When is the last time you stopped to think about your body?
As a writer, a creative…a human.
At our Vagabond Voices Creative Community, our inspiration revolves around creative seasons. And…there’s a ‘season’ that is just about the body—remembering you have one and reconnecting to it.
So, whether the season is one where it feels like winter is melting all around you, or summer is going to sleep--whatever side of the globe you’re on, join me today for a celebration of your body. It’s healing, it’s good for your creativity (and good for your writing).
This year, as we enter the creative season of ‘the body’ I’ve got a blog post for you with ideas for tapping into your body for healing and creativity.
And I’ll have a few words of wisdom from a fantastic book I finally finished reading: The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, brain, and body in the transformation of trauma. by Bessel Van Der Kolk.
How is a book on healing trauma relevant to our writing and creativity?
Here is what I know:
So many of our artforms, our modes of creative expression actually help us heal.
They are a part of what helps us survive as individuals and cultures.
Even when the unthinkable happens.
Or when it’s all around us.
They make us strong. They make us whole.
They bring us together--and they are our human tradition.
Celebrate these with me--whether you’ve experienced trauma or not.
Help keep these creative acts alive and share them with others.
For all of us.
Here are a few ways…
(PS--consider reading this blog post with your pen and journal ready).
Tell your story with your body…through journaling.
If you’ve been around here for a while, we’ve probably already had this discussion, but it’s worth saying again (and again).
When you journal--with a pen and paper--when you write something stream of consciousness about yourself, your reality, you are doing something incredible.
Suddenly, your body picks up the pen and paper and collaborates with the deepest parts of yourself--the unspoken, the unknown.
A creative act follows--perhaps you tell a story, perhaps you write something more experimental. Maybe you only notice the messages in your writing later--when you read your words again.
Either way, you uncover parts of yourself that you probably would have never voiced if you were speaking--even with those you are closest to. You’ve explored inner parts of yourself that you certainly wouldn’t share in a blog post or on social media.
But,
For those of us who already write all day, or work in words when we teach or translate…
It can be a beautiful thing to bring in other forms of expression.
And many of these forms of creative expression take place…in and with your body.
Your body, your creativity, yourself--the smallest steps first.
“One of the dearest lessons from contemporary neuroscience is that our sense of ourselves is anchored in a vital connection with our bodies. We do not truly know ourselves unless we can feel and interpret our physical sensations.” --Bessel Van Der Kolk
Do you have your pen ready?
Here’s a chance to let your body and mind come together for a bit.
Mind and body writing prompt:
What are some of the smallest possible ways you can imagine reconnecting with your body?
What did you come up with?
In The Body Keeps the Score there are explorations, stories, and research about all kinds of ways to stay in touch with your body. Such as?
Yoga, expressive dance, theater, improv EDMR, collective movement, music…
These kinds of activities bring us back to ourselves.
They change who we are.
They change what we create.
“Our sense of agency, how much we feel in control, is defined by our relationship with our body and its rhythms: our waking and sleeping and how we eat, sit, and walk define the contours of our bodies. In order to find our voice, we have to be in our bodies--able to breathe fully and able to access our inner sensations.”--Bessel Van Der Kolk
Speaking of rhythms--who wants to hum, sing and dance along?
Do you have that pen around still?
And your notebook?
Good.
Mind and body writing prompt: (it’s ok to pick one or write them all).
Think about music, rhythm, dance… What comes to mind when you think of these words? Write anything?
When is the last time you tried any of these? Relive the memory--right now in your notebook.
Is there something you need a little more of in your life right now? What could you do to bring it back?
“Music was a backbone of the civil rights movement in the United States. Anyone alive at that time will not forget the lines of marchers, arms linked, singing “We Shall Overcome” as they walked steadily toward the police who were massed to stop them. Music binds together people who might individually be terrified but who collectively become powerful advocates for themselves and others. Along with language, dancing, marching, and singing are uniquely human ways to install a sense of hope and courage.”
--Bessel Van Der Kolk
Theater, comedy, improvisation…
Ok, none of these is my strong point, but…just because we are not used to expressing ourselves a certain way does not mean they cannot be healing.
And, of course, any new way of bringing your deepest self and your body together can bring a new perspective to your life--through a new creative language.
Mind and body writing prompt:
When is the last time you attended a show, a play, a bit of improv?
When is the last time you acted anything out?
Does the thought terrify you---or sound like fun?
“Acting is an experience of using your body to take your place in life.”
--Bessel Van Der Kolk
Paint, collage, doodle…
Many of the members of our creative community love switching to a way of creating ‘without words’ for a while. A chance to become engrossed in a means of expression that is, once again, the body meeting the deepest, unspoken parts of yourself.
To tell a story--if you want to. Or just to be.
I didn’t find much research in The Body Keeps the Score on these topics.
But sometimes you live a thing--and learn how it works later.
If you’d like to join us for future creative journaling prompts with painting, doodling, and collaging suggestions, be sure to sign up for the newsletter here. You’ll also get invitations to our future free live workshops.
How will you remember your body during this creative season?
Let me know in the comments.