The Art of Letting Go: How Creativity Helps Calm the Nervous System
A gentle reflection on how movement and making can bring peace to a busy mind.
Creativity has long been a bridge between emotion and expression. Whether through painting, writing, dancing or simply doodling in the margins of a notebook, creative acts give form to feelings that words cannot always hold. In a world that rewards constant doing, it can feel indulgent to slow down and make space for creativity. Yet research and lived experience both show that this kind of expression is not just soothing, it is deeply healing.
Creativity as medicine for the mind and body
Artists have always understood what psychology now proves: creativity helps regulate the nervous system. When we move our bodies or create with our hands, the mind begins to soften. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung described art-making as a way of accessing the unconscious, a language of the soul that helps bring hidden feelings into the light. Modern somatic research echoes this idea, showing that creative movement and tactile expression help the body process emotions that talking alone cannot release. This does not require talent or training. It simply asks for curiosity, presence and a willingness to see what unfolds.
The link between movement, emotion and flow
Artists such as Agnes Martin and Yayoi Kusama used repetition and rhythm in their work as ways to find peace and stability. Each brushstroke or pattern became a kind of meditation, a steadying of the nervous system through creative ritual. Similarly, somatic practices such as mindful movement or embodied dance bring us into that same state of flow. The gentle rhythm of breath and motion helps balance the body’s stress response and offers a sense of grounding that the thinking mind alone cannot achieve. Through movement, we re-enter the present moment. Through art, we give it shape.
Creativity as connection
When we create, we connect both to ourselves and to the world around us. Artist and writer Clarissa Pinkola Estés speaks of creativity as an instinctual force, one that keeps the psyche alive and resilient.
She writes, “The doors to the world of the wild Self are few but precious. If you have a deep scar, that is a door; if you have an old, old story, that is a door.”
When we move, draw, sing or sculpt from that place of truth, we reconnect with what is raw and real. This connection is where transformation begins.
A simple creative practice for calm.
You do not need a studio or special materials to explore this. All you need is a pen, a piece of paper and ten quiet minutes.
Begin by noticing your breath. Let it slow and settle.
Without thinking, start to move your pen freely across the page. Let your hand follow how you feel rather than what you want to create.
Notice the pressure, pace and texture of your marks. Allow whatever arises to be there.
When you are finished, pause. Look at what you have made with curiosity, not judgement.
This practice is not about producing something beautiful. It is about allowing something inside you to move.
Creativity is not a luxury. It is one of the body’s oldest ways of healing. Through movement and making, we find space to breathe, regulate and release what words cannot hold. As you move through the early months of the year, may you give yourself permission to create, not for an outcome but for the gentle relief it brings. If this theme speaks to you and you would like to explore the connection between movement, art and emotional wellbeing, join me for Creativity in Motion: A Somatic Journey to Transform Anxiety into Expression on Saturday 31 January at Riverside Wellbeing, Whaley Bridge.