Holidays stressing you out? Well….us too.
Did you know that studies show that just 20 minutes of creative activity a day can measurably DECREASE your stress level, sometimes by a significant amount?
Here is what we recommend:
Draw:
Drawing can be a simple as picking up the nearest pen and paper and just having a go. Start with a goal: doodle for 20 minutes. No thoughts about meaning or composition, just pattern. Let the pattern grow on the page. Add color, more lines, simple symbols. Whatever you want. Take time to doodle each day to give your left brain a rest from organizing holiday chores & lists. Let your more laid -back right brain take over. You’ll be happy you did.
If this piques your interest and you want more, check out our winter session drawing classes:
Life Drawing and Anatomy for the Artist
Dance:
Focus on moving your body to music at least 20 minutes a day. It’s as easy as that. Stream your favorite vintage jazz while washing up after that holiday cookie kitchen blowout. Dance around your living room to the latest pop hit. Leap through your basement to Jethro Tull. You’ll feel better, so who cares what the neighbors think? They just might start doing it too.
If you can’t stop the motion, check out what we have going on in the school of dance this winter:
Write:
Journal for 20 minutes a day. You don’t need a fancy journal; any notebook will do. A great pace to start if you’ve never journaled before is to start with writing your stream of consciousness. Just the words & thoughts moving through your head at the moment. As you write, at some point you will begin to guide your words, and they will start to make sense. Let the words flow from there. Some people find it helpful to add pictures, drawn or cutout, scrapbook style. It’s up to you. Just do it.
If you are ready to focus your writer’s voice, check out some of the creative writing classes we have this session:
Writing: Kick Start Your Practice