When you feel stuck creatively, make your body move!
We’ve all had those times when we feel stuck. You’re trying to write, or draw, or paint, or do something creative and you’re just blank. You got nothing. The best way to get out of that stuckness is to move your body. Both Eastern and Western science agrees!
When you exercise, your body releases a number of neurochemicals that affect your brain:
- dopamine: the feel good chemical that improves motivation and reward
- norepinephrine: part of “fight or flight,” but improves alertness and focus
- serotonin: improves mood and regulates sleep quality
- endorphins: also feel good, while acting as natural painkillers
This combination of focus and improved mood can help you write/create from a relaxed place. I find when I feel stuck, I am not relaxed, but rather stressed. When I move my body, I can let go of trying to “figure it all out.” I can come back to the page with clarity, calm, and creativity.
As an acupuncturist, I see dysfunction in the body as a problem with Qi flow. Qi is the energy that flows through the body. When you feel stuck emotionally, it means your Qi is stagnant and not flowing the way it should. Stuck Qi also shows up as tight or painful muscles or joints. Stress, anger, and frustration all lead to Qi Stagnation. When you move your body, you move your Qi, and you reestablish free flow.
Regular movement
Regardless of how you see your body, exercise will free up your creativity when you feel stuck. I find my best ideas come from when I’m NOT trying to think of something. Like with meditation, when you get quiet inside, the answers arise. Have you ever had a great idea while driving or in the shower? These are times when you are focused on things that don’t take a lot of effort, so your mind relaxes. The best ideas come from that relaxed state.
Moving your body regularly, whether you run, swim, bike, or practice yoga (or something else) helps keep the neurochemicals flowing. A little bit of movement every day, or most days, is enough to fuel your brain.
Last Friday, I did 12 minutes of weight training before I taught my yoga and meditation class. I found that I was more creative with the flow and with the subsequent guided meditation. Creativity fuels my yoga practice, both personally and professionally, and when I can let my mind go, it’s always a better session.
But I don’t have time!
This is the biggest lie we tell ourselves, next to “I’ll just get gas in the morning.” There is always time to move your body, you might just have to see your time differently.
Nothing clamps down creativity like stress. If you feel pressured by a deadline, it might feel like you just need to sit down and get it done. Unfortunately, the more stress you feel, the more blank your brain. Multiple areas of the brain are responsible for creativity, and when you feel stressed, your “lizard brain” takes over. “Fight or flight” will make you alert and focused, but there is no creativity there, only survival.
To get out of fight or flight, you need to get back into your body. You can do this with a few deep breaths, or you can move. Go for a walk around the block. Do 5 Sun Salutations. Stretch and breathe for 10 minutes. It doesn’t take much time to switch out of your lizard brain and back into your body, and movement helps.
A short yoga practice
Here is a quick little yoga practice that you can do at your desk or in a chair to get you out of your head and back into your body. Move, flow, and breathe, all from your seat. I recommend a chair without wheels, but if yours has wheels, please lock them so that your chair doesn’t roll out from under you.
Before you start, notice how you feel, both mentally and physically. When you finish, check in with yourself again. It’s amazing what a difference 15 minutes can make!
More short yoga classes coming in December!
Even if you have a regular exercise routine, so often during the holiday season, you may put it on the back burner as other things take priority. Shopping for gifts, for food, and going to holiday get togethers so often steals the limited time you have for yourself.
The Holiday Burnout Solution offers three 15 minute classes a week (9 total classes) to keep you connected to your self-care when you are short on time. You can take these classes either live online or on demand whenever you can sneak them in. Slow Flow Vinyasa, Mindful Core, and Stretch & Breathe will give you the strength, stability, and peace you crave during a potentially overwhelming time. Click the button below for more information or to sign up!
