Hey guys, welcome back to the SoulAlignSelfCare podcast.
I'm so excited about today's episode.
I'm talking about the unexpected and adult to anxiety
and why I can't stop creating.
So one of the things I love to do with this community here
is to share what's working for me.
And as someone who has to be very intentional
about my self-care and have to be very intentional
about controlling my stress and my anxiety,
I have to keep those things to a minimum, right?
So I'm always looking for ways to do this
that are aligned with the kind of vibe that I wanna live by.
And well, just the way I wanna live my life, okay?
So recently, thanks to my talented children
who are all very artistic,
I've been spending more time creating.
And when I say creating,
I'm talking about drawing and painting
and just doing different types of crafts.
And because I create in so many different ways,
essentially this podcast is a creation.
Anytime we make anything, it's creation.
But I've been really focusing on painting
and I am having so much fun with it.
So I come from a long line of creatives
and I grew up doing this kind of stuff.
So my mother was an artist, my grandmother was an artist,
my great grandmother was an artist.
And in so many different ways, painting, ceramics, sculpture,
my great grandmother was a milliner.
So just really, really cool stuff.
So now, as I said, I grew up doing these things.
So they were just like, I thought everybody grew up this way,
but I definitely had a lot of experience painting
when I was growing up, my mother used to teach us how to paint
and do ceramics and we had a kiln in our house
and we always had clay, always had clay
and I could make anything out of clay anytime I wanted.
And we used to be in paint like ceramics competitions
when I was a kid.
So I just always, that was always a part of my life,
but I just kind of straight away from it.
Probably ever since I started my business
'cause I'm always so busy with that.
So now, now I'm back into it and now that I started,
it seems as though I can't get enough.
I'm having so much fun and one of the side effects
that I noticed while I'm doing these things,
even thinking about these things is I'm not stressed
or anxious and I think it's actually impossible
to be stressed when you're in creation mode.
So by accident, recently, I don't know,
nothing's an accident, right?
We run into the things we're supposed to run into,
but I watched this TED talk by Amy McNeigh about art.
And if you wanna watch it, I'll put the link in the show notes
so that you can watch it.
She talks about how it's so good for us
to be in that creation mode and is also good for the world
when we step into our creativity.
And I'm gonna go over some of the reasons that is,
but what she talked about is at a time when the world
feels like it's on fire, right?
And it literally is in some places.
So we're surrounded by a lot of chaos.
This is the time where you should step into your creation more
and brace it more because not only does it help you
reduce stress and anxiety, but when you share it,
it creates community.
It also reduces other people's stress and anxiety.
This is all good.
And I think at times like these,
and if you look back in history,
some of the most fabulous things were created
during these times.
So the reason I wanted to share this with you today
is to encourage you to create,
whether you think you're creative or not,
and I wanna talk about that a little bit.
I want you to expand your vision of what you think art is, right?
So from the fine arts to everything else that we create.
So you might say, "I'm not creative Tina."
And I would argue with you because everybody creates,
it's a human thing, we all do it.
So you're being creative when you play music.
You're being creative when you draw a paint.
You're being creative when you do any type of craft,
when you knit or crochet, when you make a garden,
when you're cooking a meal or baking,
when you're dancing, writing, podcasting,
it's basically anything that you're creating.
So think of something that you've created
either now or in the past,
or maybe go back to when you were a kid.
So I want you to just like stop all,
I just wanna stop all the people out there from saying to me,
I'm not creative.
We all are creative in some way, shape or form.
And also I wanna add to that,
you don't have to be like a talented top artist.
You just create.
And if you're really interested in doing this,
I would advise you to go on YouTube
and just follow a few creators on there.
I've learned so much,
and I've learned how some things are so easy
and you don't really have to have any talent to do them.
So the results that you get when you step into being creative
are amazing.
They're like almost unbelievable.
I'm gonna go over those.
And I got most of this information from an article
that was written by Mindful Arts Therapy.
So I just wanna give credit where credit is due,
where I got all of these benefits.
But there's 10 benefits here that I'm gonna go over.
Now the first one is art unlocks relaxation.
This is what I was experienced.
So when you lose yourself in like sketching or painting,
something magical happens, even coloring, right?
Coloring with your kids.
Your focus shifts from your worries to the present moment.
How many times does someone told you,
get be in the present moment, okay?
Because then you're not stressed about the future
or worrying about the future or stressed about the past, right?
