Give it a flex

I have comically tight hips. If I’m sitting on the ground cross-legged and you push on one of my knees, you better bet the other will rise up.

You may not think this is a problem. However, for a Yamabushi who spends hours on end sitting on the ground, it very much is. Bad seated posture is a recipe for all manner of back problems, and it’s something I’ve worked hard over the years to rectify by doing regular yoga classes.

If you don’t stretch your muscles regularly, they get extremely tight and almost impossible to maneuver or manipulate, exactly what they’re there for in the first place.

And one of the most important muscles for us humans is the creativity muscle. It’s our ability to create, our ability to combine ideas and bring new ones out into the world that makes us unique. It gives us our identity and makes us who we are.

To not practice the creativity muscle on the regular is nothing short of sacrilegious. To not take the muscles out of the garage and give them a flex every once in a while is nothing short of neglect. We need our creativity muscle just like we need muscles to chew and swallow. We need to fine tune it so that it works as it should, when it should.

Like regular exercise, make regular creativity a priority. Flex your creativity muscle. Show us what you’re made of.