Creative Exercises: Best Practices to Relieve Stress
- Adilla
- Oct 17
- 4 min read
Creativity is a powerful tool in healing us, whether it is mentally or physically. When you take part in creative activities, you give yourself a chance to express yourself and empower your mind.
However, it can be daunting when trying something you have never tried before. Drawing, crocheting, and pottery are all creative crafts that require a bit of courage to start. So, we prepared some guided creative practices to start your healing journey with art.
Table of Contents:
What Is Creative Exercise
Creative exercises or practices are intentional activities that you do to enhance and nurture your creative mental health. This fosters the importance of enjoying the process of creating rather than the result and outcome.
Thus, guided creative practice is a guide to assist you in trying out creative practices on your own or with your friends. These practices aim to give creative stress relief.
3 Types of Guided Art Exercises: From Art Therapy to Doodling
Writing Exercises
There are plenty of ways to do writing exercises. It doesn’t have to be a short story or anything with a purpose or an outcome. Here are some that you can try:
Write within a set time of 5 to 10 minutes, whatever comes to your mind.
A six-word story can be a mystery, a happy or a sad story within a short sentence.
Look for writing prompts that spark your interest and try out how a story flows.
Visual Exercises
This is perfect for creatives who prefer a more tactile creative experience. This is also something you can do as a warm-up before starting your drawing projects.
Doodling whatever is in your view without worrying about making it look perfect.
Draw multiple circles on a single page and try to create something with them, like a caterpillar or cheese with odd, shaped circles.
Creating mood boards from your interests.
Mindset Exercises
The health of your well-being is essential in ensuring you will be able to produce any creative work. Your creative well-being is interconnected with your mental wellness. So, when your mind feels heavy, it’s time to unload the mind and give it a break.
A walk in nature, surprisingly, will heal your mind as you stay present and take notice of your surroundings.
Pick up a new small habit like spending 10 minutes learning about something new or simple, such as rearranging your shelf for a few minutes in a day.
See things from a different perspective by taking time to switch your thoughts to spark new ideas.
When and How Often to Do These Art Exercises
As A Warmup
If your work requires you to go into a deep flow state when working, consider starting a warm-up to get your creative gears going. Just like physical exercises, warming up can help your mind slowly ease into work instead of shocking your brain into the workload.
Feeling Stuck
When you’re feeling stuck and can’t seem to get any creative ideas going, spend a bit of time doing these guided exercises to jumpstart and break through the creative block.
Regular Routine
Doing these guided art exercises often can prevent creative blocks and burnout, as it helps deal with perfectionism. Rather than trying to perfect the outcome, they will come to embrace the importance of progress.
Benefits of Doing Art/Creative Exercises
Engaging in creative activities relieves stress and anxiety, promoting a better mood and emotional regulation.
These art exercises help in enhancing your problem-solving skills, as they encourage you to see art from a different perspective by trying new and different ways to express your thoughts.
By regularly promoting mindful practices, you can enhance your ability to focus and ignore distractions.
Key Takeaways
Creative exercises not only heal your creative mind but also your mental and emotional state.
You don’t have to pick up all practices in one go; you can start with one exercise per week.
By building this habit, it’ll help you in the long run.
We even prepared a list for you to try, so pull a friend with you to try it out! Share it with us in our Facebook Mental Health Group, and let us know your progress and thoughts.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can dancing be part of my creative practice?
Yes, dancing can be part of your creative practices to boost your creativity. Taking up dancing classes or even just following videos online can be your guide to getting into them.
Can my creative practice be longer?
Yes, you can set how long and how short your creative sessions are. It doesn’t have to be a set time every time you do them.
Author Bio
With a background in Arts English, Adilla has been a casual writer for various hobbies, including parodies of animated shows and plots for board games like Dungeons & Dragons. She loves to read anything and everything from fantasy stories to articles on tips and tricks. Currently, Adilla resides in Malaysia and is a creative writer at TESSR. One day, she is eager to publish her book. To know more about her, check out her LinkedIn.
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