Creative blocks suck. They feel like stuckness, smell like stagnation, and behave like brats. Yet somehow, they can also become doorways; thresholds of renewal, initiations into new realms of inspiration. 

When you feel blocked, do you push? Do you fight? Do you scream into the night and kick the obstacle till your foot bleeds? Or do you lie on the ground and let the tears make a lake until you drown in it? 

Our creativity is a current of wildness. It’s a forest with infinite life growing and dying and weaving, unfurling and breathing, decomposing and becoming. It’s a river that branches out and flows in twists and turns, this way and that. And when a wall rises and blocks the stream, the energy doesn’t know where to go. 

It can erupt and become a rageful volcano. Or sink us down and become deep depression. It can start to evaporate through the steam of stress. Or start to dry up from lack of engagement. 

Our creativity needs engagement. It doesn’t mean we are all destined to be working artists. It means we are all vessels of inspiration, and inspiration mustn’t be ignored. It’s a life force, and you – yes, you – deserve to breathe it, to receive it, to follow it. Creativity requires engagement, and it cannot be forced. 

It’s important to stay inspired right now. Right now, when the world around us feels like it’s collapsing, we need the imagination to help carry us toward creative reconstruction of self and society. I’m not talking about an easy fix. I’m not thinking we’ll find the answers in art. I do think that being inspired and having a close relationship with our Muse is an important part of crafting structures that help us and those around us breathe and find solace. 

You can read more about why it’s important to stay inspired in this essay.  

Creative blocks might come from lack of engagement, from pushing too hard, from ignoring our Muse, or demanding too much of her. It can come from falling into a pattern and doing the same thing over and over again. From getting stuck in a rut. From losing touch with the magic and being swallowed by the swamp of the mundane. 

Sometimes we need to sit there in the dark with the obstacle. Just sit and wait. Breathe into the discomfort. Our presence melts the hardness. Slowly. 

Sometimes we need to pull ourselves away from it all. Send ourselves somewhere else. Take a break. 

Sometimes we need to gently harness the power of our creativity – not control it, not tame it, but connect to it, gather it, collaborate with it. 

And sometimes we need to gently break the pattern that has become sticky, to redirect the energy, to reorient around it, to carve a new pathway for the stream to flow through.

Breaking a pattern is a practice. It doesn’t happen with one wave of a magic wand. We need awareness, alertness, and a willingness to see ourselves with honesty and hold ourselves with love. Breaking patterns requires commitment, giving ourselves space to fall, and reminding ourselves that we are stronger than we think we are, so that we can get back up and try again. 

Our bodies are incredible. They hold memories and possibilities, the ability to repeat and the power of change and renewal. I find that in order to move through creative blocks I need to involve my body.

I made this video with a breathwork practice that focuses on breaking the pattern of the breath and redirecting the flow of our energy, our thoughts, our feelings, and our tendencies. You can use it any time you feel stagnant, stuck, or blocked, and move your breath in a way that helps you move your life. 

Sending you love,

Hagar