the creative yogi

Last summer my brother, Philip, and I took a ceramics class together. He (which then passed on to me) fell in love with ceramics in high school and it's something he and I continue to bond over. I won't get into the unexpectedly raw freedom that comes with a wheel of porcelain, but I will talk about a thought that class created. One of our assignments was to read "The Creative Habit" by Twyla Tharp. (Get a hold of it and read it. Especially if you are creatively (or have aspirations to be) driven.

In the essay she discusses the power of habit. In creating and maintaining a habit to begin anything from the day to a practice session to a moment of creativity, we allow ourselves to progress more quickly and efficiently. Basically, the power of routine.

As I mentioned it in my other blog, but I am now a working not-so-stiff. It feels really good and freeing to be in a routine that I like and isn't school. I love school, and I plan on going back someday, but I was really ready for something different.

I'm not great at routines, because I see them as constricting if I don't have flexibility. But I've always wanted one I like. So, with this job, I have created a simple morning routine: I do yoga.

I was converted to Yoga when I lived in Virginia and did Bikram Yoga. Sadly, there isn't a Bikram studio close by, so I have been doing small half-hour sessions via the Yogamazing podcast. It felt good, but I didn't think much about it until I skipped my routine last Friday. It was really ridiculous how useless I was. I couldn't focus and my day was way less productive than the rest of the week.

Lesson learned: Whether routine, yoga or both, I'm sold on my morning ritual.