Shifting to the RIGHT

Also in our meditation class this week we discussed that in meditation we are shifting from 'thinking' brain to 'sensing' brain.

When I hear people complain of feeling overwhelmed and stressed from work .. I suggest they take a look at how much time (probably none) they have spent in creative activities.  Not work-creative but fun-creative .. like painting, sewing, gardening, building in the man shed or playing music with friends!

When we spend all of our time working on heavy, analytical, mental processing activity .. we tend to overwork our 'thinking' left-brain.  When our mind becomes jammed with data, noise and analysis we find it harder to be creative or innovative in our work/life.

Sometimes the best way to re-balance and open up your creativity is to jump into a 'sensing' right-brain activity.

Three exercises to 'free' up creative ideas

1. Left Hand Focus: by bringing our awareness and focus to our left hand we tap into our right brain - the home of imagination and expansiveness.   I have done this during a board meeting .. and I think it works!  Apparently it also works if you balance on your left foot for a short time. 

2. Breathe: Holding our right nostril and breathing for a few moments ONLY through the left nostril is an ancient yoga wisdom to help us tap into our right brain (the yoga tradition believes that each nostril aligns with the opposite side of the brain). 

3. Do an activity (carefully) with the ‘wrong hand’: so for me that means using my left hand for writing or easy tasks (not boiling cups of coffee) as this is controlled by the right side of my brain - read more here I would definitely recommend also watching this AMAZING TedX talk by Jill Bolte Taylor who experienced a stroke that flooded the left hemisphere of her brain, deteriorating her ability to process information, and tossing her into a right brain world "where inner peace was just a thought away".

* Did you know that the right side of our brain actually controls the left side of our body .. and visa versa?  So to shift to a creative right brain dominance we focus on left side of body activities.