Over ten years ago my life took a dramatic turn. I left the security of a corporate career to start doing anything but that. I didn't know exactly where I was headed. I was just headed in the opposite direction and fast. I started reading the Artist's Way by Julia Cameron and followed her book to the letter. It helped unlock part of myself buried by my drive to conform to external ideas of what was normal, stable and successful. As part of my journey I started working with an acting coach, Richard McKenna, in semi private classes. Immediately, he assigned daily exercises that included free movement and meditation. The whole idea was to help remove my censor through the daily practice and free up my creative self. I did what he told me to do to the letter as well. As part of this process, I started painting again (I'd spent much of my childhood painting surrounded by artists) and explored some Kundalini yoga in addition to getting back into high intensity boxing and strength classes. I started reading about Kundalini and realized I was waking mine up. Although I doubt it's completely open, I do know it's no longer dormant. I'm not an expert in this area and would never pretend to be. However, I could feel something powerful energetically alive again and I found a part of myself waiting to we woken up. I eventually got enough work together to have an art show which I named, The Kundalini. There was a lot of painting with my nudie bod' on the canvas as the paint brush. My work kind of sucked. I sold one painting. But the process is what was most important. The awakening. I had been living from my neck up since starting business school at 19. I was seriously blocked from my creative self for several years.
Kundalini is a psycho-spiritual energy, the energy of the consciousness, which is thought to reside within the sleeping body, and is aroused either through spiritual discipline or spontaneously to bring new states of consciousness, including mystical illumination. Kundalini is Sanskrit for "snake" or "serpent power," so-called because it is believed to lie like a serpent in the root chakra at the base of the spine. In Tantra Yoga kundalini is an aspect of Shakti, the divine female energy and consort of Shiva.
The power of kundalini is said to be enormous. Those having experienced it claim it to be indescribable. The phenomena associated with it varies from bizarre physical sensations and movements, pain, clairaudience, visions, brilliant lights, superlucidity, psychical powers, ecstasy, bliss, and transcendence of self. Kundalini has been described as liquid fire and liquid light.
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I could write a book about exercise and movement and removing creative blockages but instead I'll just summarize the way I approach it. I've worked with accomplished writers, artists, directors and loads of creative types. But I do believe that anyone needs to have their creative centre alive and well to be CREATING the life they want.
So my advice is vitality important for artists but equally important for the survival of everyone's creative life force which to me is the same thing as spirit.
First, we need structure in the way we try to remove creative blocks. Many artists lack structure and therefore can flail during blocks. Scheduling appointments with ourselves to move, workout, practice yoga is a vitally important aspect of helping our creativity flow. It can be an anchor for meditative movement and a disciplined approach to making work.
We have to wake up the muscles around the root chakra to wake up our creative centre. This requires excellent pelvic floor engagement, strength in the pelvis and butt muscles and extra strong lower abdominal muscle fibres to create a container for the powerful creative energy we all can manifest. Many people say they have no lower abdominal strength. It is merely a function of our ability to use our brains to send signals to these muscles. In creating the pathway from our brains to the muscles around the Kundalini we are building an energetic pathway from our primal creative life force up to our intellect so we are no longer just using just ourselves from the neck up to create. By building this energetic pathway and by building a strong container around our Kundalini we can then strengthen our abilities to tune into our creativity. A strong connection between our root energy and our brains eventually manifests as a feedback loop, our intellect and physical beings in balance.
But guess what? Sitting at a desk all day actually shuts down this area and these muscles. Most people now sit for work all day and this leaves many people feeling blocked creatively. This powerful creative energy lies dormant and even stagnant.
The cure? Set up a time to come see me for a private, come to one of my classes or if you're not in my area, we can do a remote coaching session. Everyone needs a slightly different approach depending on how weak the mind body connection is and long someone has lived with being out of touch with their body and pure life force.
All the best in your journey creating the life you dream of.
Jane
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