Boost Creativity With This Yoga Sequence
Practice these yoga poses to unleash your creative side.
Occasionally, everyone feels a bit uninspired and unoriginal, no matter how you spend your time. A creative slump can make you feel like you’re just going through the motions with no big ideas or moments of inspiration. It’s vital to keep your brain active and aware, not stagnant, by coming up with ways for it to be productive and creative. Yoga can help you get those inspirational juices flowing again! Try the yoga sequence below and see what new, brilliant ideas come to light in that brain of yours.
1. Lord of the Fish, Arms Flow with Breath
Crossing one leg over the other (foundational leg can be straight or bent), bring opposite arm over top leg for a gentle or more intense twist. Use your arms to flow with the breath, allowing movement and inviting creativity and imagination to awaken.2. Seated Wide Leg, Lateral Flexion Flow
Separate both feet for a wide seated posture (tuck one foot in toward the hips for a more gentle version). Starting with the right side, place the right hand on the inside of the right foot and laterally bend sideways. Again, use the breath to flow in and out. You can remain in a static stretch as well, but the invitation is to awaken your senses, so try flowing flowing in and out of the side bend before switching sides.3. Wide Leg Forward Fold, Heart to Earth
Staying in your Seated Wide Leg stance, place your hands in front of the torso on the earth, and allow your spine to stay straight by leading with your heart. Stay at your edge using your breath to surrender into the posture (feel free to use a block beneath your hands, forearms, or forehead to make this gentler). If the heart can connect to the earth, melt down and rest.4. Seated Bound Angle Forward Fold
From Seated Wide Leg, place the soles of your feet together, or as close as you can get them, coming into Butterfly Pose (or Seated Bound Angle). Inhale and lift your biceps by the ears to create a nice long torso. Reach towards the sky, and then forward fold your torso. Flow up and down with your breath, no hurry. Simply allow your breath to move you.5. Chair Flow to Standing Forward Fold
Slowly come up to standing, or Mountain Pose. Inhale to Upward Salute (arms lift overhead), and then hands come through to heart center as you hinge at the hips into a forward fold. Bend both knees deeply into a Chair Pose squat as you simultaneously “sweep” the earth with the back of your hands, and gently raise up to a standing cactus arm Backbend before coming back to Upward Salute. Continue this mini Chair flow for as long as you’d like. This will awaken your entire body and get the oxygen to every part of your body and brain. As you warm up, each posture and transition becomes deeper and more exaggerated (deeper squats, forward fold, back bend etc.).6. Standing Wide Leg Forward Fold Twist
From standing, step the legs four feet apart. Hinge at the hips, and keep the spine long as you lower down into a forward fold. Use the breath to flow from a deep fold to halfway lift, then fold. Plant your right hand in between your feet as you twist to the left. Option to clasp the left ankle for a deeper twist and inversion. Inhale back to center and switch sides.7. Optional Headstand or Arm Balance
If you really want to get the juices flowing, this is a great place to get upside down in a headstand of your choice, an arm balance, or a sequence of the two. You can take a Tripod Headstand, a Supported Headstand, or use the wall. If arm balances are part of your practice, try one of those. Breathe and explore wherever you choose to go.8. Camel with Reaching Arms
Finding your way to a kneeling posture, take your knees about hip-width distance apart. Keep both palms pressing into your low back, or reach back for both heels as you press the pelvic bone forward. Open your heart center and allow the collarbone to “lift” towards the sky. Explore and play with releasing one arm at a time as you flow with your breath. Imagine opening your heart to all the creative potential within you. Create space and vitality in your heart and core center.9. End in Child’s Pose
Gently releasing Camel Pose, place the knees together or apart, and slowly come into Child’s pose, by placing the forehead on the mat or a block. Allow your shoulders to relax by turning the palms upward. By practicing this yoga sequence to boost your creativity, you have created lots of space in every area of your life!
All images courtesy of YogiApproved.com.
