Enhance Your Creativity With Your Yogic Practice

Yoga and Creativity

Yoga and creativity are inextricably linked. Yoga practitioners worldwide can attest that their daily practice serves their creativity well. So how are yoga and creativity connected? After all, one is a physical and mental discipline, and the latter a manifestation of innovative thoughts and ideas. But what seems like the ultimate mismatch, is in fact deeply entangled. Both can lead to a newfound enlightenment. Creativity needn’t necessarily be painting, sculpting or writing a novel, one can be an artist in the smallest of his or her endeavors from doing chores to planning out an afternoon. People are creative when the things they do are executed with passion, imagination, a sense of humour or a new approach.

What can yoga do for creativity?

To access the deep seated creativity within us, yoga can influence one’s body and chakras, mind, ego and focus.

Body and chakras
Yoga increases bodily and spatial awareness. Pranayama and other breathing techniques pump oxygen into the body and increase renal and cerebral blood flow, causing the organs to function better. This energised circulation as well as the inner massage from the asanas cleanses and rids the body of toxins and stimulates creativity.

The first and the sixth chakra are strongly linked to creativity. Stimulating Muladhara, the root chakra which grounds us, gives us the confidence to express ourselves. The sixth chakra, Ajna or the ‘third eye’ is associated with intuition connecting the mind and psyche, to unleash the subconscious creativity within us. The second chakra Svadhishthana is often referred to as the source of sexual and creative energy.

Mind
Yoga also creates mental awareness. The meditative aspect of yoga helps eliminate unnecessary thoughts cluttering the mind, freeing up valuable imagination real estate. When the mind is clear, ideas will flow easily and freely. The best inspiration comes from a calm mind that is free of constant distraction.

Breathing techniques are also known for their effect on banishing negativity. A mind free of dark thoughts breeds clever ideas without playing devil’s advocate and dismissing what may be constructive or worthwhile ideas.

Yoga practice also makes one mindful and subject to meta thinking (thinking about thinking) when in the process of creating. The importance of this is that one is constantly made aware of the background, possibilities and limitations of their new work.

Ego
We’re all well aware that ego (consciousness of the separate personal self) hinders innovation. Yoga can help you surrender your ego and give into the creative process. One things that severely hinders the creative process is the need to control it. Drop the ego and immediately one is less defensive, more open minded and more creative.

Focus
Yoga also increases focus, which can benefit your expression of creativity. This enhanced focus is the reason many people practice yoga early in the morning to feel more centered and productive during the day. Yoga will calm you and aid you in concentrating on what matters and shifts the focus to your art.

The key to using yoga to unearth your creativity is to practice regularly and train your body, mind and spirit. That said, even short bursts of yoga around fifteen minutes before you embark on any creative pursuit will help.

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Photo credits: leshoward, dalydose on flickr

Living Foods: Adopting a Raw Food Diet

Many yogis and yoginis the world over are joining the raw food revolution, that is preparing and eating meals centered around raw foods. Foods are raw if they are uncooked – never heated above 42 C/118 F degrees, unprocessed – as fresh and to their true form as possible, and organic – with no irradiation, preservatives or pesticides.

A raw food diet is a good way to detoxify the body. When practiced properly, it can eliminate toxins or other contaminants that are stored in the body’s fat and cells. Raw foods are also nutrient packed and are alkaline. In general, our bodies are too acidic and alkalis will neutralize them and introduce more oxygen into the blood, lack of which causes many diseases. Raw foods are also low in fat and sugars and can help one lose weight or just become healthier. Other benefits include less mucus in the body, better skin and hair, more energy, improved clarity of mind, better muscle and joint function and prevention of cancer and heart disease.

One of the disadvantages of raw food however, is that it’s hard to get the required energy (calories) from a purely raw lifestyle. Another problem with being 100% raw is that it takes more effort than preparing regular meals and meals or ingredients are harder to acquire all the time like when on the move, at work or spending time with friends.

So while we would never advocate a completely raw lifestyle, we know that incorporating raw foods into your diet can bring about significant changes to your physical and spiritual self.

But why not cook?

• Cooked foods are low in digestive enzymes, as heat destroys them but they are required for proper digestion.
• This will make you tired and sluggish, like you feel after a heavy cooked meal and sends your body into overdrive trying to make its own enzymes for digestion.
• Destroys life force. Raw foodists believe that raw food is live food with energy, while cooked food is dead. Similar to how a raw fruit or seed continues to grow or ripen, but a cooked one decays.
• Applying heat to food changes its ph balance it acidic. Acidic bodies are poorly oxygenated and therefore disease prone.
• Destroys vitamins, nutrients and turns minerals inorganic and therefore hard to absorb.

