I have been an avid yoga enthusiast for several years now. I started when I saw an insane post on Instagram of a guy pouring a cup of tea with his leg behind his head while standing reading a magazine. I couldn’t even touch my toes.
I’ve also loved writing for as long as I can remember, so much so, that I’ve made a career out of it. I used to write stories, create fantasy worlds or make up imaginary characters. Creative writing brought my imagination to life.
Creative writing and yoga can both take your mind to a state of presence and fuel the imagination.
Here are five ways that yoga and creative writing, two seemingly different activities, can complement each other.
They Create Balance
Yoga and creative writing can be a mental yin and yang of sorts for each other. When you’re practicing a yoga flow, you’re concentrating on your breathing, you’re accepting the thoughts and feelings that come into your head, and accepting that not knowing all the answers is fine, because you’re focused on being present.
However, creative writing is all about finding and creating answers. What happens next, what’s going to happen in the future, and what’s going to happen to this character, are all questions flying around your head. As you can see, through both practices, you’re allowing your brain to go deeply in opposite directions.
Both Encourage Enjoying the Journey
Both yoga and writing are very similar in this regard. Both practices have a start, a middle and an end and you are the primary character, or protagonist, in both.
It doesn’t matter what happens along the way, whether you change your practice halfway through or the story completely changes, you’re in control of your own mind and body. The point of each is to be with the journey, whether creating a story, or practicing an entire class. There will be moments when things flow easily, others that are challenging, or feel blocked, but the process is rich in self-discovery.
Exercise for your Body & Mind
Yoga is one of the best physical exercises you can do for your body, without even mentioning the enormous mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits there are also. Creative writing is one of the best exercises you can do for your mind, especially just before you go to bed. It is a richly mentally stimulating activity and the act of letting one's imagination run wild, while still needing to craft a complete product or story, is solid exercise for the mind. Yoga, while more physical than creative writing, also encourages mental fitness, as a mind and body connection is crucial for the performance of the poses.
It’s a Moment to Catch Your Breath
Today, we all live in a fast-paced world that’s full of distractions, whether it’s a smartphone in one hand, our boss shouting at us in the other, or children, partners, lovers, friends, or strangers buzzing around us and to us; it can be hard to get a moment’s break. David Thomas, a Personal Coach and a writer at Assignment Help, comments: “Both yoga and creative writing give you the opportunity to unwind, disconnect for a little while and have some well-deserved time to yourself”. Furthermore, yoga is a practice focused on the breath. It is literally a moment to breathe, while writing is more a symbolic moment to breathe.
It’s Yours
How often can you say that about something? Whether you’re writing or practicing yoga, your practice is your practice, and that’s all that should matter. You’re going into your own world where you can truly be yourself, without fear of judgements of others and there’s no right or wrong way to do anything. It is your sacred practice and your time. Your writing has the same beauty. No one else has power over your imagination and creativity. When you immerse yourself in creating a world or story with your imagination, it's a deeply personal experience.
Both can be powerful ways to get to know yourself and discover the person that you are and want to be.
Conclusion: Using Tools to Combine Your Yoga & Writing Practices into your daily routine isn't always easy and it took me several years to get to where I am today. However, making time to enjoy both each day can be powerful!
Here are some tools that can help you along the way:
State of Writing - writing is always better when you can master how to do it properly, something you can do using this online blog.
Essayroo - an online writing service where you can speak to professional writers who can help you improve your writing accuracy.
Academadvisor - an online blog full of writing guides you can follow to make your writing perfect.
As you can see, there are many ways yoga and creative writing fit together perfectly. All you need to do is start by making 10-minutes a day for each, or more if you can, but even just 10-minutes of writing and 10-minutes of yoga can be a noticeable difference in your well-being.
By Gloria Kopp
Gloria Kopp is a personal coach and a psychology writer at Ox Essays. She also works as a content writer and editor at Best Australian Writers writing company. Besides, Gloria writes a Studydemic blog where she shares her guides and articles with international students and educators.
Practice this yoga class to spark your creativity from yoga teacher and author, Claire Petretti Marti!
Yoga to Spark your Creativity