Rediscovering Yourself: Simple Creative Practices for Busy Women

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Bring creative joy into your day (without adding anything else to your plate).

Creativity is essential for women to reconnect with themselves and express who they are in a world that often tells them to be quiet and helpful. This episode explores simple ways to incorporate creativity into daily life without adding pressure, helping regulate your nervous system and rediscover your voice.

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Episode Transcript

Emily Feist (00:00):
Is your soul whispering "Hey, remember me.
But between the laundry and theemails and the inner monologue
about whether or not your familyis getting enough magnesium, is
it hard to hear?
This episode is for the womanwho loved journaling, doodling,
dancing in the kitchen, butsomewhere between the meal
planning and mind managingeveryone else, she stopped.

(00:24):
We're bringing that back, thatcreative spark, in ways that
don't require a whole newPinterest board or even an extra
hour in your day, just a littlesoftness, a little beauty and a
whole lot of nervous systemrelief.
Welcome to.
It Starts at Vegas the podcastwhere your stress levels go down
and your self-awareness goes up.

(00:47):
I'm Emily and I am aneuromuscular massage therapist
and a big believer thatcreativity is a key to knowing
who you are.
It is essential, especially forwomen.
Here's what psychology knowsand what your gut probably feels
.
When women disconnect fromcreativity, they often

(01:08):
disconnect from themselves, andadding creativity is not just a
I need a new hobby kind of way.
It's in a I'm not sure where Iwent, kind of way.
So today we're getting back tothat creative joy in a way that
complements your nervous system,not complicating your calendar.

(01:29):
Creativity helps women expresswho they are, regulate their
nervous system and rediscovertheir own voice in a world that
often tells them to be quiet, behelpful and agreeable.
But when you create something,there are no mistakes.
Sure, it might not beperfection, but it's allowing

(01:50):
you to find yourself again andthat expression allows you to
wake up to yourself.
And the cool thing is itdoesn't have to take a lot of
time.
You don't need to carve out awhole hour every single day to
express yourself in a creativeway.
Let's talk about a few creativeways for you to express yourself

(02:10):
without adding pressure to yourmental load.
The first one I'd like to talkabout we're going to call the
morning spark.
So this would just take aboutfive minutes just five minutes
to either journal one sentence,doodle a little scribble or
describe your mood in like aweather report.

(02:31):
For example, you might writedown foggy, with a 40% chance of
need for chocolate by 3pm today.
So it's just playful and it'sabout reconnecting to who.
You are not fixing anything.
It's exploring yourself withhonesty, with a splash of humor
to throw in that creative level.

(02:52):
The second way to throw in somecreativity is to get dressed
like a mood ring.
Instead of asking does thismatch, try thinking is this how
I want to feel today.
So pick some color or a texturethat matches what you feel like
.
Throw in some intention, maybetoss in a fun scarf or some fun

(03:12):
earrings.
Even if you're just staying athome, you can add that little
bit of intentional creativity towhat you're wearing.
And remember, our style doessay how we feel.
So if you're having a reallyfrumpy day, adding a colorful
necklace or some fun earringsjust might be a great way for

(03:36):
you to reinforce a positiveattitude and add that creativity
to what you are wearing,because style is art and you're
allowed to feel like a canvas.
You can make yourself lookhowever you choose and it'll
compliment who you are.
I am a big fan of the Britishbaking show and one of the

(03:58):
judges on that show does a greatjob of this.
If you ever watch a show andher name is Prue, she's always
dressed in colorful outfits andthis usually big jewelry, and
she's just always happy and youcan tell she enjoys what she's
wearing.
You can tell that it makes herfeel good and she creates her

(04:19):
own sense of style that matcheswho she is.
This next tip is something thatI really do implement every day,
and that is creating a personalsoundtrack.
Music is amazing because it's aportable reset button.
It can feel us to our core.
It can express ways that wedon't always have words for.

(04:41):
So you just need to create someplaylists that will match your
energy or help shift it.
If you need it to kind of likereadjust for your day, you could
have one for grounding, one formotivation or one for those.
Why is a person chewing so loudmoments when you just know
you're really aware of all ofyour surroundings a little too

(05:04):
heightened?
So you need to throw in somemusic to make you feel like your
happy self again, to let thelittle things just go by easier.
So have a variety of go-tosongs for yourself.
I have fun ones that I have formy kids.
I've got a song playlist forwhen I'm happy, when I'm angry,

(05:27):
I even have one for songs to getme in the mood for when I work
on projects, and all of thosethings are just when they're
already created for you inadvance.
When you have a mood that youeither want to reinforce or
shift from, you have your go-toplaylist.
The fourth tip I'd like to talkabout is beautifying one tiny

(05:51):
space.
There's no need to redecorateyour whole house.
Just pick a shelf or awindowsill or even a corner on
your counter and add somethinglovely.
Add something that just makesyou smile.
It could be a candle or a rock.
You found that little statuethat you love, that everybody

(06:12):
else thinks is just a littleweird, but you like it and every
time you look at it you canhave that sense of that just
makes me a little happierthroughout the day.
For me.
I really like flowers.
I love flowers.
I think they're just beautiful.
I feel them, just shift theroom and, believe it or not,
sometimes I even throw freshflowers in my bathroom.

(06:37):
I don't know why, it's justwhen I get ready for my day and
I can see them.
It just makes me happy and itstarts out in a really great way
that I personally enjoy.
The last one I'm going to talkabout is ending your day in a
creative way.
So before bed, do one smallthing that closes your day and

(06:58):
mind.
It could be taking a picture ofsomething beautiful or jotting
down a sentence of gratitude, orswaying to a song.
None of it is for results.
This is simply for joy.
This is for you to end your dayin a good, positive way that
makes you feel warm inside, it'sfor nobody else but yourself.

(07:22):
Side note brushing your teethwith vigor doesn't count as
movement practice.
If you find out that you arebrushing your teeth really,
really hard because a day wasreally really stressful, like
I've said in many other episodes, end with gargling some
mouthwash salt water.
Other episodes and withgargling some mouthwash salt

(07:44):
water one of those thingsbecause gargling will help relax
your vagus nerve and it willset you up in a positive way for
a great night's sleep.
These micro moments ofcreativity work.
They work because theyinterrupt our stress patterns.
When you have a stressful dayor moments that you know are
going to be coming let's sayit's a meeting or at three

(08:04):
o'clock every day, your moodjust kind of tanks because
you're wanting a nap.
All of these things can helpshift your day from stress or an
anxious moment into a creativeone that you get to enjoy.
They soften perfectionism, theymake room in your life that
remind you of yourself and overtime they remind your nervous

(08:28):
system that you are safe, notjust physically but emotionally
and spiritually also.
So for the healer part of me,it's like nervous system hygiene
.
I need to do it every day tokeep my nervous system calm and
clean.
For the artist in me, it wouldsay this isn't about adding
extra, it's not about forcingsomething on myself.

(08:52):
It's allowing myself to see meagain.
It's bringing out who I am andwho you are.
So this week I'm going to taketime to create a moment of
beauty throughout my day, evenif it's just rearranging the
spice rack so it looks kind ofnice and cute.
I know you can do somethingsmall and easy too, because,

(09:14):
remember, we're not forcinghealing, we're allowing it to
happen.
Less forcing, more becoming.
Thank you for spending part ofyour day with me.
May your day be gentle, yourtea hot and your nervous system
be steady and soothed.