So if you’re thinking of adopting a raw diet into your lifestyle, consider these and choose foods that have straightforward ingredients, are easy to digest, full of nutrients and vitamins, and are not highly processed or complex.

• Start with buying organic. The difference food grown without added preservatives, hormones or chemicals will make in your life is magnanimous.
• Be gradual. Make healthier choices. Begin making and eating salads and sorbets and smoothies, lettuce wraps, dips and slaws.
• Get juiced. Jampacked with enzymes, organic minerals and vitamins, fruit and vegetable juices will give you vitality. Your immune system will be boosted. Don’t buy the bottled stuff either, squeeze your own and make different healthy variations. Plus you can take it anywhere with you for bursts of energy throughout the day.

Avoid poisoning by getting informed. Some foods must not be consumed raw as they can be toxic. Remember, awareness about the benefits and risks of the raw lifestyle are important as you take up the challenge but relax, eating raw is good for you, your body and your surroundings, it oft endorses the compassion aspect it shares with yoga as most raw foodists are also vegan and it is an excellent way to purify and simplify your life and diet.

This article is brought to you by YogacaraShop.com – your source for special Yoga Apparel, yoga inspired clothing, comfort clothing clothing designed according to the Colors of the Chakras and the best trendy, high quality and comfortable  Fitness Apparel do visit YogacaraShop.com

*Photo credits: Wild Tofu, su-lin, massdistraction, Food Thinkers, on flickr

Boost Your Energy with Yoga

In our previous article Boost Your Mood, we wrote about various ways to consciously lift your spirit and get you out of a slump. When you’re feeling gloomy or stressed, yoga, as a holistic science, does wonders to alleviate any mental and emotional blockages as well as physical. Here are some classic yoga poses that will help fight fatigue, boost energy and make you feel great.

Here are some yoga poses that will help

Adho Mukha Svanasana or downward facing dog

An excellent stretch that will rejuvenate the body and mind, by stimulating the central nervous system.

• From a position of all fours with your wrists under your shoulders and knees in line with your hips. Curl your toes under and lift your backside towards the ceiling.
• Elongate the spine and straighten the knees, spreading the fingers evenly and pushing down from your forearms.
• Let your head hang and try lowering your shoulder blades and broaden the collarbone. Look at your stomach.
• Pay attention to stretching the thighs and arms but using the abdominal muscles to keep the weight off them look towards your feet making this a resting pose.
• Try lowering your heels to the floor as much as you can.

Uttanasana or forward bend

Maximise your stretch and loosen up tight and tired muscles.

• From a basic standing pose or Tadasana, exhale and hinge forward at the hips towards the ground.
• Allow the head to hang, and place your palms flat on the floor near the feet.
• As you breathe in this position, with each exhale release a little more fully into the forward bend.

Virabhadrasana or Warrior II Pose

Named after a fierce warrior, this powerful pose will strengthen the body and improve mental capacity.

• Starting with your legs wides apart arms stretched out, turn your right foot to the right, keeping your hips and arm facing straight ahead.
• Start bending the right knee till your thigh is parallel to the floor.
• Keeping the shoulders directly inline with the hips, look over your right hand, reaching out with the fingertips of both hands.

Pavanamuktasana or wind relieving pose

This pose eliminates gas trapped inside the large intestine, aiding digestion and circulation.

• Inhale and raise one or both your legs so they are perpendicular to the torso.
• Bend the leg or legs in the knees keeping them together with toes touching.
• Keep the belly pressed with the thighs and clasp the folded legs with both your hands.
• Now bending the neck, raise the head and fix the chin between the knees.

Balasana or Childs pose

Many will admit to doing the child’s pose when they’re in a funk. It’s what I call a nourishing pose, almost foetal in nature that relaxes the body and regulates blood circulation.

• Kneel on the floor bringing your knees to hips width.
• Lean forward, bringing the torso to rest on the thighs and keep the forehead to the floor.
• Arms may be stretched forward in front of the head or backwards towards the feet.

This article is brought to you by YogacaraShop.com – your source for special Yoga Apparel, yoga inspired clothing, comfort clothing clothing designed according to the Colors of the Chakras and the best trendy, high quality and comfortable  Fitness Apparel do visit YogacaraShop.com

Photo credits: Kelly Loves Whales, myyogaonline, Piez, monathematrix, tarnalberry, on flickr