Self-expression is key when it comes to your daily practice!
Need some inspiration?
Here are 7 ways to express yourself through a daily practice:
1. Play with music
Everything from writing songs, to singing, to playing or learning an instrument: Music is a powerful tool to express ourselves & connect with our emotions.
Even listening to music can be a form of self-expression! Create a playlist of songs that connect with your mood, pop it on, & let the music speak to you.
2. Create art
While this certainly includes things like painting, drawing, & scrapbooking, it can also include things like cooking & baking. Actually, anything can be a form of artistic expression if you let it be!
A client had desperately wanted to become a make-up artist, so her daily practice was spent in front of the mirror each morning before work where she’d give herself extra time to play around with different colors & techniques.
So get creative!
3. Spend time in nature
The smell of fresh air, the beauty of the mountains, the sounds of the ocean: Nature is extremely healing.
Even if you can’t be outside, simply being surrounded by nature – seeing nature – can be extremely therapeutic. So go for a walk, sit on the beach & watch the sunset, or hop on a boat & go fishing. Enjoy the silence and beauty of nature.
4. Meditate
Meditating gives you the time & space to create inner stillness & silence that you’ll eventually be able to bring into other areas of your life beyond your daily practice. The best part ? It can be done anywhere: while you’re waiting on line, commuting to work, taking your lunch break, or even lying in bed before you fall asleep!
So if you don’t have much time to do a daily practice, no matter where you are, pause for a few moments & breathe, & try to quiet your mind.
5. Get physical
Any activity that get’s you in touch with your body is a great way to spend your daily practice. Awareness of your physical body is the foundation for higher levels of self-awareness.
Dancing, yoga, hiking, running, & even weight-lifting, are all examples of ways to use your time. However, be careful: Some people exercise because they feel they have to, or because they want to lose weight.
The moment a sense of obligation enters the equation, I encourage you to seek another form of self-expression.
An out-of-the-box way to tap into your physical body is by doing a body scan. Lie down, close your eyes, & move your awareness slowly throughout your body, taking note of any sensations you feel & noticing how they correlate to your emotional body.
6. Write
You don’t need to be a writer to use writing as a means of self-expression! Write poems, create short stories, journal, even free write. Just let the words flow & see where they take you.
Many writers put pressure on themselves to only create pieces of work that have the potential to eventually be published. But for the purposes of a daily practice, the pressure is off. If there’s pressure, it’s not a daily practice!
7. Develop a new hobby
Try something new, or have fun with something from your past! Anything goes, from jewelry making to cake decorating to developing your own YouTube channel.
If it serves as a form of self-expression, there is no pressure, & it taps into a deeper part of who you are – go for it!
So how will you spend your daily practice? Share your ideas in the comments below!
Need help developing a daily practice? Sign-up for my free e-Course, “21 Days to a Daily Practice,” to help get you started!
