{If I Knew by Njella Photo Art}

This is the next post in a series from our Special Guest Blogger for June – Tania Wojciechowski from manusmade. Tania has a beautiful series of posts for you on how to use creativity to reconnect with your authentic self. You can read the first post here.

In the first post in this series, I talked about those times in life where we lose our creative energy. As inherently creative people, when we disconnect from that energy, it is like losing ourselves – our essence or our authenticity. That’s not how we want to feel. When we reconnect with our creativity, it’s like we’ve reconnected with our soul.

So, how DO we reconnect? What are the steps we can take to come out of those moments? One of the best and most effective ways for me is to simply BE and let my body take control.

Let me share some of my experiences with you.

Being Trapped in Our Active Brains

I’m a thinker. I’m one of those people that is rarely bored – mainly because my internal activity and dialogue is so high, it’s like there’s a party going on in there all the time. Well, to be honest, it’s not always a party – it’s often a scolding at the principal’s office, or a competition where I am both contestant and judge, or a labyrinth of confusion/fear/uncertainty where the corridors rarely show me the way. I can (over)think my way into any situation, but rarely do I come out the other side with the answer that I know to be true and right, when I leave it to my over-active brain.

When I try to make something happen, it rarely feels right because it is forced. It’s frustrating, demoralizing, and ends up feeding some of those ongoing fears: “See? I told you you couldn’t come up with a great design today!”

I don’t mean to be hard on my mind – it’s obviously very useful for certain tasks. But when it comes to knowing – truly, deeply knowing – the way for me to reconnect with my creative self is to feel it in my body.

Getting Into Our Bodies

When you are sitting in front of that blank artist’s canvas or computer screen, or you have that carving tool poised over the blockcut and you realize your creative juices aren’t flowing, it’s important to leave your brain out of the situation. It’s time for your body to take over – to let things start to flow naturally, from the gut.

When I feel things in my body, everything flows with more ease – decisions, designs, and ideas. I’m stronger, more grounded, and move forward with an innate sureness.

The easier and more flowing things come from this state, the more confident I am that my authentic self is being expressed. The more I can get out of my head – where choices often feel forced – and into my hands – making, doing, experimenting, and playing – the better I feel and the more I create.

What are some ways we can remember to create from a place in our body?

• Breathe! Sometimes all it takes is 3 deep breaths to get grounded again. It clears the mind and resets our physical systems to get us creating from a deeper place.
• Move! Get up out of that chair! Do some jumping jacks, put on some music and shake your thang, go for a bike ride, get out your hula hoop, or go to the gym. Just the act of moving the body gets us breathing again, and moves our creative energy freom our heads to our guts.
• Creative Play! Stop whatever you are working on, and just let it go for a while. Start doodling, scribbling, and splashing paint everywhere – something beautiful might come out of this play or might re-inspire your original work.
• Laugh! Call a friend and go for lunch – reminisce and laugh until your sides hurt. Have a tickle-fest with your kids, or watch an improv group or stand-up comedian online. Laughing will bring you fully into your body – it’ll bring tears to your eyes, a smile to your face, and get you breathing more deeply (again with the breathing! There’s a reason I put it as number one!)

Finding our creative voices, and creating from a deep place of confidence, play, and ease, are important not just for our creative businesses, but for our souls.

Tapping into, and staying connected to, our creative energy and expressing ourselves from our purest, authentic selves is key to our well-being. Getting into the body will help get us there – I know it works for me.

How do you remind yourself to get into your body? Does it help you get more creative, and get the energy flowing more freely?

***

Tania Wojciechowski is the owner of manusmade, where she makes modern goods for you and your home from natural materials.

She is passionate about helping people connect with their creative super powers, joy, and their authentic self through creative expression.

She feels most like herself when playing with linen and wool and everything tactile. The more she plays, the happier she is!