It’s time to debunk a myth. Practicing yoga or qigong, doesn’t make you creative. Most kids, grow up without ever practicing either, and still are creative. I wrote short stories, and my brother took apart and put back together computers, when we were young, and we never practiced neither yoga, nor qigong, and neither did our parents. What makes us creative, is usually an urge to express and release anxiety, a way to understand our impression, answer questions and ponderings about life that we distil into art, or a wish to solve a problem with an invention. It’s even said that: “Necessity is the mother of all inventions.”, meaning that when we face an urgency, we become more creative, whether that is to fix something broken, or to make a meal only with what we already have at home. Did Einstein and Picasso practice yoga or qigong? No, but physical exercise can make you feel more relaxed and in a flow, I’ve noticed. Just like taking a nap can.

I practice qigong, to balance my enery-levels, such as to remove feelings and impressions of negativity, to pull myself together if I feel I’ve gotten into a slump, and to find clarity, so that I can be more focused and concentrated, which in turn may help during my creative pursuits, meetings, work, or studies. But, I’ve never come up with any ideas, during, or directly after, practicing neither yoga nor qigong. I might feel the urge to remember something that I need to do and write that down, since this sometimes surface.

Music and dance though, let me connect with what’s in my heart, propelling me into for example, writing poetry. I’ve developed my creativity, through advertising school and related work as a copywriter, as well as through taking dance-classes in various styles, at least off and on, since I was a little girl beginning with classical ballet, making it possible to assemble my own choreographies. In fact, this year marks the 30th anniversary since I started with Qigong and the 20th since I started practicing Hawaiian Hula (and I’ve done Yoga regularly for 22 years and danced Isadora Duncan for 11 years)!

To learn more about creativity, you can order my book here, or contact me for a coaching session, where I will help you be a sounding board with questions that enable you to find your own best answers!