But I'm not an artist!

Lindsay Miller  0:07  
You're listening to The Stress Nanny podcast and I'm your host, Lindsay Miller. I'm here to help you keep an eye on your family stress levels. In our fast paced lives, the ability to manage stress has never been more important for kids or adults. When it comes to stress, we have two choices we can decrease stress or increase our resilience to it. Here on the number eight ranked stress podcast, I interview experts and share insights to help you do both. When you tune in each week, you'll bring your stress levels down and your resilience up so that stress doesn't get in the way of you living your best life. I'm so glad you're here. 

Hey, this is Lindsay. Thanks so much for joining me here on the podcast. This week's episode is so fun. I'm talking to Cynthia Hauk about mindful art. And she has some fantastic ideas for simple ways to incorporate art into your day your hike, and it brings a sense of mindfulness along with just access to our creativity, which can be so soothing and help us get into a flow. So without further ado, I present Cynthia Hauk. Thanks again for being here. Onto the episode. 

Welcome to the stress nanny podcast. I'm your host, Lindsay Miller and I'm delighted you're here to lower your stress levels. Today I'm talking to Cynthia Hauk and I'm so excited about this conversation. Cynthia has a master's degree in Fine Arts and she's the founder of mindful creative muse. She's passionate about sharing simple mindfulness and art activities to help busy people de stress and express themselves creatively. She also trains and coaches creative entrepreneurs are in yoga teachers and expressive art therapists to move through creative blocks and share their unique vision and services in the world. Cynthia offers online mindful art workshops, retreats and teacher trainings. And since 2007, she's facilitated an in person and online courses retreats, festivals, group coaching programs, teacher trainings and TELUS summits globally. She's reached students in more than 49 countries. Cynthia, thank you so much for joining me today.

Cynthia Hauk  2:12  
Thanks for having me, Lindsay. I'm happy to be here.

Lindsay Miller  2:16  
I reached out to Cynthia when I saw her work, because she obviously has a lot in common with what I do in terms of mindfulness. So her approach is so beautiful to me. And we talked a little bit about it offline. But Cynthia talked to me about how art can really help us step into a place where we can let go of stress.

Cynthia Hauk  2:36  
Absolutely love that question. So I find a lot of times when people get into a good flow state with artmaking, where they're in a place where they feel like time sort of standstill and they're doing something that they're working on that they feel really excited about, that there can be a natural way that we kind of step into place of self care and de stressing. I think sometimes there's confusion around flow states and mindfulness and they are different. And there are ways that we can be really intentional around incorporating mindfulness and meditation with artmaking, that can be even more supportive for our self care. The main thing that I love sharing is that really the focus is on the process and not the final product. We were chatting about this a little bit. But I think so often in the school system, or when we're younger, and we're learning art, it can be very grade based like A through F you're doing something right or wrong. It's very skill based. And so what I love about mindful art activities is that you don't have to be an artist, you don't have to have a certain level of skill. You're not being graded, you're not being performative in what you're creating. And that goes for both adults and your kiddos, whether you're a parent or a teacher. So it's really another way to engage your creativity without the pressure. And I think the pressure is what can feel stressful. And so yeah, I love talking about this topic and ways that it's supported me and other kiddos and parents and teachers that I've known.

Lindsay Miller  4:10  
Yeah, and thanks so much for bringing that up. Because I think that point is a really important one to make, like the distinction between doing art for someone else or for a reason or for a grade. And then just doing art because it's fun or because you enjoy it or because you can just be really present and explore and curious you know, with the materials or the media, whatever you're using, like you can just be there in that moment with with the paint with the clay with whatever it is and just really dive in and not not let like your fifth grade art teacher or your ninth grade sculpting teacher, you know, be the voice in your head in those moments, right. You can learn to just let it be you and the material you're working with.

