As someone who is often creating class plans, workshops, trainings, retreats and social media posts I am very familiar with those days when inspiration is just not flowing. Those moments when you know you need to create something but have no idea what to share, the mind goes blank and for me the world (and life) suddenly seems very flat.
As an only child I vividly remember times when I was at home on my own with no one to play with just staring out of the window, bored witless. Boredom and lack of ideas about what to do about it was my most hated emotion. In that sense a lack of sibling actually served me to be able to get myself out of it and come up with some ideas of what to do!! Now I see that experience was a gift.
If you can relate to any of this and would like some ideas on what to do when lacking inspiration, read on….
Find Your Rhythm
Firstly I have discovered inspiration comes in waves and it’s very normal to have periods with no ideas. I find as a women this happens monthly with my cycle. I am usually most inspired in the “Spring/ Summer” of my month. Equally that is the same with my day. I have my most inspired ideas first thing and if I don’t write them down or do something with them then as the day progress I often loose confidence in them or simply get distracted by other things and forget them altogether. You will have your own rhythm of inspiration so it’s noticing these waves and when you are “in the ideas zone” to make a note of them. This then comes handy when you are lacking imagination. You could start an inspiration journal that you can refer to when you need a helping hand.
Journal
I find journaling about how I am feeling and what I am learning personally a great source of inspiration. Added to that I might pull an oracle card and reflect on that which can be a helpful prompt. If you are looking for ideas for a class or workshop theme here are a few journaling questions that I find useful:
What have been my biggest lessons in life?
What do I love about yoga?
What have I learned from my practice of yoga?
Who are my favourite inspiring teachers and why?
Where are we in the wheel of the year and what is happening with the moon and other planets? This can be a great source of ideas as it’s relevant to what is happening energectically right now.
Why Don’t You?
For those of you around my age you might remember the kids TV show “Why Don’t You?”. They had the best strap line….Why don't you just switch off your television set and go and do something less boring instead?
I think we could replace “TV” with “mobile” and “laptop” also. Sometimes when lacking inspiration the best thing to do if go our for a walk or do something else completely different.
Julia Cameron who wrote the Artists Way shares the fun idea of taking yourself off on an “artists date” as a way to unlock your creativity. You make a list of things you love to do, maybe that you haven’t done since you were a child or somethings you have always want to do, big or small. Then you schedule in a date with yourself to do it. It really feels like a big act of self care doing this and when you do things just for the sake or fun it’s amazing what inspiration flows when it’s ready.
I have my most inspired ideas when I go out for a walk, sit on the beach or under a tree,
Inspiration from others
I have many inspirational, yoga and poetry books on my shelves. When I need help with finding a spark I dip into them. I might read a chapter, a quote or a poem and then reflect on how I can bring that to life and make it my own. I might journal of what it means to me and look for any experiences I have had that relate to it.
Something from nothing
Honestly there are just sometimes when I can’t get there, I am going to teach a class in the evening and I have no idea what I am going to teach or share. In these cases I just trust in the practice. I trust that from connecting with our bodies and breathing slowly something good will come. I trust in the spaces of silence I create, an idea of something to say will come, and if it doesn’t that is ok too. Silence in our busy world can be just the medicine we need.
On days like this I also ask the class what they need and then base what I teach on that. I guide the room to consider why they have come to yoga, what do they want to get from it and then set their own intention around that. Remembering I can trust the practice to serve people in the way they need, I am just guiding it. I don’t have to know it all or have all the inspiration all of the time, I am only human.
Finally sometimes you just need to start, to put pen to paper and see what flows. This blog post has come from me sitting at the screen not knowing what to write, so I thought “I just write about that, my experience right now!” I hope you found it useful.