So when you're in that present moment,
that's where that's that beautiful place
where we all wanna live.
This simple act tells your nervous system, right?
That it's safe to switch from fight or flight
to rest and digest.
The repetitive motion of like a breaststroke
or like the back and forth of the coloring
can be as calming as a deep breath.
And it will help slow your heart rate and quiet your mind.
I'm sorry, I can't talk today.
I have a vicious headache.
I don't know, I think it's from,
we're having like a snow storm right now.
And when I look outside, it doesn't look like November,
it looks like January.
And I don't like it.
Usually the first snow is like really,
it's warm out still and it's kinda like,
it's like nice, but it's like blustery and cold and windy.
So it looks like January, it's right away.
Moving on, second reason.
Art creates mindful presence.
So art is a form of meditation with a pencil
or whatever you're, you know, whatever you're using,
paintbrush, crayon, whatever it is.
It pulls you away from the racing thoughts in your head
and it brings you into like that sensory world
of whatever you're doing.
It could be color, it could be texture.
It could just be making something with your hands
like the crocheting, just like the repetitive nature of that.
This practice of being fully in the moment
cultivates a deep sense of common clarity,
helping you feel grounded right here, right now.
Now, how many times have someone told you
that you need to ground yourself?
Like I even hear that all the time.
I have to remind myself.
So that's what these actions do.
Number three, art is a sensory soothing.
Art is sensory soothing, sorry.
So think about all the things that are involved in art.
I'm gonna talk about painting
'cause that's what I've been doing.
So the, you know, the feel of like say you're working
with pistols in your hand or maybe your finger painting
or the sound of the pencil on the paper,
the sight of blending the colors, which is so much fun,
art engages your senses in a gentle grounding way.
And like say you're a cooking, right?
You're smelling the food.
If you're baking, you're smelling the food.
If you're out in the garden, you're touching the dirt,
you have your hands in the dirt, you're grounding,
you smell the flowers, you smell, you know,
all of the grass around you.
Maybe you're just cutting the grass, right?
For anyone feeling overwhelmed,
this controlled sensory output can be incredibly calming,
creating a safe space for you to just be.
So one of the ways to calm like an anxiety attack
is to pay attention to your senses.
What do I feel?
What do I see?
What do I hear?
What do I smell?
What do I taste?
So like, doing that, art naturally just does that for you.
So number three, art is a sensory soothing activity.
Number four, art allows emotional release.
Some feelings are too big for words.
Art gives you a safe, nonverbal outlet
to express and release them.
So just think of your favorite musical artist.
So I recently watched the Billy Joel series on,
I think it's on HBO, I'm not really sure.
But what I loved about learning about Billy Joel,
'cause I'm from Long Island, anybody from Long Island
knows about Billy Joel, right?
So is every song and album he released
was like a huge reflection of what he was going through
in his life.
So that was his like release, right?
So putting a motion into the pages makes it tangible
and manageable.
People do this with, when they paint,
when they draw, when they sing, when they play music,
when they dance, when they perform on a stage,
when they perform if they're in a movie,
there's just so many different ways that we do this.
So art allows for emotional release.
So this is very valuable because a lot of us need this.
So number five, let's see, number five.
Art encourages a flow state.
Oh, the flow state, I love the flow state.
There's so many different times that I go into flow state.
So have you ever started a project and looked up to find
that like an hour has flown by, it felt like five minutes.
That's when you were in a flow state.
Also, I've definitely experienced where like in a good way,
like sometimes if I'm out in my garden,
it felt like I was out there for hours
and it was just like so indulgent and I loved every moment of it
and then it turns out that it wasn't.
It was just an hour and then I could spend four more hours
in the garden and I just feel so lucky.
I feel like that is also a reflection of flow state.
So the state of deep immersion is a mental vacation
from stress, blending, focus with calm,
to leave you feeling refreshed and emotionally balanced.
I definitely go into a flow state when I'm drawing
or painting definitely when I'm blending colors,
just so much fun.
I feel like if you're working with your hands
with clay, definitely very tactile.
So it's like very, I feel like when I'm tactile,
maybe this isn't for everybody,
but I feel like I go into a flow state quicker.
Like when I'm in the garden, I got my hands in the soil
when I'm really, really engaged.
That's when I go into that flow state.
Okay, so number six, art regulates your breathing.
