Elevate Your Art with Yoga
When we talk about yoga, many of us think of physical practice. We visualise ourselves in a studio, thrusting our hips forward into a downward dog, or stretching our legs toward the ceiling (or both).
But yoga is more than just asana—it's also a tool for growth and development on every level. Yoga helps you become a better artist by improving your creativity and efficiency. Here are several ways that regular practice can help elevate your art.
Recharge Your Creativity
To truly elevate your art, you must deepen your relationship with yourself and your practice. Your yoga practice will help you to learn how to let go of judgement, which is key for artists who are looking for inspiration.
Yoga can also help you focus on the present moment; many artists get stuck in their heads, thinking about what they did or didn’t do in the past that prevented them from creating, making it difficult for them to begin again at any given point in time.
If you start by practising from a place of devotion, as opposed to fear or self-doubt (which often leads us back into our heads), then it becomes easier for us to create new work without judgement.
In addition, yoga can help overcome creative blocks by helping us reconnect with who we really are—our true essence beyond labels and thoughts—and this helps us see ourselves clearly so that we may discover what brings us joy rather than trying desperately not be judged by others around us who don't know what makes sense for our lives right now.
Practice Witnessing
Witnessing is the practice of being fully present in the moment. It's important to witness your thoughts as they come and go, without judgement or attachment. In other words, it's about being open to new ideas and letting go of old ones.
When you witness your own thoughts, you are more likely to be able to see things from a different perspective than usual—such as by noticing that one thing can have many meanings or take on many forms at different times and places in life—and this gives rise to more flexibility in how you respond when challenged by others.
Witnessing helps us learn how our minds work so that we can use this knowledge toward betterment rather than allowing our emotions (which tend toward extremes) dictate every decision we make.
Witnessing also means keeping an open mind; not just hearing what someone else has said but considering their point-of-view before responding so there isn't any miscommunication between parties involved in a conversation.
Yoga Helps Your Brain Reach a Creative State
Your brain is a muscle, and just like any other muscle in your body it can become stronger with exercise.
Exercise helps your brain reach a creative state by increasing blood flow to the frontal lobes of the brain, which are responsible for creativity and problem solving. This helps you think more creatively.
The physical practice of yoga can also help you reach a more relaxed state where you're able to get better sleep at night because yoga lowers stress levels and improves sleep quality. This will help improve concentration throughout the day so that you feel less stressed when trying to solve problems or come up with creative ideas in your daily life.
Yoga can Improve Your Artistic Skills
Yoga is a powerful tool to help you find your creative voice, in whatever form that may take. Through the practice of yoga, we can discover our inner strength and develop a deeper understanding of ourselves.
This allows us to bring this newfound strength into our work as artists by giving us the confidence and freedom to be who we truly are.
Yoga can also provide us with an outlet for self-expression through movement or sound, helping us express ourselves artistically on an entirely different level than we normally would.
Yoga helps foster clarity through meditation and mindfulness techniques that allow us to think more clearly about our art, leading to better decision making when creating projects or designing solutions for problems at work.
As a result, it's possible that yoga could improve your artistic skills as well as help you become more productive overall.
Yoga is an art form like no other. Whether you're a writer or painter or photographer or dancer, when you practice yoga regularly, it will have a positive effect on your creative process in many ways from improving concentration and focus to reducing stress and anxiety. If nothing else, consider taking up yoga to improve your health and well-being.