Cynthia Hauk  4:58  
Yeah, I love that you named that too, because I noticed that working with different art materials automatically lends itself more so to mindfulness or being curious about what's happening right now in this moment. So one of the practices that I teach for kid kiddos and that parents and teachers can use with kiddos is, many times when people were growing up, we've done like finger painting or straw breath painting, right. But both of those activities automatically engage more senses. So you might include the breath, you might have the texture of pain on your hands or feeling the page. And so it's really challenging, I think, at that point to not pay attention to your breath, or the fact that you have paint on your hands. So it automatically there's, I like to think of it as like a container, it automatically holds you within a container, that can sometimes make it easier to engage the senses to notice what's happening right now, to have a form of meditation. And then once we enter weave in that non judgement, which is a really key piece of mindfulness, then I find it can be, you know, more playful or more at ease, or that curiosity can come in. Yeah,

Lindsay Miller  6:09  
I love that the idea of a container, the word that was coming to mind, for me was immersive. Like it really is, when it's sensory like that it's immersive, like you're in it, and you you don't want to get out of it really, like you're just kind of right. They're all in. And I think what you just said to is really important, because sometimes we have a hard time understanding the idea of non judgment, I think in terms of meditation, or mindfulness. And listeners know that I talked about mindfulness meditation a lot on here, and how they're avenues to growth avenues to resilience, you know, so many benefits can come from it. But sometimes the experience of learning how to be mindful and learning how to meditate, it can be a little bit hard to connect with. But when you do it in an experiential way, like in the ways that you teach it, there is like a direct application to each action that you're taking right with the art to living mindfully, can you go into that a little bit more?

Cynthia Hauk  7:07  
Yeah, and I like to often refer to it as a practice also, because I think, regardless of having the best of intentions, our mind, part of its job is to judge things, and to be kind of on the lookout or have negativity bias. It's just the way that our brain is programmed to operate. And so I think that that's a really normal experience for us to feel like judgment is coming up when we're making art or just in general, and noticing that. So I like to mention it as a practice. And name that because especially for adults I work with who don't feel like they're creative or feel pressure judgment, when they're trying something new like this, is to to normalize that and say, it's going to happen, like at some point, you are going to have judgmental thoughts or, or maybe questioning, you know, is this quote unquote, good enough? Am I doing it right? Those sorts of things. So I like to just name it first to kind of like have a more even space that we can all be curious together. And then that is part of the practice I find is that when those thoughts come in, and you have those judgments similar to the way I've I've compare it because I also teach meditation without art. And a lot of times with street meditation or mindfulness practices that I'm teaching, one of the anchors I use is the breath. So one thing about noticing the breath is, will be aware of maybe tightness in the chest. And then I'll notice I'm thinking about my to do list and then I'm thinking about a memory from two years ago. And I catch it like five thoughts down the line, you know, and, and that happens the same way with mindfulness meditation and art activities together, you're just having another Art Media form in there that can help kind of contain your thoughts and contain your awareness and focus. But when that happens, when I catch those thoughts, or when I hear my students catch those thoughts, I get excited, because that's the practice like that's, that's when we're doing the work is when we're noticing that our thoughts are somewhere else, or that our thoughts are being judgmental. And really, it sounds really simple. And it's simple in theory and difficult in practice is the practice is then to just return back to the focal point you have or the activity you're doing, to not be really hard on yourself. Or especially if you're working with your children in the classroom or at home, you know, to have that really encouraging environment and just return back to the activity that you're doing. And, and I think one other thing I'll just say is that with mindful art activities, the nice part is there can be this childlike play that's included. And I just find that so sweet. You know that that it can help reengage our awareness and senses in a way that feels maybe lighter. or encouraging. Not always. But it's nice to have that.

