The challenge started out with 120 people, by day three we had 133 people. Participants sent me photos and comments about their experience each day. Following is the prompt sent and some of the comments and photos people sent me.
DAY 1
DAY 1 – STRETCH…a simple way to start.
“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” Anonymous
- Put a timer for 5 minutes.
- Stretch. your arms
- Stretch your legs
- Stretch your back
- Jump up and down 5 times
- Yawn 5 times
- Move all around
- Sit cross legged and focus on your breathing. Repeat. I am breathing in, I am breathing out.
- Don’t stop moving, breathing or stretching until timer is up.
Do what is comfortable for your body….your version of these movements.
Extra Points: Do it with a partner and share a photo of you stretching. Or share insights, thoughts, reflections to unpackyourcreativity@gmail.com
Remember if 30 people share every day I will donate 250E to https://www.chamos.org.uk/
And you will also be helping me in my research! Thank you!
Comments from participants
Mother and son: I had a lot of fun starting the day with my son Simón in this energetic stretching creative driven activity. Definitely had more energy walking into the metro today 🙂
L2: Estiramientos y respiracion durante 5 minutos.
Es un ejercio con el que estoy muy familiarizada porque practico yoga 3 veces en semana por mi cuenta, por lo que me siento muy cómoda realizando esta actividad.
Al hacerlo fuera de mi práctica habitual, mi sensación es de que los 5 minutos se han pasado muy rápido y por otra parte me doy cuenta de que en tan poco tiempo tu cuerpo es capaz de relajarse y oxigenarse para afrontar el siguiente reto que tengas por delante.
Creo que voy a intentar hacer estos 5 minutos en momentos concretos del día fuera de mi práctica habitual.
A: I did my Creativity exercise this morning during my daily walked to work.
Sunny day, cool breeze, walking along the Castellana side path.
I stopped at a bench and did my exercise.
I loved the stretching and jumping.
Mindful meditation put me in a good mood for the whole morning, and it was short (2 minutes) so easier than usual meditation exercises.
It’s so important to feel good…
Awesome!
L and D: Dario and I really enjoyed today’s challenge, the five minutes flew by.
C And C:
K: I had a crappy day and I postponed my stretching to the end of the day. I’m glad that I did it. While doing it I was thinking about what this had to do with creativity, and I thought to myself that this time alone helped me relax and that I should do this every night and take time to listen to my body. The five minutes went really fast. Thank you for this challenge.
M:
Anonymous: 20/06/23 – Stretching – Almost forgot to do it, but did it right before I slept. Was worried I’m going to wake up late for work and when I did the stretching it helped keeping my mind off that and so, less anxious.
Carolina (me): I had a tough time doing the challenge during the day, but right before midnight I did it with my son. I felt great after it. Ready for a good night’s sleep. I also loved doing it with company.
M: I was procrastinating around writing a story that I’ve had in my head since yesterday and decided to start the challenge. After 5 minutes stretching and breathing I felt more calmness and clarity. Then I sat down to write a first draft!
G: