Cultivating Calmness in Your Life
As an artist and yoga teacher, my life is filled with creativity and mindful movements, both helping me to find calmness in my body and mind.
There are many ways to start to incorporate calmness into your life, and the first place I’d always start is the home. This is your sanctuary where you want to feel at peace, grounded and a space to relax in. If you’ve ever looked into Feng Shui, the first thing is to always have a declutter. This helps the flow of energy around the home and also helps to declutter the mind. There’s the wise olds saying, ‘Tidy home, tidy mind’. Ok, it’s probably not that old but it’s a great one to live by. Once you’ve decluttered use soft lighting, and calming colours to transform the space into a haven of peace.
The next step is to create some sort of ritual, whether it’s in your morning routine to add some gentle movement or a short 10minute meditation, or whilst in the shower consciously taking some deep breaths to anchor you into the moment. The morning is often a time when the mind can become very busy worrying about the day or a all of the tasks you’re yet to start. This is your reminder to take a moment for yourself before the day starts, as little as 10minutes can change your whole mindset.
As an artist, I've learned that creativity flourishes in calmness. Whenever I’m busy and need the creativity to flow is when I find it’s the most challenging for me, this is where I really benefit from my yoga practice. Physically shifting the tension in my body and taking a moment to ground myself is when my imagination is able to roam freely.
If you’re looking to create calm in your life, the below books are great places to start for more sources of inspiration…