Lindsay Miller  10:04  
Yeah, there's so many great points you brought up. Let's start with the the sensory experience and like that return to childlike play because I think when we harken back to those years, when either we were little or kids were little before we knew, there were people who judged art, who graded art, who, you know, when it was just really an experience of creation, that it was a different experience, right. And like you pointed out, when we engage with finger painting, or any kind of process art where it is just like, very hands on and tactile, you know, maybe there's smells, and that there's such a, like a harkening back to that sense of art just being play, right. And like you said, it's just, it's playing, and new kids don't know any different. Like, they don't know that it's performative, right, they just know it as play. And so as adults, when we can engage in those activities, or invite even our older kids, to, you know, recommit to finger painting, or to have some sort of experience that feels a little bit, maybe juvenile to them, but invites that full sensory experience, it can take us back to that place where we forgot, you know, we forgot other people were looking, we weren't comparing we were just playing. So I really love that. And then also, just the recognition that in the thick of the creation, like that's where the practice is, and like you pointed out so beautifully, there's no difference between letting go of a thought about like, this isn't good enough to letting go of a thought in your day, your workday, your home life, you know, like, oh, I don't have the same living room setup, or I don't, my house doesn't look good enough, or, you know, my child isn't doing as well as you know, XYZ. And like, those are the same. It's the same practice, right? Whether we're doing it with art, whether we're doing it in our life, whether we're doing it in our meditation, like, it's all the same practice. And so I love art being like a very natural bridge into that, because sometimes we can have a hard time even catching ourselves in the thought, you know, like you said, so beautifully in our day to day life in those, you know, five thoughts later, when we're like, oh, yeah, I'm supposed to be focusing on my breath. It can be hard sometimes to just maintain that focus on the breath. So if we can start somewhere like art, do you find that it's easier for people to engage with the process of mindfulness from there, because it's like a tactile, like focused activity that engages the mind enough, and gives enough of like a space and container that then like the practice of letting go of some of those judgments, whether it's from someone else's opinion of our art, our own judgment of our art, our own judgment of our ability? Is it easier almost to practice mindfulness in that space? Because it is such a strong container, where we can see like, oh, that thought, it's not helping me just engage in play right now.

Cynthia Hauk  12:55  
Yeah, I do find that a lot of the people that I work with adults are the ones that have tried meditation in the past, but they say they can't, like, you know, quote, unquote, sit on a cushion, or it feels really painful or uncomfortable, or they just get really distracted, or I have, I've had parents that have come to me and have expressed that their seven year old has had a really hard time focusing, and they've tried different things. But a watercolor doodling practice that I have was one that he could just get really engaged in for like a week. And he then they noticed that he was calmer. So everybody, I think, has different preferences. But what I've found is that it's an easier way in. And I, there's lots of reasons for that. And there's things that support it. But one thing that first comes to mind for me is that sometimes just focusing on our breath, or body or our thoughts can feel like a lot, because we have a lot going on in our minds and in our bodies and with different sensations. And, and sometimes it can feel, you know, like a mile a minute. And so by having something outside of ourselves on the page that we can engage with, and we can play with these marks that perhaps are moving really slowly, and then noticing different senses in the body. It just narrows in that awareness, because if we try to just turn inward, there can be a lot there. So I find that it simplifies. I'm really big. I chat a lot about simple activities and also five minute activities, and that we can do these practices and really small bursts to build up that muscle and that practice. The other thing I was going to say when I was hearing you chat about that what came to mind for me is doing an exploring mindful art activities in nature as well. Perhaps collecting twigs or leaves and making a mandala shape or even just doing a nature walk, perhaps with you and your kiddos. And talking about different smells or sites that you're seeing, that automatically adds another element, right? There's something else outside of ourselves. But there's this slowing down that can happen in nature as well. And I find there's even less pressure when we're in nature, because it's not a, you know, paper pen and paintbrush in hand where we have these ideas about what art is, when we're in nature, sometimes that can be even easier for people to step into play and curiosity.

Lindsay Miller  15:31  
Yeah, oh, those are such great points. I'm glad you brought up nature. And I love the idea of using art as a means to support focus. One of the things that I felt really strongly about when my daughter was little, she's 13 now, but when she was little, and I was looking at different preschools, I was trying to figure out, you know, what my priorities were and what was important to me. And nature and concentration, were both like high on my list. And one of the things that I really loved about the Montessori method that we connected with was the focus on concentration and that, like you teach kids to concentrate, not by forcing them to concentrate, but by helping them figure out what they're interested in. And then when they find something that they want to engage with, they naturally practice concentrating, because they want to, you know, and so we're not like, Please concentrate on this, we're saying, like, here are a couple of activities, which one, which one is appealing to you. And then like, they automatically direct their attention. And so what you were saying about building focus, using our activities resonates with me really deeply because I watched her she was like a mapmaker. So she loved making these maps, and she would paint them and outline them, and she just would just go to town, and she would spend, you know, 45 minutes as a three year old working on painting this map. And it we have them still hanging in our house. And I, I loved, like, the repetition because she would come home with like tons of these maps, I mean, she would just be like creating maps every day. And she loved it. And she just was engaged with it. And she loved the at the painting part and the writing part and the labeling. And one of the things they talk about with Montessori is like, the key skill that your child needs to kind of cultivate at these ages is the ability to concentrate and like get it, you know, move through a task, and that their intrinsic motivation is going to be the thing that drives them. And so with you like with your YouTube channel with your workbook, like there are different ways you invite people to that moment, right, like invite people to concentrate on art and like, it doesn't have to be sit down and do this specific one, right? Like with your channel, it can be like, Okay, here's some options, which one looks fun to you. And then being able to engage with, like, like you said, for five minutes. And if we can help kids who have trouble focusing, or who are feeling really out of sorts, or dysregulated, if we can help them land in an activity for just a few minutes. It's so settling for the nervous system, right? And then if we can help them land in another activity the next day for maybe a little longer, and another activity the next day, like over time, naturally, some of those things are just going to lengthen, like their ability to focus, right, like you're saying their ability to engage with something without getting super distracted. And it's because we've connected them with something that invites them to presents in a way they want to be present, right?

