Wanderlust Meet Maude Hirst: Unlock Creativity with Mindfulness
Sit down to Maude every Thursday at 1:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 a PT on Wanderlust TV while she takes over the LIVE studio to host her Exploratory Meditation class.
A few months before the lockdown, I went to a Vipassana retreat (10 days of silence and 10 hours of meditation per day) and this lockdown felt like a global vipassana. We all have to sit in the unknown and recognize what is important to us. A time to feel which relationships are healthy and which ones need work. When we sit insecure and realize that we cannot cling to the good or the bad, the past or the future, we simply need to get present and ride the waves as they are presented to us.
In terms of personal growth, this period was a gift in many ways, but for many people it was also a time when their creativity seems to have been put on hold. Oddly enough, when we have unlimited time to create, it can actually slow down our creative flow and lose us where to start. Does that sound familiar to you?
I had waves of those feelings during lockdown, a few weeks of energy and ideas and other weeks completely lost looking up at the sky and feeling the enormity of what was going on. Through this wave of creative ups and downs, I discovered the mindfulness practices that helped me re-use this creative flow – that's why I wanted to share them with you.
MINDFULNESS TECHNIQUES TO UNLOCK YOUR CREATIVE FLOW
Create a beautiful morning ritual from which creativity can arise.
1 – morning pages
Inspired by the book "The Artist & # 39; s Way" – have a notepad by your bed and as soon as you wake up in the morning, take your notebook and write 3 pages of Stream of Consciousness without removing the pen. It doesn't have to make sense, you're not writing to even read it back. You simply put your unconscious thoughts aside to unlock the creativity hidden beneath.
2 – A 10 minute meditation
- Find a comfortable meditation position. This can be sitting cross-legged on the floor or in a chair with your feet firmly on the floor
- Close your eyes and focus your attention on your breath. You will notice the cool air that enters your nostrils when you inhale and the warm air that comes out when you exhale
- Start to deepen your breath
- Take your awareness to the top of your head and start slowly scanning through your body (like an X-ray) to become aware of the physical sensations and emotions that are present in every part of your body
- When you get to your toes, turn back so you can begin scanning your entire body upward
- Repeat this up and down slowly – really give yourself time to feel until your alarm goes off.
- Notice how your body and mind feel now after just 10 minutes of silence
3 to 10 minutes of coherent breathing
- Find a comfortable sitting position on the floor or on a chair
- Close your eyes and start to become aware of your breathing
- Exhale all of your breath
- Start inhaling through your nose for 6 seconds
- Exhale through your nose for 6 seconds
- Inhale and exhale steadily for 5/10 minutes to 6 and watch your body sink into a state of calm
4 – Put on your favorite music and DANCE like no one is watching
- Make music. Either optimistic or a little slower and more sensual, depending on your mood
- Get up and feel your feet firmly on the floor
- Close your eyes and connect with your breathing. Gently slow your breath to a low, steady pace
- Start tuning into the music and without your mind getting in the way, let yourself begin to move in any way the body wants you to
- It doesn't matter how you look, it's just how you feel
- Do this for at least 10 minutes so that you can overcome any uncomfortable sensations or worry about what it might look like and feel completely free
- Dance like nobody is watching
Creativity is not something to look for outside of yourself. It is something that is cultivated from within. You have to take care of your inner world to create the space to unleash this creativity.
The secret to unleashing creativity is not to wait for the big idea to appear, but to develop simple and fun practices that will make it easier to get started.
Take part in my brand new monthly Your Body, Your Mind, Your Goals, Mindfulness Membership where we explore all of these practices with a like-minded group of wonderful people and find out how mindfulness in a number of forms can enable you to unlock your potential .
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Maude is an actor who became a yoga instructor and exploratory meditation instructor, advanced theta healer, and founder of the EnergyRise mindfulness company. She came from an on-screen life and hid behind scripts and characters. Yoga and meditation were a turning point to rediscover and reveal their true strength. Her passion now is empowering others to do the same.
Maude teaches yoga, meditation and healing worldwide, conducts retreats and online courses.
She believes that by unlocking the truth of your inner world, you can heal your individual life experiences and use them to strengthen your way of life.
It creates a safe, exploratory space in which you can discover yourself.
Check out her work here and follow Maude on Instagram.
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