Ep. 143 Creativity is a Practice of Presence and Mindfulness with Leya Van Doren
Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Podbean Stitcher and more!
Happy #SeekTheJoy Tuesday!
On the podcast today is Leya Van Doren, a creativity coach, podcast host, seeker, and collector of stories and seashells.
She hosts creativity workshops to help creatives nurture their inner artist, break free of their creative blocks, and be in community and connection. To learn more, sign up for her weekly newsletter where she shares insights from the creative process & creative resources or find her on instagram @leyavandoren.
In today’s episode Leya and I chat about:
Why we’re all creative, the benefits of starting a creative practice, and how we can access our own innate creativity through presence and mindfulness
We dive into common blocks and fears around creativity and expression, and Leya shares her tips + tricks for releasing those blocks and fears
The connection between spirituality and creativity, why creativity is an act of self-care and rest, Leya shares how she’s expressing her creativity right now
Plus, we unblock a belief Sydney has around creativity, inspiration, and transformation (this was a huge lightbulb moment!), we dive into Leya’s podcast and so much more!
Our conversation with Leya is so good, it’s the big and warm hug we all need right now. I love what she shares towards the end of our conversation about how stepping into her creativity has allowed her to develop greater self-trust and a knowing that she’s enough just as she is. All that we have to do in any given moment is show up as ourselves, and that’s enough. How beautiful is that?
You’ll hear it in today’s new episode too - we unlock a HUGE belief I had around needing to wait for inspiration to strike in order to be creative. As Leya shares, that’s not the case at all! There’s a beautiful transformation that unfolds when we allow ourselves to push back any fears or blocks that appear in the moment.
I’d love to know where you’re at with your creative journey. I’m so excited to share this week’s new episode with Leya, and I can’t wait to hear what you think! Make sure to join the conversation on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!
“You don’t have to be an artist in order to be creative. Every single one of us is so creative in different ways and in our own right. You don’t have to be a professional artist, you don’t have to do it for a living, and if you want to access your innate creativity it’s not something you can just do when you feel inspired, it’s really a daily practice.”
“That’s all creativity is. It’s a practice of presence, it’s a practice of mindfulness. You can’t be creative unless you’re present.”
As a child Leya was homeschooled with her 7 siblings and instead of traditional school she was immersed in the world of theater, music, and dance. Creativity was her playground and she felt safest on stage, singing and dancing with her siblings.
How incredible is that?!
She went on to study musical theater in college with dreams of becoming a star on Broadway, and once she graduated was thrust in the real world, working a 9-5. Being stuck in an office all day, Leya felt like she had lost her creativity and her connection to self. Leya was overcome with imposter syndrome. She didn’t know where to start.
The truth is she felt completely creatively blocked, lost, and stuck, in the endless routine and mundane of the everyday. I know so many of us can relate to this too.
Leya realized she wasn’t herself when she wasn’t creating. So she tried a new approach.
She reconnected with her sense of joy and started creating just for the sake of creating, without feeling like she needed to produce anything. Leya discovered what kind of things she loved and what made her, her. She allowed her heart and gut to discover her next creative idea.
That led Leya to self-publishing a poetry book in 2018 and writing and performing a one woman show in New York City in 2019. After completing her 200 hr Yoga Teacher Training in India, Leya was inspired to offer nurturing spaces that combined mindfulness with creativity for others to reawaken their sense of joy, inspiration, and wonder.
As Leya shares, you don’t have to create alone. All parts of you are welcome here. The messy, the raw, the scared, the playful, the inner child, the human, the artist. You deserve to nurture your inner creative (love, love, love!)
“I think a creative process is that. It’s continuously showing up, meeting yourself where you’re at, and allowing yourself to be transformed as you go along the process, as you flow in your creative process. It’s life changing.”
To connect with Leya visit her website https://leyavandoren.com and on Instagram @leyavandoren
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