Cynthia Hauk  18:34  
Yeah, I often refer to it as like an invitation that or I sometimes refer to actually is like a buffet of activities, that you have all of these options, and that you get to choose right, and it might change from day to day, what you're hungry for what you want to explore and try. And yeah, I think a huge part for both adults and kids with mind Florida activities is this permission to explore and play and not have that judgment. But that also, we're the ones that get to, to make choices in our experience. And so I love the way that that you were really talking about children and them engaging in something they're really interested in. And just by the nature of doing that as a practice over time, it can increase that focus. And just to geek out for a second, we know with mindfulness as well, that mindfulness consistently with practice has been shown to increase gray matter. And that can help for adults and kiddos. It can help with memory, it can help with learning self awareness, even building up empathy. And so even if we're not focusing on those things intentionally right, or we're not trying to increase learning or empathy when we're doing that activity, it has that ripple out effect, which I just absolutely love.

Lindsay Miller  19:55  
Yeah. Oh, I'm so glad you brought that up because I think sometimes we can siddur solutions for our kids or for ourselves, you know, for some things that maybe have plagued us or tendencies that we have that have been with us for our whole lives, right? Like maybe it's a tendency toward perfectionism, or maybe it's a, you know, a tendency for our kids to not have a ton of focus. And I think we, we tend to look for solutions that are complex, or think it has to be really hard, or, you know, think because this is a problem that's gone on a long time. It can't be a simple solution. But I love what you're saying, like, what if it is, right? What if? What if it is just a, an intentional, consistent choice to engage with mindful art? And what if that has so many just ripple effects for the brain and for relationships? And for all the ways that kids you know, step out into the world? And what if that what if that was all you needed? And I think sometimes we missed the boat on the simple solutions, because we feel like because it feels complex to us, the solution also has to be complex.

Cynthia Hauk  21:01  
Yeah, and I just hearing you talk about that it makes me think about all of the times when so often, we're practicing mindfulness and art activities, without even knowing it. It's part of our ritual in our families. Like I was remembering, just as you shared that we would take road trips when I was younger, with my family, and my sister and I, which I'm sure my parents loved this, we would start, we would, we would make our own songs in the backseat. And we would have so much fun creating our own language and songs and, and just being so absolutely immersed in that moment with each other. And there was anything we wanted to sing was fair game. There was no like, it was almost like the improv comedy. Yes, you know, response. Anything we didn't that moment was a yes. And I just think of that and other ways that we made, you know, Christmas, more ornaments together with foam and ribbon and little pins. how so many of the activities that we do naturally, in our families at times, can also be mindful art activities, I think they've why this has become more prevalent is, with everyone feeling so stressed. And with everything happening the last couple of years, it's almost I've really talked with a lot of people that are wanting more things to add into their like treasure chest of supportive, fun activities. And so it's just adding more things into your treasure chest. I'm sure a lot of people listening to this are already doing a lot of things that, you know, would be really similar.

