Have you ever wanted to make art but thought you're "not artistic" or "not good enough"? Or maybe you find yourself caught up in making everything look "right," losing the joy and spontaneous authenticity that children have?
The desire to express ourselves creatively is an innate and vital gift of the human spirit, and it's a shame that people are so often bullied out of it by conditioned beliefs about how art "should" be. That's why I want to reconnect you with your natural capacity to express yourself with art—and even use it for healing.
Art has been a gift in my life since childhood. I was fortunate to have natural artistic ability that was nurtured by the creative freedom all children naturally possess. But as I grew older, my relationship with art changed. While I developed advanced technical skills and could create work that impressed people, I found myself increasingly focused on external validation. My art became less about authentic expression and more about proving my worth by being "good" at it. I had lost touch with the pure creative impulse of my true self.
During a period of deep depression in my twenties, the darkness I felt somehow moved me to begin using art differently. For the first time since childhood, I started making art expressing what I was really feeling. This was the beginning of a new pathway in my healing journey, opening doors I didn't even know existed.
That journey deepened profoundly when I discovered powerful mind-body practices many years ago through Body & Brain Yoga and Tai Chi—the same practices we now teach in our Change Your Energy Premium Membership. Learning to connect deeply with my body, emotions, and energy transformed not only my personal healing journey but also my approach to creative expression.
The Heart of Healing Art
I've been fortunate to have walked the path of healing art for almost 20 years now. I've learned from many wonderful teachers, and I've taught and shared these practices with many people, in many ways. What I've discovered through these years is that the power of healing art doesn't lie in specific techniques or materials, or even activities and prompts we might use. The true healing potential of art emerges from the state of being you bring to the creative process.
There's something inherently meditative about the act of making art itself. It naturally slows down our analytical thinking mind and activates our right-brain mode of awareness. This shift alone can give us access to deeper wisdom, insights, and expanded states of consciousness through which healing can occur.
But when we add the power of our own intention, and when we bring a present awareness of our bodies, emotions, and our entire inner landscape to the table, we take art's healing power to the next level. The more we can stay present with our inner experience and keep our thinking mind from taking over, the more profound the healing potential becomes.
Two Pathways to Healing Art
While there are infinite ways to use art for healing, I'd like to share two main pathways that are easy to understand and offer powerful potential for transformation.
The
first pathway is expressing what needs healing or what hurts we carry. When we create from a place of presence, we can safely express pain, difficult emotions, or challenging experiences. Sometimes this might mean vigorous, angry marks or images. Other times it might be gentle, flowing movements or images of sadness or grief. The key is to be present with whatever is true for you, with compassion and acceptance, and allow it to move through you and onto the page or canvas. Through this process, these energies can transform and release.
The
second pathway is creating art that represents what we want to step into—qualities we want to embody more of or aspects of ourselves we want to develop. This isn't just about making pretty pictures of our dreams. It's about actively connecting with these qualities as we create, allowing ourselves to feel and embody these energies in the present moment. The finished piece then serves as a powerful reminder and anchor for these qualities in our lives.
In both approaches, the emphasis isn't on what the art looks like, but on staying true to your internal experience and allowing it to express through movement and mark-making. Some days your art might look "beautiful" by conventional standards; other days it might look messy or "ugly." All of it is valid and valuable when it comes from an authentic place.
But what if you also want to make something that looks "good"? Am I saying that technically proficient art can't be healing? Not at all. There are absolutely ways to incorporate technical skill and aesthetic goals into your healing art practice, but what I've found is that the deepest healing comes from establishing that foundation of self-connection first. When you start from that connected place, you can then bring in your technical skills in service of your authentic expression, rather than letting them overshadow it.
An Example: The Healing Portrait Experience
For several years, I offered what I called the "Healing Portrait Experience"—a unique service that combined these principles of
healing art with professional portraiture. While this was a specific format I developed for working with clients, it shows how these principles can come together in powerful ways.
The process began with guided inner work, helping clients connect with both their current truth and their vision for transformation. We would then take photos with them embodying these new energies, and finally, I would create a formal portrait that integrated all these elements—their physical likeness, their soul's imagery, and the energy of their transformation.
The principles here can apply to any creative practice. You might use simple drawing, collage, or even photography with your phone. The key elements are the same: connect deeply with yourself, allow authentic expression of what you find, and create something that represents your journey.
Your Invitation to Heal with Art
Remember that you don't need special materials or
artistic training. You have natural creative capacity within you, and you have natural healing capacity within you. The key is to go within, connect with yourself, and create from that place of connection.
Start where you are. Use what you have. Maybe it's just a pencil and paper, or maybe you have art supplies gathering dust that are waiting to be used in a new way. There's no right or wrong way to do this—it's about finding what works for you and allowing it to evolve as you evolve.
The Change Your Energy Premium Membership offers weekly live classes plus hundreds of on-demand courses in mind-body practices, holistic healing, and spirituality to help you deepen your inner connection. It's free to try for 15 days. Learn about it here.