Creativity has many faces. You can be creative on your yoga mat, creating yoga sequences; in the kitchen, preparing meals with what you have; on a canvas with oils, acrylics, pieces of string; on sand or dirt, on paper with pencil, watercolors, ink, and not just painting, but writing!
Yes, creativity comes in many forms, and it can be not only practiced but enhanced, just like any other skill.
I’m an engineer by trade, yet my creativity comes from my heart and soul. My yoga teaching springs from those too. I see the body movements from the perspective of a beautiful well-oiled machine, every joint has its own movement. Creativity comes into play with ways to get into the same posture in a way that first feels good to my body and then it makes sense for the next pose, and so on, just like a dance. Also, I use a lot of images, you’ll hear me say “imagine that you are holding a block” or “imagine that you are laying down in nice warm sand and your body is sinking until you feel completely at ease”.
Intuition is a big part of my teaching, and way of moving through everyday life. It can be nurtured through practice, meditation and trust.
When I bring that into nature everything works perfectly, it just becomes part of the place, it belongs, it’s like hOMe. The depth of connection between art and nature holds for us is magical. It’s free, wild and true, it comes from within.
Feathered Pipe offers not just the land, the beautiful mountains, trees, water, clean air, but you’ll also find the energy of all the yogis that have been there, all the teachers, the body workers, the magic makers, the bakers, and the dreamers. Yes, you can feel them all there!!
I guess that’s why it makes sense for me to go back. There we can create movement on our mat, on the lawn or trails. We can create art by making a mandala, on the ground with whatever nature gives us, like pine needles, fallen leaves, pinecones, … that’s where creativity comes to play.
I sometimes show students how to create a mandala on paper too.
The word mandala means “circle” in Sanskrit.
A mandala is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Asian cultures. It can be understood in two different ways: externally as a visual representation of the universe or internally as a guide for several practices that take place in many Asian traditions, including meditation. In Hinduism and Buddhism, the belief is that by entering the mandala and proceeding towards the center, you are guided through the cosmic process of transforming the universe from one of suffering into one of joy and happiness.
For me drawing a mandala brings everything I love to do into one moment, a joyous moment!
*Special thanks to Melina Meza for the featured images!
ABOUT TERESA GONZALEZ:
Teresa Gonzalez is a yogini, lover of nature, with creativity at the center of her heart. She is also a lover of movement; cycling, hiking, swimming, dancing and especially yoga. She brings over 20 years of experience in Vinyasa, Restorative, Yin, and Gentle Yoga.
Creative expression is also one of her gifts and she enjoys creating art by painting on canvas, paper, walls, on a t-shirt, or just drawing a Mandala in the sand, using her fingers and toes, and decorating them with sticks and stones that she collects nearby. She believes meditation is an important daily practice, in any way; a mindful walk, sitting, breathing, etc. This is one of the many tools that supports her teachings.
She loves to teach her students how to find peace and joy in their lives.
She wants to share with her students the adventure and peace, the flavors and smells, the warmth of the sun and the cool water the ranch has to offer. Awakening all the senses to take it all in. Opening the heart with yoga, and inviting restful sleep with meditation. Waking up to beautiful sunrises to fill up the inner vessel of beauty.