The Divine Mother of Creativity

"Creativity is a means of connecting with the infinite source of inspiration that arises from within."

~Betty Roi

As we approach Mother's Day this year, I thought we might spend a bit of time reflecting on Shakti.  Shakti, when capitalized, refers to the Goddess, the Divine Mother.  She is sacred force, empowerment, creativity and creation.  The agent of change.  When lowercase, shakti is energy.  Pure and simple energy.

One of the many, many things I love about our yoga practice is that when we get into a space where shakti is allowed to flow unrestricted  it is often there that inspiration strikes.  It is there that that creative idea finally shapes itself into fruition.  Often when I'm feeling stuck or blocked - whether it is writing one of these blog posts or creating a class playlist - I'll step onto my mat for 10 - 15 minutes and flow through a few rounds of sun salutations.  It doesn't have to be anything fancy or difficult; in fact, I find that it is more about steady breath and repetitive flow that opens us up to the creative process. And, it doesn't have to creativity in the artistic sense.  I am most definitely not an artist (much to my chagrin). There is creativity in how we tackle our daily to dos, in how we drink our coffee and respond to a difficult email.  There is creativity in picking out the day's outfit or putting a pen to paper.

So, even if you don't consider yourself a creative type, as we move in class this week, I invite you to get out of your own way and allow your most imaginative self to emerge.  The one that isn't afraid to dance - with shakti or Shakti, the one that embraces the everyday creativity of life, and the one who orders her coffee exactly how she wants it every time.