Where to find your Inspiration
I’ve been thinking about Inspiration lately. Thinking about it. Not feeling it.
So of course, that’s WHY I’m thinking about it. I’m going through the motions of modern life. I’m showing up and staying awake. I’m listening to the hearts of my children. I’m going to the gatherings and talking with folks I enjoy.
But when it comes to writing anything new for you. Or creating the next yoga sequence. Or coming up with what to make for dinner (again). I’m finding myself at a bit of a loss. It’s not terrible of course, not total burnout. Once I get over the initial hump I DO get excited. Especially about teaching and coaching, not so much about dinner.
I’m just not quite where I’ve been before, drawing on a deep well of inspiration that feels like it’ll never go dry. Now it feels a little more like drawing up buckets of mud before plunging into cool clear waters.
So. Thinking about inspiration, wondering about it, writing around it. And here’s what’s come:
Inspiration can come from anywhere. A beautiful piece of music, a question a child asks, a quietly spoken request, witnessing a heroic act. Anything can inspire. But if it’s really gonna take root, it has to have a place to land in your body. If you’re not in your body when the music is playing, you’ll miss the inspiration. It’ll drift right by.
Embodiment is the key.
Those times when I feel least inspired are the times when I’m the most in my head; the times when I’m furthest from my body. So if I want to experience inspiration, I’ve gotta get into my body.
Anything will do. Dancing, running, yoga. A good strong workout, a swim in a cold mountain stream, or a hot shower after a long day. Any movement will do it. But there’s a secret here too. It’s not really the moving that’s doing it. It’s something else.
Your Breath
The ladder back into your body is your breath. It’s right there in the word: INSPIRATION. To inspire is to breathe in. Even if you could never move your body, you can still be embodied. Simply breathing is enough. Breathing, really knowing your breath is where inspiration is anchored.
To fill your body with breath is to fill your body with life. To fill your body with life is to return to a natural vitality, buoyancy, and capacity where inspiration can play. Now there’s something to consider. Now there’s something to breathe with.
If you’ve lost your inspiration, start here: Breathe. Move if you can. Be back in your body, and follow any little thread that lights up when you get there.