So the rhythmic nature of shading or painting
naturally segmentizes with your breath
without even thinking about it.
Your breathing slows and deepens,
guiding your body into a state of natural relaxation.
And I would imagine this is true also
when you're playing an instrument,
when you're singing different things,
also when I'm in the garden, same thing.
So and when our, when our breathing is regulated like that,
automatically calms the nervous system.
It takes you out of fight or fight
and puts you in rest and digest.
So it's just like doing that deep breathing,
those deep breathing exercises.
Number seven, art boosts your feel good chemicals.
So finishing a creative piece
or even just trying something new releases a little dopamine
and the brain, the brain's reward chemical.
And this natural mood booster brings joy motivation
and welcome counterbalance to stress.
Okay, so I have to share something with you.
I've been mainly painting what they call ACEOs
and it stands for artist trading, trading cards, omissions
and oh my goodness, I can't remember the whole thing
but I can't remember the whole what it stands for
but it's like you're making these little baseball size paintings
and it's so much fun.
And I think the reason I like it so much
is because you finish it so quickly
and you get that dopamine hit and I absolutely love it.
I'm making, I'm painting bookmarks, the ACEOs.
Maybe if I can have a space,
I could share some pictures with you
or you could just follow my Instagram art account
which will be in the show notes.
So I could definitely attest to those feel good chemicals.
Number eight, art empowers you.
So from choosing a color to completing a piece,
art is a series of small empowering decisions.
It reinforces your ability to make things happen.
Building your confidence that spills over into your everyday life
that helps you navigate challenges with more resilience.
So basically you're building resilience
and it is very empowering to have complete control
over the whole project.
You don't have to do things a certain way.
There's no right or wrong.
That's what's so beautiful about creating something.
You decide exactly the way you want to create it.
Number nine, art balances your brain.
So creativity uniquely bridges the intuitive emotional
right brain and the logical structured left brain.
This harmonious collaboration brings a sense
of mental integration and clarity,
reducing that feeling of being mentally torn.
And what I love about this is I spend a lot of time
in like left brain when I'm doing my work
except when I'm doing like meditations and stuff, right?
Then I don't feel like I'm in left brain when I'm doing that.
But I spend a lot of time in left brain.
And so I think that's why art is just so welcome
to me because it like brings me back grounds me
and it brings me back into that collaborative balance.
Number 10, art builds resilience.
So art is to say practice ground for life.
It teaches you to adapt, problem solve
and find beauty in the unexpected.
This process builds emotional strength helping you bounce back
from challenges with greater self-compassion and grace.
Now I have to say I've been working with water colors
and anybody who has worked with water colors knows
that you have absolutely no control.
Like you have very, you have a little bit of control
but once you learn how it moves
but it's almost like just like you can't control water anywhere
on the surface of the earth, you really can't control it
on the page.
So there's a lot of times where when you're painting,
you have a vision but like I would say probably 98%
of the time it doesn't turn out exactly
what you thought it was gonna look like.
And I think that's what's beautiful about watercolor
is that a lot of times it creates something
that you didn't even imagine.
And so that's why I enjoy it.
So when you do like acrylics or I would assume oil
and pastels, the color kind of stays put where you put it
but when you do watercolor it kind of moves around
and you have to kind of be open to something new popping up.
And there's been so many times where I'm painting something
that it doesn't turn out and I'm like, oh God,
this is horrible, it looks horrible.
But you just keep going and you finish it and so far
I'm sure this isn't gonna happen all the time
but so far I've been able to turn it into something
that I absolutely love and I'm sure that that won't be
the case all the time but for the most part so far
it's turned out great.
So it's no wonder that I feel so great when I'm creating.
So and it's to the point where I just wanna do it all day long.
So I have this island in my kitchen and I have all of my art stuff
out on the island all the time.
I don't clean it up.
My island is covered with paint and it just looks like messy
but I love it because I can just walk by
like I'll be making coffee in the morning
and I'll just do a little bit of painting.
And that's another thing with watercolor.
A lot of times you have to paint a little bit
and then let it dry, paint a little bit and let it dry.
So I just leave it on there and as I'm walking by
I add a little bit and then sometimes usually at night
I get really into it and I just paint all night.
So it's absolutely one of the best things
that I just rediscovered I should say about myself right now
and I just wanted to share it with you.
So the question is how do you add more of this into your life?
