A SIMPLE INSPIRATION HACK
If it ain’t broke, why fix it?
How do you get inspired?
Where does your fire come from? The creativity and ideas, the newness, the sparks of something fresh and wild that we all desire to help us press forward in our personal and working lives.
When it comes to teaching yoga, my inspiration often comes from taking classes by the teachers I admire. Sometimes I head straight out of class and onto my phone notes - naughty I know - to write down what I've just soaked in.
Maybe a certain sequence feels amazing in my body that I'm keen to recreate in the future. A specific cue hits so deep and I make a mental/physical note to try it out later. Or perhaps it's experiencing the PERFECT song during savasana - I always ask for a teacher's playlist if the music resonates (it's a complement!)
When it comes to writing for you lot, I got to my post-it notes.
From the first day creating The Fig, I knew what I wanted to share and how I wanted to serve this community. I also realised that if I didn't get these thoughts down on paper right then and there, I might miss something out in the future, or forget to come back to it.
So inspired by Michelle @ Holisticsm, the Queen of Post-its, I created this beautiful mass (pictured above). A huge, hyper organised set of inspirational themes, questions, topics that I brain-dumped when I first began.
I highly recommend this practice as a way to continue to inspire yourself on the daily. It's been a saviour to return back to when I've felt creatively stuck when making community content. And situated right above my bed, I couldn't really miss it.
I had to take my wonderful map of memories down this morning, as I am currently writing to you from the air, as I make my way to NYC for my next adventure.
My next newsletter is likely to be written from my new home in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where I'm sure to be gaining inspiration from all the unfamiliar and wonderful things around me - and from my old post-its I've brought along for the ride, too.
(Side note: if anyone knows of a great yoga studio in Brooklyn that I should try out - probably practicing in a park rn - hmu.)
This week’s recs
This article's depiction of 'the stress cycle' was pretty eye opening for me. This simple explanation of how all the wonderful stress relieving tips and tricks that you learn/I share in these emails ACTUALLY WORK on a larger scale, and how important these practices are to reduce stress moving forward, made me appreciate their value even more.
It's no surprise that I'm a big therapy advocate (free for all is the dream ofc). Here is an insightful interactive article with some signposts for assessing your needs for potentially starting therapy.
What is a 'new normal' anyways?
‘In reality yoga is a practice of social justice. The practice creates expansion so we can begin to engage with bigger societal issues' - an important read about the intersection of the Black Lives Matter movement and the practice of yoga.
5 simple steps to an energetic clear out. Hint: skip to the infographic for a short & sweet overview and get ticking those actions of the list.