Lindsay Miller  22:34  
Yeah, oh, I love that you do have recognizing like that you're probably doing this in a lot of ways right now. And really just sinking into that realization along with maybe supporting it or enhancing it in the ways that you can in your own space. Love that. Let's revisit that idea of nature. And then we'll get into some of the activities that you do, which are so fun. So in nature, you said that we just kind of naturally engage with art in a less judgmental way, right? Like, we just get a little more playful or creative or like gathering the sticks or making a little Karen with the rocks or just playing and like flower flower crowns or little bouquets. What, what do you find is the biggest barrier for people to either egg just like engage with nature in general, or be to engage with nature in in an artistic way. Like one of the things coming to mind for me is like the like pace, if we have an agenda, when we're in nature, like we're going to make it through this hike. And we're going to get from A to B, that can be fun and great. And it's good to have a goal and get some exercise, right. But if we're like shepherding our kids along the way, when they want to, like stop and collect the flowers, maybe we're missing some opportunities to just like invite and allow those moments that are just naturally occurring. You know, like if they're super concentrating on their little flower crown, that they're weaving together. There's so much benefit in those moments. Right. So what are some of the things you see besides like hustle and bustle that keep people from just taking advantage or just allowing maybe those moments?

Cynthia Hauk  24:20  
I love that question. What comes to mind for me that I've heard in some of my conversations is habituation and pressure. And so I live in Colorado, beautiful, absolutely beautiful state. And I live in the city so the mountains I get to see every day but if I want to be in the mountains, I have to drive about 20 minutes, carve out space and time in my day, make a plan to get over there and really drop in and I have some closer parks and paths and little forest the area that I really love going to that is much more accessible and easier. That's easier to build into my daily habit or routine. So I'm so I think that's part of it is that we naturally are creatures of habit. So if we don't have the habit of going into nature, being in nature, and maybe we work from home remotely, or maybe we have a family at home that takes up a lot of our time and attention, and that feels like an extra chore or an extra hassle to have to get there. I think that can be part of it. The other thing that that came to mind when you're talking is when I first moved back to Colorado, my nephew who's now 12, he was five or six. And he loved going to this park with my sister and I Palmer Park in nature, and it's very rocky and, and I loved going on walks with him because he was so curious, you know, five or six years old that he wanted to stop literally every three steps, right? I know most people listening to this can relate to that

Lindsay Miller  25:53  
to to look at a flower look at a rock

Cynthia Hauk  25:55  
or pick up a really cool stick that he found or like be curious about what's behind what was that noise behind that like brush over there. And so I loved our walks, because it would take us, you know, 30 minutes and we would go a very short distance and then turn around. And one of the Forest Park I mentioned actually here is connected to Catamount Institute, they work with kids, they have signs up throughout the path that every like 100 Couple 100 feet, it has a sign that shows different senses, and invites you to notice birds or to smell or to hear something. And I just love absolutely love that. And sometimes I wish that we could just have these signs randomly around in nature. So if we are in nature, but we're still in that like work mode, or go go go or I'm going to do this, but I'm doing it to get to A to Z, that we can just have those invitations to slow down. So your your other question around, perhaps why? Why is art not automatically threaded into nature practices?

I think there's a lot of reasons for that. But again, what comes to mind is, a lot of times we think of art as paintings, drawing photographs, so sometimes people use their cell phones and photograph more in nature. But art and creativity can also be gardening, it can also be cooking, it can also be these things that engage different senses and creativity where we're exploring something new. And so in nature, a lot of times you have the invitation of creating a mandala. Mandala just means circle. And so collecting different objects and creating that together with other people in a circle in nature, and you might take a photograph of it. But also we're letting it go. So it's not precious because I think sometimes we can have a with a cap or art with a capital A and it can feel very precious, which is also where some of that pressure comes from. So there's there's different ways that you can explore art in nature, but I think it's just not if it's not part of your practice or habit. I think it just doesn't come to mind a lot for people. Yeah.

Lindsay Miller  28:11  
Oh, those are such great observations. And I really loved what you were saying about your nephew and the signs. That's just fun. We should have those signs like have you do you hear the birds right now?

Cynthia Hauk  28:26  
They're helpful reminders.

Lindsay Miller  28:28  
Yeah, well and I think you bring up a good point there too. And it's something we've talked about a little bit on the podcast before but like kids are mindfulness pros mindfulness perot's because their whole job is sensory development, right? Especially when they're little. And a lot of times we kind of like educate or culture, the mindfulness out of them, right. Like, we hustle them along. And we, we make our to do list impossible. And you know, we just we, we force ourselves into a pace that maybe doesn't respect and I say this with all the like, respect and love for what, like the busyness that is motherhood anyway, right? Oh, judgment. But I think sometimes we don't respect like the education they can offer us around mindfulness. And I love like your example of just wandering with him in a way that respected his curiosity and how those precious moments if we can habituate that, like, they'll take us right to nature, right? Because that's the space where they love to be or they'll take us right to a space of process art that is just fun and playful. And so if we take their lead in those moments, I think the invitation is stronger than maybe if we you know, try to do it the other way around and invite invite little kids to be mindful.

