Creativity in Motion: Movement into Momentum

Two weeks ago we discussed the merits of stepping into play not only to get back to the heart of joy in creativity but to integrate creativity into our lifestyles and include or allow access to it for our children; to teach them creativity has value, that their creativity as well as ours is valuable. In it, I gave a few suggestions on how to get back to childlike play; all of those examples were rooted in physicality. 

All creativity, even the quiet, seated, ‘sedentary’ creative activities require physical movement. We cannot create in a vacuum, we cannot make by being still. When I write, for example, it is a sedentary activity; I am seated, I do not bodily move, yet I have somatic sensory input in that my hands tap away at the keyboard, I notice if the chair I’m seated in is stiff or soft, I feel my neck crick from looking down at my laptop, or my hand cramps as I write another line in my notebook. To put words on a page is to physically write or type. Simply sitting down and staring at the screen does not force the words into being. I have to do something to make it happen. As a pedorthist, I work with varying materials, shaping an orthotics on a grinder belt, cutting it down on a bandsaw, choosing materials based on durometer and texture for whatever condition I’m designing the orthotics for.  I stand more in this context and move around the lab from one area to another as the orthoics takes shape and progresses through the stages from pouring a cast and cleaning it, to shaping the shell and assembling its components. 

When I was a personal trainer and fitness instructor my creativity existed to get people moving. It was targeted to goals and lifestyle, to class type and engagement. The energy we exerted in the class gave back to us ten fold when class ended. The creativity was in moving our bodies, understanding how we move and getting us to love why we move. Dance is a more artistic version of that. It is a physical art, an athletic creation. Dance demands movement but it also demands artistry in the expression of that movement, connecting our bodies and our souls through emotive physicality. Every single person in a class who does the same movement experiences it differently and in doing so presents it differently. That is the beauty of moving.  

An artist knows the weight of a brush in their hands, a sculptor feels the clay beneath their fingers, a tattooist feels the vibration of their ink gun and the tension across the skin. Fashion designers deal exclusively in the feeling and texture of fabrics, but the work to construct a garment is taxing on the physical body of the artist as well. Any act of creation is a physical feat. Creativity is not a static activity. The question is how do we harness even these more subtle creative movements to generate momentum in our creative practice. 

A lot of the time creatives spend our energy studying our blocks, how we get stuck, why we get stuck, how we can get unstuck, how to avoid those blocks altogether. It’s this mindset that prioritizes roadblocks over momentum. In conversations I feel like momentum is linked to inspiration and motivation - two very fickle, ephemeral feeling type ideas. Doing is workman-like, it is physical, it is momentum in action - making the ball roll in the first place and keeping it going despite blocks we know exist on the road ahead. If we have momentum on our side, if we learn to harness our momentum those blocks become less blocky and more speed bumpy. Dedicating our focus to the solution rather than the problem is a shift in mindset, narrative, and belief that creatives would greatly benefit from; it’s a shift I want us to make today.

How can Movement show up in our creative practice?

Movement as the act of creating - We started to cover this in the first half of this post. Every act of creation, every discipline of creativity requires one to make something, to do something, to move in some way to create the thing. Whether that be typing on a keyboard, holding a paintbrush, using a freaky space mouse to digitally design a piece of advertising, or using your whole body to move in patterns across the floor, creativity demands action. Creating is a verb. Movement is the doing. Even the most sedentary creative venture requires a movement of some kind in order to produce work. The physicality of creativity grants us a constant reminder that we are doing something in the world, that what we are doing affects the world around us, that we are exerting ourselves to take up space, to move in our world to engage with our creativity. 

Movement as the catalyst for creative work - Before we ever sit down to write or begin a piece of choreography, movement of the body can help us ready ourselves for the doing. Movement helps us prepare physically for the demand creating places on our bodies and sharpens our minds, readying the mind-body connection, allowing awareness to open up and our tuning fork to vibrate at frequency. A simple set of stretches, a leisurely walk, a full on workout - all of these examples of movement serve to shake inspiration loose, change our scenery, ready our bodies for physical demand, and prompt blood flow to our beautiful brains. Whether employed as a means to prepare, break through a block, or give ourselves a break during the creative process, movement has a way for re-centering us that no other activity can. We are a whole person. Many creative pursuits tend to champion the mind above the body. Taking care of our physical person, the body that does the creating, is the greatest act of service we can give to our creativity. 

Momentum from Movement

The real question is how we harness the inherent movement of creativity and preparatory activities to work with us in the creative process to keep our momentum rolling from inception of the idea through to its completion in one or more stints. 

Movement indicates doing - The inherent movement involved in any creative act indicates progress being made. Movement means you are doing something - from priming yourself to begin to doing the thing you set out to do, movement indicates process is happening - you are active in the creative process. 

Movement is grounding - I am a big fan of the ‘shake it out or plank it out’ method for just about everything. From nerves before a performance to focusing up for a new task moving your body is one of the best ways to ground yourself. You become aware of your body, your emotions, your mental state, your focus, your wellbeing. Hitting a rough patch? Take a movement break  - go for a walk, do a little stretch at your desk or easel and jump back in feeling reinvigorated and maybe even inspired. You will definitely feel more settled and thereby more able to focus on the task at hand. 

Movement creates energy - Motivation comes and goes. Inspiration can be aloof. Sitting in a chair can feel defeating. SO MOVE. Biology is an amazing thing. Movement works with our biology to rewire our energy levels. Tired? Move. Sad? Move. Nervous? Move. Jittery? Move. Stuck? Move. Movement both harnesses and creates energy. When done with intention we can focus that energy generation and channel it into our creative practice through timing and intensity variation. Use movement to create energy for your creativity. 

A common narrative among many creative disciplines is this myth that creativity is of the mind. Yet if that were the case, how would any creative works come to be in the physical realm? If that were true, why can creativity, true, genuine, authentic creativity only come from a person's body doing the creating? We the artist, the creative, the human being, must be physically taken care of in order to create and access our creativity. Movement is a crucial part of our wellbeing. Start small. Move your body before you begin a creative session. Structure in five minute movement breaks every half hour. Notice the movement your body makes in order to create.