Can Creativity Reduce Your Stress? Yes
Welcome!
Unsure where to channel your creativity?
Do you believe in a myth that you have no creativity?
Want to add more spark to your life?
Read on
7 Steps to Creativity and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
Not long ago, I returned to a yoga class with a beloved teacher. She’d spent a few years away, helping grandchildren and overcoming some health issues. During her sabbatical, I took other classes and found my way to child’s pose, but I’d forgotten the difference a good teacher makes.
In addition to being a loving and kind person, the two things that really set Mary Pat apart from other yoga teachers are her focus on foundational alignment and creating an intentional practice that raises the level of your spiritual life. Both correlate to creativity.
With proper alignment, a body opens more freely and unleashes new possibilities for movement, strength, and flexibility. The same is true with our creative selves. It’s wonderfully freeing to splatter paint on the paper, but it’s even better when the artist is prepared with a color palette and paper that can handle the texture and type of paint used. A writer can write a series of sentences, but when they’re prepared with some sort of foundation, whether it be an outline or an idea or theme, the writing flows more freely. Supporting one’s creative practice with a foundation helps it grow.
Preparing a space to create is similar to making space on a yoga mat. In my first class back, Mary Pat began by creating an intentional environment for the class. She briefly outlined the seven principles of mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., the creator of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and suggested we approach our yoga practice with these principles in mind.
The principles: non-judgement, beginner’s mind, trust, non-striving, patience, acceptance/acknowledgement, and letting go/letting be, can also be applied to creativity.
Let’s break them down.
1. Non-judgement: Creativity thrives when we silence the inner critic. Non-judging allows you to explore. It makes space for experimentation, “bad” drafts, and play.
2. Beginner’s mind: Beginner’s mind invites wonder and possibility. It helps you avoid clichés, find new angles, encourages risk-taking, and urges curiosity.
3. Trust: Creative work requires trusting your instincts—whether it's choosing a color, a word, a note, or a concept. Trusting your process keeps the flow going. Believe!
4. Non-striving: When you're overly focused on the end product (publishing, selling, performing), creativity dries up. Non-striving brings you back to the joy of creating for its own sake.
5. Patience: Creative breakthroughs often come slowly. Patience helps you stay with your process during dry spells and revisions, allowing deep ideas to emerge.
6. Acceptance/acknowledgement: Acceptance helps you work with what’s really there—not what you wish your skills or materials were. It keeps you grounded and reduces self-sabotage, allowing authenticity to come through.
7. Letting go/letting be: Creativity is blocked when we cling—whether to an old idea, fear of failure, or perfection. Letting go frees you to pivot, revise, or completely reinvent your approach.
Maybe reaching for all seven feels like too much. Take your time. Something, like a yoga class, might surprise you. Mary Pat and her yoga classes help unleash my creativity.
Find what helps you.
Big News!
I’m running my first art booth in over 30 years! Instead of jewelry, I’m offering cards, oracle spirit decks, candles, and more goodies to spark your soul.
If you live in Colorado, stop by the Elks Lodge on September 27 from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
There will live music, food, and other vendors. Come for the fun!
1321 Blue River Pkwy, Silverthorne, CO 80498
College Essays!
If you know someone who needs help with college essays this fall, email me. I have three spots left on my roster.
AI
won’t cut it!
Check out other coaching options all the options on my website, and contact me if you’d like a private art, writing, or journaling workshop.
carriebrownwolf.com
Quotes for the Soul!
“The creative process is a process of surrender, not control.”
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes… including you.”
Remember
If you need help developing a creative practice, I’m available as a creative coach.
Bonus Free Gift.
Email me a question or creative topic that interests you, and I’ll mail you an original spirit card.
Thanks for reading. Creativity is not a command performance, but I hope you’ll stay and become inspired. If you know someone interested in creative endeavors, please forward this on!
Yours in spirited creativity,