has shown that creativity gets activated the most when in deep states of relaxation when our brain produces Alpha, Theta, and Delta brainwaves, which are frequencies below 13Hz. Yoga Nidra, also known as Yogic Sleep, is a practice that helps slow down brainwave frequency. This is a guided meditation that includes focusing on the breath, on specific areas of the body, and on certain visualizations while setting an intention. The point of the practice is to be awake while entering a sleep-like state, where creativity and new pathways in the brain get activated. This is one of the most effective meditations I have personally encountered and I like to practice it at any time of the day.”
Hope you’ll find these tips interesting