Well, the first thing you have to do is find what you enjoy
and for me it's kind of all of the above.
I love to create.
So anytime I've done like a business review of my business
'cause I do this often where I'm like
I want to stay aligned with what I'm doing
and so I like reassess what I'm doing
and I decide if I'm still aligned with that
or I want to dump it or do something different, right?
And so every time I reassess my business,
one of the things that always comes up
what I love doing is creating.
You know, so if anybody asks me what do you love
about your business is I get to create constantly.
I create meditations, I record meditations,
I create a blog, I create the podcast, I create programs,
I create coaching calls for my clients.
I'm always in creation mode and I love that mode.
Now when I have to implement and do the marketing,
I'm not very good at that.
But when I'm in creation mode, I'm lit, I'm so lit.
So that is definitely my thing.
So but I wanna go back to,
I'm not, you know, the people who think
they're not talented enough or creative enough.
So I always, I ask myself am I a great writer
'cause I've been writing the blog for years now.
No, I am not a great writer.
As a matter of fact, I've become better
when I first started, it was a horrible writer.
But I don't let that stop me from writing
because when I write my blog,
I share with other people my experience.
And when you share your experiences,
it makes other people feel like they're heard.
It makes them feel like they're not alone.
And that's very important for me.
So that goes for all of it.
Just because I'm not great at something,
I'm not a great painter.
I'm not a great painter.
I can make some cute stuff, but I'm not like a fine art painter,
you know what I mean?
Just because I'm not great at it,
it doesn't mean that it's not fun.
It doesn't mean that I won't experience the benefits
that I just talked about and the same goes for you.
So this week, I challenge you,
and this will be your self-care practice for the week,
I want you to create something.
Now, if you don't know where to start,
you could always go to the craft store or go to Michaels
and buy something.
They have paint by number.
They have, well, they have so many different things
that you can create at Michaels.
And they have so many different kits,
so you don't have to just come up with it for yourself.
But what this will do is it will start to like,
you know, engage your imagination and your creativity.
And before you know it, you're gonna be wanting to do more.
Okay?
You can even just do some coloring,
like buy an adult coloring book,
and you could do pencils, you could do gel pens,
you could do so many different things.
Go take a walk through the craft store
and find something that looks like fun.
You know, they have all those wooden things you could buy
and you could paint them, you know?
There's so many things.
Also, this time of the year,
I'm recording this in November
and we're all talking about canceling Christmas,
like the big, a big beautiful boycott of Christmas,
with, which is basically boycotting
all the big retailers, not small businesses.
What a better time to create some stuff for your family.
I don't know about you, but when somebody makes me a gift,
it's so special to me.
It's so special.
So why not like put these two things together,
this self-care and know that you're actually helping yourself
when you're creating this,
and then make some presents for people.
You can even do things like make your own skincare,
you can make your own soap, you can make candles,
there's so many fun things that you could do.
You could cook, you could bake cookies,
you could make a gorgeous meal for someone,
you could write a poem, you can start a blog,
you can start a podcast,
you could do the paint by number, like I said,
or you could just sit down and color with your kids.
I don't know about you, but I love coloring.
Now, this is the best part.
After you create something, I want you to share it.
Take a picture and send it to me or post it online
or share it with a family member,
give it to a family member.
But whatever you do, take a picture and tag me.
I created an Instagram account for my new project,
and I've created like an art persona.
And the art persona is Taloo the Sunday,
and there's a funny story behind this name,
and maybe I'll share it with you someday,
but there's a little bit of meaning behind that name.
So it's Taloo the Sunday designs.
I'll put the link in the show notes.
So you could tag Taloo the, that's my art persona
when you make something up,
but I would love for you to share it with me.
Maybe, like I said, I'll share it with you
where that funny name came from,
'cause it's a funny story.
And I would like to say,
I am going to try to have the woman from the TED talk,
named Amy McNeigh on the podcast,
'cause I think that it would be great to have someone
who actually really, really knows what they're talking about,
talk more about this topic,
because I know for a fact that some of you out there
love to create and love art.
And then I also know that there's some of you
that are like, there's no way I'm doing this,
but I really, really wanna encourage you
to try and have fun with this.
I can't wait to see what you create.
I can't wait to see what you share with me.
And don't forget, while you're doing this,
pay attention to how you feel when you're doing it.
And let me know how that is.
Okay, guys, happy creating.
See you next week.
