Boredom Breeds Creativity

We all have had those moments in class when a teacher says something remarkable, something that stops you in your tracks, something you have never heard or never heard in just that way…

For me it was 8 years ago or so. I was curled up in child’s pose when a dear teacher and friend—Alesha Hanson—said Boredom breeds creativity.

WHAT?! Mind blown. 🤯🤯🤯

She shared some scientific studies, but my brain was whirling too quickly to catch the details. 

As a self-proclaimed creative, I had never considered boredom an ally.

As a human do-er and schedule crammer, I felt defeated. All that energy I spent busying myself to avoid boredom was impeding my ability to create?

I had some unlearning to do.

Later that year, I had the opportunity to to train with Tias and Surya Little at the Prajna Temple in Santa Fe. It was here I learned the point of a yoga practice was found in our ability to simply exist in space. It’s about the non-doing.

Space is essentially a non-element. It has no color or shape, sound or texture. There are no defining characteristics. In this not-ness, we grow uncomfortable. As humans, we yearn for the tangible and defined. We like to make sense through thought and words. Space defies all of that. It simply exists. 

Another concept I had never considered. More unlearning ahead…

Albert Einstein once said "The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind."

I understand that now. When life is moving quickly, loudly and constantly, creativity diminishes.

Today as I walk through the forest, creativity returns. My mind fills with poetry, solutions, untamed thoughts. It is here, with each repetitive step, that the mind slows enough to allow brilliance to peek through once again. Life looks clearer and feels more buoyant as solutions to nagging problems simply reveal themselves. I’ve planned my favorite classes, wrote my favorite musings here among the trees.

Am I bored? I think not. Is there space? So much.

I can’t help but wonder how boredom, space and creativity intersect. 

Perhaps boredom and space are two sides of the same coin. A place to exist without filling. 

To enter this place we need less inputs, slower inputs, inputs of branches swaying in the wind and bark crackling; inputs of fresh air and slow moving rivers and wings flapping above; inputs of breath, an empty pad of paper, of stillness or as Einstein said monotony, solitude, quiet… Inputs that feel all too elusive in our rapid-fire, information-saturated, world-at-our-fingertips life in which we live. 

I have learned that less stimulation gives rise to spaciousness. And where there is space, there creativity and resonance. 

I believe this is why yoga has become increasingly ubiquitous in our society. No longer are we chasing longer hamstrings or open hips. We twist and sweat and breathe to create space in our bodies, space between our thoughts, space in a day that is otherwise full to the brim.

In these moments, we grow open and available to tap into our most creative self. 

This Sunday, I invite you to experience this musing in real time. I am partnering with a dear friend, long-time YoYo and award-winning author, Emily Uecker, for our next Yo!Community Engagement Project. 

Beginning with Happy Yoga @ 1015a to create space while tapping into individual and collective resonance. Following class, Emily will lead us through guided writing prompts to let your mind wander, shake off old stories, and see what naturally wants to land on the page.

Portland Juice will be there serving up some spring-inspired treats. 

So come to class and stay awhile!

Look forward to unlocking what is inside together. 

MAD LOVE ✌️❤️✏️

K