Creativity heals and fosters our bodies and minds

You have treasures hidden within you – extraordinary treasures – and so do I, and so does everyone around us. And bringing those treasures to light takes work and faith and focus and courage and hours of devotion, and the clock is ticking, and the world is spinning, and we simply do not have time anymore to think so small.

– Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic

“I’m not a creative person,” you may be thinking. When the truth of the matter is, every single human being is creative, and it’s our job to tap into that feeling and commit to the practice of how we get there. When it comes to putting this into practice, art therapy is a great way to unlock the door to our innate creativity. Picking up a paintbrush, a guitar or a pen and paper is a great place to start to uncover the hidden treasures within. In addition, art therapy has many mental and physical health benefits.

Heal Past Wounds

By tapping into the creative, feminine, left-brained aspect of ourselves, we can better tap into our emotions. Often times, past traumas are locked in the body and are released when we give recognition to them. Singing, writing or taking photos can help some of these emotions arise, so we can process them and gently let them go.

Get in Touch with Yourself

If you’ve been in a bit of a fog, creating can also help you discover different aspects of yourself such as your passions, gifts and talents. By creating art, you are freeing up space in your mind, so you can listen to the heart – where logic and ego slowly dissipate, and what you truly want arises.

Ease Mental Distress or Illness

For those with anxiety, depression or other forms of mental illness, picking up a creative hobby is a wonderful healer. When art inspires a feeling of awe, it creates a lower level of particular chemicals in the brain — cytokines — which correlates with lower levels of depression. Cytokines are also necessary to heal trauma and physical conditions, such as disease and infection.

Learn Something New

Learning a new creative skill also fires up the brain. CNN reported that engaging in creative activities stimulates neuron growth, which are crucial for maintaining a healthy central nervous system.  

Learn more about yourself and the art of how creativity heals and opens the door to new possibilities with our workshop: Self-Discovery Through the Lens of a Camera on November 11 (10 am – 6:30pm). Learn more here.