Cynthia Hauk  29:44  
That's beautiful. I love that.

Lindsay Miller  29:47  
Um, we'll talk to me about some of the activities that you share because you have so many fun ones and they're, again, like a range, right? So it's like you can take a lot of time with it. You could take a little bit of time with it. You could do a material that you have to kind of go procure, where you can use something you have at home. So you have so many again, like on your channel, you have your workbook and your website, which we'll talk a little bit more about later. But give us a sampling of some of the ways people can invite themselves to those mindful art moments.

Cynthia Hauk  30:16  
Yeah, definitely. So I'll share a couple of really quick things that you don't even necessarily need any art supplies or materials to do them and experiment with them. And then I'll share something that where you can play with more materials. So I really love the idea, we were talking about it a little bit with nature. But I love the idea of how we can incorporate mindful moments throughout our day. And so one practice that I teach, which is an infinity breath, so many people are familiar with an infinity symbol, if not, it's basically like two circles that connect in the middle, or it looks like a figure eight symbol. And so the Infinity eight breath, there's a couple of different ways. One, if you don't have even a pen and paper with you, what I like is you can just make that eight figure eight symbol on your hand, on your leg, it's great. If you're like in a work meeting, or a school board meeting or something and you're just wanting something to feel a little more present and calm in the moment you can make that shape on. So you have a couple of things happening, you feel that textile contact with your skin or with your you know, fabric, and then you also can breathe with it. So as you're coming on the the upper part of the loop, you would inhale, and as you're moving down, you would exhale. And that's something you can do with or without a pen. And so that clearly we're not making quote unquote, art with a capital A there. But what we are doing is we're combining mindfulness breath, and imagery or some sort of symbol as an anchor point. So that one's super simple, which I love. Another one, which is really sweet, I think to do with kiddos, is what I like to call star breath or drawing the breath. And so this would be similar where we're tracing a shape and we're syncing up our breath with it. So you can just use your hand or if you have a pen and paper, you can trace on the page as well. But so with a hand as an example. And with kids, you can always trace the hand and then have them color it afterwards, which can be really fun. But if we're using the hand as an example, I would start at the base of my thumb. And as I noticed that my next inhalation is getting ready to begin, I would inhale as I move my first finger up my thumb towards the tip of the thumb. And then as I move down the thumb, I would exhale. And you would do that moving all the way throughout your hand. So up your first finger inhaling down your first finger exhaling. And just doing that those five breaths. So essentially, I always find it really interesting what can shift in just that five, those five breaths. And but it can be really fun with kids if you're tracing their hand because then they have a little bit of contact, if you are using like a crayon or something, let's say with your your child. And you can talk about the breath with them. You can have them choose colors and talk about different colors and sometimes bring in emotions depending on their age. Those are ones that are really super simple, and you don't really need a lot of art supplies for them. There's others that the seven year old actually that I mentioned earlier, where he was having tantrums. So I had shared a practice which I created and I called meditative watercolor doodling. And it's it sounds complex, but it's still really simple. And you use watercolor paints, largely because they very easily can blend with each other. And they dry pretty quickly. And you can get those really simple kits from the dollar store with watercolor paints, so it's really inexpensive. And so you can usually what I'll do is I'll invite people to choose just a color they feel drawn to. So as an example, if I'm working with an adult, just mentioning to choose a color they feel drawn to in the moment, and maybe even then noticing a sensation in their body like right now I feel tension in my upper shoulders. And I might give that a color and there's no right or wrong. But so for me it feels like a dark burgundy color. So I would choose that along with the color that I just naturally felt really drawn to. And maybe MC allow them to mix on the page and just be curious and notice, but the part I love about this exercise is once the paint dries, which doesn't take very long. I then make the invitation to use a pen or a Sharpie marker. And notice when watercolors dry they leave really organic fun shapes and where the colors mixed together. And so you can almost like tracing if we had tracing paper or connect the dots when we were younger. You can start to just be cute Are you asked about the different shapes you see, and you can make your own image. So what I love about that is, there's this sort of investigatory play that happens. But it's completely brand new, you're never gonna have that same experience again, if you do that exercise later. So the seven year old, I mentioned, just quickly, I had shared that during the online retreat that I was doing mainly with women who, like me are recovering perfectionist and find themselves really busy and sometimes stressed. And I was sharing it with women in this retreat. And, and a woman shared this was right at the beginning of COVID, that her seven year old had been having a lot of tantrums, they tried a lot of different things. And she said that he saw her make this doodle was really curious asked her about it. And that he she said he was so excited for the next week. He like when she gave him supplies, and he went up to his room and did his own practice. And how quickly she noticed for him specifically that he was having less tantrums that he was focusing better, that he was just not as agitated, I think is one of the words that she used. And in the part I love about what she shared with that is that he was so excited about it, and that it was something he could do, he was excited to make it his own and to play with it. So that's a really fun one that I love sharing. I can go on and on I have you mentioned on my YouTube channel I have at my with my info, creative muse, there's some videos and then I have a free workbook that you can download that has more information also. But those are some of my favorites that are really simple that engage a lot of different senses.

