How to Stay Calm this Holiday Season and Start the New Year with Confidence! A Video from the Writing Yoga® Lab [Prompt #2023]

 

Holidays are fun, but can be seriously stressful. There is so much that we can't control, but we can control our mindset, our minutes, and our energy. By focusing on the people and things that matter most, and by honoring what we are good at doing, we can live a life that is calm, creative and compassionate. It happens bit by bit and it takes practice, but it can be done. 

Did you ever notice that when you are relaxed, ideas flow and it's easier to focus? Did you ever notice that when you are feeling confident, your body seems strong and energized? 

What I know to be true is that when we Sit, Write, and Move, each and every day, magical things can happen.

I have been sharing this mantra with my students since 2007 and it goes like this: Sit, Write and Move to SWiM through your day feeling calm, creative and compassionate.  Take it 5 minutes at a time, each day at a time.

When you combine certain poses, writing prompts and seated relaxation activities, SWiMing can...

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Mother's Day is Your Day Too! Make Your Own Creativity Retreat & Honor the Mothers [Writing Yoga® PROMPT #2009]

Before Covid, I taught several yoga classes a week and was either presenting Writing Yoga® workshops or planning them during every second of my spare time. I miss my yoga students! But I had no time to focus on doing the work I was meant to do. Now, I can serve even more people, take time to practice yoga and write more poems too.

Just a few lifestyle tweaks can work big magic. Mothers tend to be major multi-takers who put the self-care task at the bottom of the list. Mothers mother. It's what we do. Teachers, nurses, your BFF might mother you too. 

The Writing Yoga® method is a powerful way to connect with your creative self, feel healthy and inspired, and still live a peaceful life. There are many working parts but ANYONE can do the essentials: 1) SIT & relax  2) WRITE in a journal and 3) MOVE the body in some way each and every day.  Ultimately, they make us feel LUMINOUS or "Lumi" for short. Aka: Lumi Sit, Lumi Write & Lumi...

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12 Words to Boost Creativity and Why Creativity Matters

Does the word "creativity" make you think of paint, clay, and kids playing dress up?  We all start out creative, but school and adult life might make us think that creativity is something to be left to artists and geeks. Then we get to the workplace and are expected to be innovative and productive. Hmm, don't we need to be creative for that? 

Life is creative. All of it. We are born from its impulse. We grow up, thrive, and participate in the human experience because creativity is our nature. 

If you have lost your creative spark, here are 12 words to think about: 

  1. Imagine
  2. Plant
  3. Air
  4. Mix
  5. Illuminate 
  6. Collect 
  7. Shift 
  8. Stretch 
  9. Reflect 
  10. Propel 
  11. Focus 
  12. Release 

Start with your imagination. Collect your ideas and then shape them, mix, illuminate, reflect and focus on what you want to bring into the world. When you are ready, release your creation! 

Print out this post, cut out the words, and use as "creativity...

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A Word for Every Teacher and Student at the Start of the New Year: Abundance

Our principal asked us to pick a word at the start of the school year. The word would be our North Star to guide our goals, inform our lessons, and inspire us to do great work. School initiatives sometimes fall away as the year progresses, but a good administrator won't let that happen.

She didn't let that happen. We revisited our words at the start of the new year. What would your word be?

It feels poetic to pick just one word. No long lists, no big visions, no novels. I thought about it for days. Nothing felt right. If you know my work, you know that there are three words I think about a lot: calm, creative, and compassionate. It is my desire to see all students, teachers and classrooms feel that way in every school around the world.  But these words can't be separated. 

Why?  It is easy to be calm if we feel safe. When we feel safe, we are free to find creative solutions, work harder, and take big risks. Safety means we are not threatened...

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Books and Bliss: How to Stay Calm During the Holiday Season

It’s the official start of the most chaotic time of the year. Take the pressure off and read a poem, quote or chapter of a book. Bibliotherapy is one of the best ways to escape the stressful buzz of cyber Monday and nurture your spirit.

What books most inspire you?  Take one off the shelf anytime you feel the stress monster interrupting your bliss.

I’m reading the book, Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results by James Clear. It reminds me exactly of what I know to be true, that big changes happen one step at a time. And if you are a writer, Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott tells us the same thing about the writing process. Build a book, the way a bird builds a nest, one branch at a time.

Most importantly, these books ask us to take action to shape the way we view ourselves. If we think we are stressed and unable to handle the holidays, our brain will agree and make it so.  But what if you view yourself as a calm, creative, and compassionate...

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