Creativity
You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.
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Maya Angelou.
Being creative or having a creative mind is recognised as beneficial these days. The ability to problem solve, 'think outside the box', cope with complex situations and think differently from multiple perspectives, is useful in many life and work situations. Meditation, being in nature, and acting childlike are revered as positive steps for our wellbeing and for getting in touch with who we really are. They also allow our imagination and creativity to be ignited and flamed. A sense of freedom, expansion, and connection with our emotions is imbued in these activities and allows us to be open to new adventures and possibilities.
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Wikipedia describes creativity as 'a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is formed' and Albert Einstein said 'imagination is more important than knowledge.' Being creative and allowing yourself to be 'childlike' where all 'mistakes' are just happy accidents and meant to be is truly a lovely and special place to be. Finding the time to doodle, paint, colour or dance will start a potentially healing journey to becoming more free and in-touch with yourself. .
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Here I'm going to provide some simple exercises in dance and art that can bring you back to yourself and ignite some good, positive feelings. Getting you in touch with your inner creative and expressive voice. The more you let go and just be, following your heart, intuition and inspiration the better. Nothing is right or wrong, it's just just an expression of you.
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Art? You just do it.
Martin Ritt
Dance
Dance
Dance is the hidden language of the soul.
Martha Graham
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Dance has been scientifically proven to reduce symptoms of depression, develop a sense of self, and increase feelings of vitality. Dancing helps you switch off your thoughts and allows your physical body and emotions to engage. It is no surprise to me that all the contestants on Strictly Come Dancing, every year, rave about the fantastic time they are having and how much they have loved dancing. Dancing engages something deep within and connects to your core. It can quite simply move you.
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As well as being a personal endeavour, dancing also connects you, socially, spiritually, and internally. If you can allow your body to move and let go, you can connect to the feelings in your soul, and your body can find its voice. In my years as a Community Dance Artist, I have seen people strengthen, mature and grow through expressing themselves in dance and developing a movement vocabulary. Dance can turn people around, send them on a new course and help them discover things about themselves.
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In a spiritual sense, dance engages the four lower energy bands of the body; the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. As an art form it 'combines physical literacy with the imagination and creativity' (Linda Jasper).
Dance Healing - boost your mood
Anybody can and should dance ... it's good for the body and the spirit.
Isadora Duncan
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To bring more dance into your life, or to help boost your mood or get you over something that is bothering you, try just dancing to your favourite song, wherever there's space and privacy. Allow the music to seep into your body and try and let your body move and dance. You can select songs for different moods but for that good feeling, 'I'm invincible' mood, I like 'Can't Stop The Feeling' by Justin Timberlake or for more happiness 'Happy' by Pharrell Williams or 'Higher Power' by Coldplay. Choose songs that speak to you and then let your body move.
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The reason I trained and taught contemporary dance, in my career, was because it taught you to express. It taught you to use global, expressive movements and gave you freedom. You could choose how your body wanted to move, you could use levels, space, dynamics and gesture - anything was possible. I feel I found my voice in contemporary dance, creative
movement and choreography. To me, loosing myself in dance is to live, release, feel and just be!
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In an article in the magazine Red, in October 2020, Oti Mabuse (of Strictly Come Dancing fame) says of dance ''I don't think I discovered it - I think it discovered me.'' I like this as I believe everyone can dance and discovering the dancer inside of you is possible, as it is there in all of us - it just needs awakening. Dance can be the key to some freedom, joy and self-discovery.
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For more on 'finding your dance groove' and the power of dance to heal, read Dr Peter Lovatt's book The Dance Cure, which starts:
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When I dance, I feel different, in lots of ways; I am more aware of my emotions, I find it easier to relate to people, my mind feels less cluttered and perhaps most importantly, I feel more "me".
Art Activities
Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things.
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Edgar Degas
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Click on the links below to engage in some different 'freeing' expressive art activities. There is doodling, just allow yourself to doodle your way to a master piece! Or paint an abstract canvas in vibrant colours, letting your feelings and mood flow or download and print some mandala or butterfly colouring-in sheets (children or adults) to colour however you like.
Creativity
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Why should we all use our creative power...? Because there is nothing that makes people so generous, joyful, lively, bold and compassionate, so indifferent to fighting and the accumulation of objects and money.
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Brenda Ueland
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There are a myriad of ways to be creative and develop imagination, if dance and art aren't your thing then maybe music, poetry, writing, photography, gardening, cake baking, decorating, building lego or other constructions, knitting, sewing etc etc etc are.
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Find an outlet for yourself to explore and just be. Sense the freedom in doing what you want and creating what you like.