Lindsay Miller  36:46  
I love those. Thank you for sharing them on I think there's so much power in, like you said, the exploration with play, right, like, like, and the choice and just the way that you approach it is so beautiful to me. And I'm grateful for Yeah, grateful for the ways that you make the world a more mindful place in a fun and beautiful way.

Cynthia Hauk  37:07  
Thank you, I appreciate what you do. Also,

Lindsay Miller  37:11  
before we go, can I ask you three questions that I asked the past guests? What is your favorite food?

Cynthia Hauk  37:19  
Um, I would say salmon.

Lindsay Miller  37:24  
Yeah, what is your favorite way to relax.

Cynthia Hauk  37:29  
So it changes but With summer coming, one of my favorite activities is to cloud gaze. So laying on the grass, looking at the clouds noticing different shapes, I can just feeling the sun on me, I can do that for a really long time.

Lindsay Miller  37:44  
Love that. And then a funny story or childhood memory.

Cynthia Hauk  37:49  
I thought of this earlier, when we were chatting, actually, that one of my favorite things was to play with bubbles outside down the street from our house. And we had a wall and we would you know the kids, we would toss balls on the wall and they would come back to us. But a lot of times the kids would be playing with the balls. And I would just be blowing bubbles into like a puddle and then noticing how all the colors would swirl together. And was just so found it's so mesmerizing. And if anyone ever asks me what my favorite color is, I usually say the color of bubbles. Much

Lindsay Miller  38:22  
Cynthia, this has been such a pleasure, thank you again for your time. And again like the the work that you do tell people where they can connect with you. We've talked about your YouTube channel and the workbook. Talk to us about your website.

Cynthia Hauk  38:36  
Yeah, the easiest way is to to go to mindful creative muse.com. That's where that free downloadable workbook is. I also have a whole section on there around articles and videos and art materials that I recommend. So there's a resources page that people might find helpful.

Lindsay Miller  38:53  
Yeah, so many resources and then Instagram, right? Yeah,

Cynthia Hauk  38:57  
I'm on all the platforms. Yeah. Mindful, creative muse.

Lindsay Miller  39:00  
Thank you again,

Cynthia Hauk  39:01  
this has been such a pleasure. Thanks so much, Lindsay.

Lindsay Miller  39:05  
Thanks again, for listening. I would love to hear what you liked best and what you try from this episode. Cynthia had so many great ideas. And I think they are pretty easy to incorporate. So let me know if you check out her site or if you try any of the things we talked about on the podcast, I'd love to hear about it. 

You've just finished an episode of The Stress Nanny podcast. So hopefully you feel a little more empowered when it comes to dealing with stress. Feel free to take a deep breath and let it out slowly as you go back to your day. I'm so glad you're here. If you're a longtime listener, thank you so much for your support. It really means the world to me. If you're new, I'd love to have you follow the podcast and join me each week. And no matter how long you've been listening, please share this episode with someone who was stressed out. If you enjoyed the show, would you please do me a favor and go to ratethispodcast.com/thestressnanny and leave a review The link is in the show notes I'm so grateful for all my listeners thank you again for being here. Until next time!

Transcribed by https://otter.ai