Qi Gong for Creatives

The ancient practices of Qi Gong and Tai Chi can be incredibly beneficial for artists and creatives, both for their physical and mental/creative well-being. These mind-body disciplines incorporate slow, deliberate movements, focused breathing, and moving meditation.

Regular practice of Qi Gong and tai chi can enhance an artist's flexibility and range of motion. This is especially helpful for artists who spend a lot of time sitting or using repetitive motions, which can lead to tightness and pain. The improved flexibility can also contribute to better posture and alignment, reducing the risk of injuries.

Beyond the physical benefits, Qi Gong and tai chi can also cultivate a sense of inner peace and focus. The meditative aspects of these practices can help artists quiet their minds, reduce stress and anxiety, and improve their overall sense of well-being. This can lead to increased creativity, inspiration, and a deeper connection to their art form.

I’ll be running a Qi Gong for Creatives virtual workshop on Thursday May 23rd if you’d like to join. Details are here: Qi Gong for Creatives.

The Art of Strength

When Chip Conrad and I sit down together to discuss human movement our discussion usually turns towards strength, art and utility. Here’s a quick little video of a recent sit down in my very own Strength Garden.

We’ll be moving, playing and lifting at our upcoming Art of Strength workshop but I have a feeling there will be a fair share of physical culture philosophy and nostalgia.

Flux Lab April Workshop

Rediscover the joy of movement and find ways to weave play and creativity into your strength and movement practice: and vice versa.

Empower yourself to chart your own path and find joy and exploration whether you are a beginner or seasoned professional. Chip and I have combined 50 years of experience teaching human movement and physical expression.

Designed for the fitness enthusiast and professional trainer, Flux Lab workshops will teach you how to reinvigorate , revitalize and reinvent your training.

Let’s develop real skills and find ways to create a better relationship with your body through strength and movement.

We use, we steal and repurpose ideas, tools and resources from the old ways. You can register here: Flux Lab Workshops on April 29-30th.

“We cultivate a way that is adaptive and alive to create a beautifully moving, adaptable and creative human being.”

— Jason C. Brown

Rope Flows for Creativity

As you know I’m a very avid reader and Creativity is one of my favorite genres to research and study. I thought I’d share some highlights from two of my favorite books and walking and handcraft and its relationship to creativity.

The above highlight comes from Handmade- Creative Focus in the Age of Distraction.
It’s written by Gary Rogowski, a woodworker but his thoughts on creativity reaches well beyond just woodworking.

The two highlights above come from Rick Rubin’s new book The Creative Act.

These are the ropes I use mostly:

Flow Ropes (Amazon Brand)

Octomoves Flow Ropes

I’ll be doing some rope reviews shortly.

Living Life as an Artist

Living life as an Artist is a Practice.

You are either engaging in the practice or you are not.

It makes no sense to say you’re not good at it. It’s like saying, “ I’m not good at being a monk.” You are either living as a monk or you are not.

We tend to think of the Artist’s work as the output.

But.

The real work of the Artist is a way of being in the world.

Thank you Rick Rubin and The Creative Act.

I write more about practice here: Every Practice has a Space, and that Space is Sacred.

Authentic Movement and Teaching

I know “Authenticity”is a buzz word right now. But it remains a great way to describe what it is that we’re searching for in our own creative movement practice or moving art.

It’s also what we’re searching for in our work. We want to present ourselves and our work as we are, authentically.

Everyone benefits when we show up as our selves. Below I share two stories from personal interactions I had with two younger coaches/teachers. Seeing them happier in their coaching/teaching profession warms my heart.

The video below is of a mentor of mine Linda from Fighting Monkey Practice.

Linda is a dancer and an incredible mover and teacher. I wanted to show you this video within the context of Authentic Movement. Now Linda could just give her students planks or push-ups to strengthen their core, shoulders and chest. Or, as she has done here, give those students something more playful, more artistic, more authentic to her own training and lineage.

Which one do you think her students enjoy more? Which one has more engagement and encourages physical expression? Which one will keep them coming back for more?

I speak much more about Fighting Monkey here: How to Get Smashed & Keep Going.

It's a shame we're outsourcing these.

It breaks me heart actually that we have and are completely outsourcing our own Creativity and Physicality.

When was the last time you allowed yourself to be bored? To let your own thoughts and imagination flow ?

I fully support learning from other folks and gathering resources and inspiration but there has to be a balance.

There has to be a time in our own lives where we stop the entertainment and channel surfing. And physically… we have basically stopped all skill work, even in relationship to movement and exercise. There is no skill associated with sitting on a seated leg extension machine and busting out some reps. Maybe useful in some rehab/prehab situations but unlikely...

Cooking and preparing our own food is a pain. We can't even clean or vacuum our own homes, we have to outsource that to little round robots. And then we complain that we have aches and pains. Yes we do, because we're doing less and less to actually nourish our tissues with movement.

We do not stop moving because we get old, we get old because we stop moving.

Creative Movement Live

My signature workshop: Creative Movement Live is an intensive training, a meeting between an artist and their body. It’s a workshop that gives you permission to be yourself fully.

Not in a way that is meant for other people or for their approval or pleasure, but your own. This workshop is about you and your creativity and physicality.

It is a workshop that ask for a lot and in return gives back just as much.

On this creative path is trust, and I’ve been blessed to help facilitate a curious, playful exploration of possibilities.

Thank you to everyone who has taken my Creative Movement Live , shown up fully, and trusted me to help guide and shape your relationship with movement, play and physical expression.

It’s your journey, your pilgrimage, but I’m so honored to have been there for you. Thank you.

Creating a Sacred Space

Every practice has a space, and that space is sacred.

Setting up your workspace is a vital part of your creative process, whether we’re speaking of creative movement or another artistic expression or practice. Your environment has a significant impact on expression.

A personal place of expression is a grounding influence and a partner through every phase of expression.

I personally envision the studio, the dojo, or the woodshed as a nucleus of creation, a source from which creative movement and expression flows outward to other areas of life and the place to which it returns again.

Personally, I maintain my artistic workspace as a sanctuary, a place at home where creative expression is nourished and regenerated.

Start by setting up your space. Your very own creative movement woodshed.

A few years ago I was struggling to find or uncover my own practice so I literally built a woodshed where I could move and create daily.

I wrote about here: Jiu-Jitsu and the Slow Track.

Exercise, Expression and Creative Movement

““I estimate that the average professional person gives much more time each week to physical exercise than to creative expression. We have discovered that health is significantly affected by how we care for our bodies. Why is it that we have overlooked the way creative energy influences our individual and collective well-being? Can you consider making a small weekly time commitment to creative exercise?

If your time is really constricted , consider how a discipline like creative movement can combine body, mind and creative spirit.””

— Shaun McNiff