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Monday, February 8, 2010

Relax Your Way to Creative Genius

There are many benefits of a regular yoga + meditation practice that people do not realize either because they have never stuck with it or simply have not embraced the practices. One of the most remarkable is a whole new access to creativity. Our culture under-values relaxation and yet idolizes creativity and innovation. Creativity brings us closer to our Source than almost anything else. Creativity can help mom discover new ways of making the mundane entertaining for the 5-year old. Creativity can inspire the teacher in the classroom to present that same material in fresh and fun ways for their students. Creativity is the impulse behind the artist and poet but also allows the government employee to find new ways of doing things that improves the system for everyone. But how do we access this fountain of innovation and inspiration?

Relaxation is paramount to opening the door of creativity in any given moment. Tension in the mind and body serves to limit our ability to get "outside the box". In fact, "the box" is made of tension and its resulting contractions at both a mental and physical level. Sometimes we hear of creativity happening as a result of overwhelming tension but I would argue it is when the individual has "surrendered" to their circumstance that the creative solution manifests. This does not mean "giving up" but rather speaks to a deep acceptance of the here and now that opens the door to an unbounded future.

Learning to relax may be the greatest thing you could do to improve your health and quality of life and it may just awaken that creative genius that lies within each of us. You have access to a well of creativity that is only yours and I pray you are able to access it and express it in your life for everyone's benefit.

Namaste,

Steve
Yogi Jayanta

2 comments:

  1. Agreed, creativity is a fabulous dimension of life, and leads very easily to the deeply mystic sensation of being a channel for the Divine. But in my experience, it emerges best from an interplay of relaxation AND tension. True, it is when relaxing that new ideas and new forms arise. But it seems that a first phase of deliberate active focus on the question at hand is necessary to have a truly creative phase of relaxation. A bit like archery. The more you tense your bow, the further the arrow goes when relaxing the tension. Of course, the focus can in principle be done consciously, although I find that hard in practice.

    Namaste and love,

    Yann Hanumanji

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  2. Yes yes yes you're onto something.

    I'm hoping to do some neurological research on it, because nothing has been done on the connection between the two. Only one guy named Roy Horan (http://polyu.academia.edu/RoyHoran) has tried to begin putting it together in his reviews. Yes, it seems pretty obvious that it has to do something with relaxation and the non-judgemental attitude of the mind. From a scientific perspective, much more definition clarity is involved but I won't hassle you with it.

    Anyways, enjoy the creative process! I always feel so much more inspired to write after a good yoga class.

    Namaste,

    Kelly

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