Unlocking Creativity 1: Learning a Non-Judgmental Approach to Your Body

People often ask me where to start the work of coming back to your body…. the work begins with how you look at yourself.

As musicians, we are trained to be hyper critical of the work that we do. While that may work when we are working on our music, having a critical approach to our bodies is not the most helpful or beneficial approach.

If you want to build and develop your body awareness, start with asking yourself, “What am I noticing while I am doing (this activity)?”

When you receive information from your body, observe the information gently and without judgement. Let the information just be there as data. Do not criticize the information or analyze it. In fact, attempting to analyze the information will change the neurological pathway away from creative thinking into analytical thinking. These are two different pathways for thinking that cannot co-exist at the same time. Stay in the moment of making music and gathering data about your body.

In time, and I mean neurological time, not circles around the clock, your brain will analyze the data that you collected into useful information for you to do something with. This usually happens after a period of rest, or sleep.

In the meantime, be gentle and gracious with yourself.  Continue to gather data.