If you’re feeling a little mentally clouded, a touch hazy in the head, and want to liberate yourself from this place, so you can get on with the work — with writing, creating, and making your art — one swift means to clarity and calm is to practice this simple meditation technique each time you feel overwhelmed, stressed-out or in need of renewed focus.
It reconnects you to what author Tom Robbins affectionately named, ‘the ecstasy of the present moment’ — to your prose/paint/project with presence — which always inspires creativity. Many deceptively simple techniques like this one stem from the ancient healing practices of the Tao, and can be potent healing tools, especially if your time is too slender to meditate but mind feeling foggy or scattered.
The Taoist Chill Pill
Yintang is often used in acupressure to calm the mind, for people who are anxious, overwhelmed or stressed out, also for symptoms related to this, such as: insomnia, over thinking — and especially for calming that overthinking — referred to in the East as the ‘monkey mind‘.
If you’re feeling unsettled, anxious or agitated about things beyond your control, and your mind spinning at an impossible rate, with you unable to focus—that’s monkey mind. This point is calming to your entire being, easing this emotional restlessness, overthinking, and anxiety, creative and otherwise, and is the ultimate acupressure point to chill you out.
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Take a deep, luxurious breath & exhale with a little force—breathing out any built-up tension.
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Become aware of how you are holding yourself—scan your body for any places you’ve subconsciously tensed or tightened — relaxing each — in turn letting go of that tension.
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Breathe gently but do not force it—simply allow your breath to find its own natural depth & rhythm.
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‘Yin Tang’ or the third eye point is at centre of the eyebrows, in the subtle indentation in the centre of the forehead.
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Close your eyes & using the gentlest pressure, lightly press this point.
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Facial points do not need a lot of pressure, often working far more effectively with a gentle approach. You’ll likely feel a subtle pulse.
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As you gently press the point imagine that your fingertip is white-hot & your forehead the purest gold.
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Visualise your fingertip melting into the gold — & stay with this feeling — letting yourself focus on its tip as it penetrates, metaphorically of course.
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After a minute or likely less, a tingling feeling radiates through your face & skull, as your mind & body reconnect in presence & you too find yourself stilled, gently retuned to the moment—though the effects magnify after the practice.
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Continue to hold your finger here in stillness—until all mental tension dissipates, with you clear in mind, & calm in body.
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Then gradually lessen the pressure & ever so slowly lift your finger off the point, which may feel like it’s still being pressed for a little while afterwards.
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Enjoy this ensuing peacefulness, clarity & calm—then start creating again.
You may like to fuse this with GV 20, also called Ba Hui or the ‘One Hundred Meeting’ point, which has the effect of waking you up, giving fresh insight, along with many other benefits that naturally enhance your creativity [click me to read more on GV 20]
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Press Ba Hui or GV 20 with your right hand.
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Simultaneously gently press Yin Tang or GV 24.5 with your left.
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Keep breathing gently for about a minute.
“Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.” ~ Herman Hesse
If you enjoyed this humble offering, there’s a single healing creative tool every month. For a sequence of healing practices and techniques, you may enjoy: 7-Step Process to Align Body, Mind and Soul for Optimum Creativity.
For more acupressure, try these points to optimise your focus; these to ease creative doubt, and this little offering has more ancient healing techniques to add a little pep to your step, and increase your motivation if its in need of a little boost.
For more on the creative benefits of mediation, with these 7 Reasons to Meditate if You Write or Make Art.
Side note: Although many subscribe to there being two ‘third eye’ points, one slightly above the other — & most people finding that one is more sensitive than the other — both have a profoundly calming effect on your person (the latter corresponding to ‘ajna’ in the ancient Indian vedas). Yin Tang also corresponds to the ‘Upper Tan Tien’, which will be covered in its own offering.
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Waoo This is a very interesting topic. Emotional balance, I believe is very critical in any thought-provocative task. I total agree with you in this. I wish other people will learn from this. So many people find it difficult to be creative, because of either environmental imbalance or other social misunderstanding.
So happy you enjoyed this offering, Jesse. Agree it is so essential but Western culture especially, seems to almost exclusively focus on the externals. Wholly neglecting the inner landscape, which is of course our own unique and direct experience of the world. I loved your comment! Thank you ♥