Play Something I Know 
Play Something New to me 
Engage in Learning Process 

​My boyfriend is a car detailer and while I don't revere other elements in his line of work, I doenvy the simplicity and direction of the 'work orders' he receives. My jealousy over having  direction handed to him in one neat sheet of paper inspired me to play with making 'work orders' before a practice session. I've found this way in to practice nourishing because it provides me the spark I get from simplicity of direction while also being open-ended. I still need plenty of room for intuitive guidance, curiosity of the moment, and magic to arrive during my practice! 

I relish the comfort I feel in response to direction, lists, and plans. I also relish the feelings I get from magic, emotion, and following intuition. I really need room for all of this in my practice, which can sometimes make...a tall order!... and can lead to me feeling overwhelmed and avoidant of my practice...the sheer amount and depth and breadth of all I need (and relish!). Unsurprisingly, avoiding my practice does not help me get what I really want, which is to enjoy a thriving arts practice. So, here is a practice prompt that got me excited because it combines the unintimidating simplicity and boom of structure and yet allows space for all the wavy flow of intuition. Thusly, I get a rich practice session. It's called the Work Order Way In'. 

I make myself a list of 3 areas I would like my creative session to touch on that day. I make this simple list after I have settled into the studio (coat and boots off, lights on, water sipped, sundries set aside) and before I sit down to play (hellooo internal world!). Composing a list in that moment is a beautiful act of transition, creating flow and shift for me between the last act of settling in and the first act in my creative time. 

After my list is made, I feel excitement at my permission to explore whatever interests me at the moment while resting in the comfort I find from lists and plans/direction. I walk into my practice session comforted and excited. 

This is an example of a 'work order'. I really liked this one, as it embodies the wonderfully open-ended yet purpose-filled way in to practice I feel these wee 'work orders' can provide. I hope you have as much wonder-romping as I did! 

Play Something I Know 
Play Something New to me 
Engage in Learning Process 

I sense that one way that "ordering up" an intention or structure for my practice so close to practice time itself works for me because it creates structure that allows/includes room to respond to how I am feeling in the moment. What I want or need within my creative practice day to day shifts. My creative practice was born because it responded (or gave me a way to respond, I don't know which!) to how I was feeling. If feels wonderful, then, to find ways in to practice that continue the original relationship I forged with my fiddle even after all my training. Honouring that original relationship (truth) and upholding its integrity means I can enjoy my practice more fully and arrive to it more often, more whole, more rebellious, and... more curious!

My artistic practice is vital to me becasue it allows response to what I am experiencing, what I want, what I need, and offers up affirmation that I am. 
So, any time on my fiddle is healing, healing. Medicine, medicine.​

Transition from other areas or roles of my life into my creative time is a key area of nourishment that increases the likelihood that I will arrive to my practice more often more fully. I want to share actions and rituals that you can reach for that may help you arrive to yourpractice time more often and more fully.  Whether you are settling into a five-minute play or a deep practice session, I hope these acts and rituals can serve your creative practice. 

Bringing You 
I access a different mode of being in my creative practice. If I am frazzled from a trip to the grocery store or by the news from the radio on the way to my practice, I can feel fragile and very far away from my practice mode. This can lead to me avoiding practice because I want to bring an open, generous, curious quality to my work with my fiddle, and sometimes stress can make me feel narrow, small, and tired. Here are some actions that are  doable between the kitchen and the living room or the car and the studio door to help transition to a grounded place where one is available to practice. 

1. Humming or chanting for a moment, connecting with my ability to make sound and how much pleasure it brings 
2. Connecting my hand to my heart, honouring my desire to play. Even co-existent with cahos. 
3. Doing a little body shake or making a lion face, asserting my right to choose to include this practice and the pleasure it brings to my life 
4. Giving myself a sweet gentle hug, letting myself know I have the right to feel all my experience and that I value my desire to play and want to honour that now. 
5. Opening up my instrument case and seeing my fiddle. Often, this is enough to bring about a shift in my mode of being and elicit any changes that want to happen so I can play. OK, so this one is not easily done between car and studio or kitchen and living room, but if it can still be a helpful way to connect with practice mode if you find yourself avoiding picking your fiddle up. If you find you resist even opening your case,  practice today could be tuning into what the resistance is about instead of letting it go unseen. 

​ 
Making a Designated Creative Space 
Having a special space to play can be a helpful signal to shift into practice, letting the intention for that time come through. If you have a dedicated studio space, the very act of walking into it can prime you to slide into your creative zone. Many of us don't have a room or studio exclusively for creative practice. If this is true for you, I invite you to think about the act of affecting your space to "carve out" a practice nook or creative spot, zone, or studio in your existing living space. Call it whatever you'd like- it's yours! 

Moving a chair from its place at the kitchen table to a room you'd lke to practice in. I like this act because after practice, returning the chair to its place can be a savoury closing to practice. Moving the chair can also serve as a 'test and re-test' moment. Can you notice how you feel returning the chair as compared to when you went to go get it earlier? This can bring your attention to how practice today affected you. 
Choosing an unusual orientation of a living room chair so you gaze upon something you enjoy. A variation on this is to have a visual focal point that you bring out just for practice. 
Facing towards a window anywhere in your home. 

One thing to note here is not to rush through the act of setting up your space or arriving to it. Let the very act of moving of the chair, re-orienting in your space, walking to your window or taking off your coat and shoes once you arrive at your studio be done with your awareness that you are shifting from the mundane into the "something else" that creative timespace is for so many of us. Setting up your space is when you can being to open your focus to include the whole of yourself, your environment, and arriving to both in equal balance, readying for practice and creativity to flow. Having a designated space to practice can be a powerfully supportive cue to shift into the exploration of practice and I hope these ideas can help you settle into yours or create one in your home! 

Marking Your Timespace & Energetic Intention 
Once you are feeling available for practice and are settled in your creative space, it is harmonizing to find a way to call to mind your intention for this time, or even simply to be really intimate with the time you have. Some ways to do this may be... 

Closing the Door. This can symbolize the moving past settling in and into the work, play, exploration of practice. It can be helpful because it is such a precise and definitive timespace marker. I like to lock my studio door because it lets me feel really safe knowing that I won't have any unexpected entries and also serves as a reminder that this time is mine alone and I can be free. At home, you may consider asking loved ones or housemates to permit you uninterrupted practice time. You can agree on a length of time if this is something that is challenging for the folks you live with. 
Lighting a Candle. This can be such a lovely way to mark the beginning of your practice. I love that practicing often takes me from Chronos into Kairos. That being said, I find it comforting to have some marker of time and life beyond my creative float even when I am dancing deep with it. Candle wax melting is one way I enjoy marking time when I practice. Since my pet died and no longer accompanies my practice in the same way he used to, a flickering candle's flame holds a similar space that his steady breath once did. I find the marking of time by breaths in and out, or a candle's flickering flame comforting and grounding while I get floaty and care free. 
Reciting a prayer or invocation. It may help to speak your intention for the time, or create some boundaries with folk present or past such as, 'Anyone who is not supportive of my practice is invited to not accompany me into this space today, stepping aside so I can create with the time I have now.' 
Smudging your space. You may choose cedar or sage or something else that works for you to smudge with. Letting your intention soar among the smoke can be a way to connect with your intention for this time and express it. I like to smudge my studio space and let invocations and intentions I have in my heart be spoke out loud. It is a beautiful gift that smudging elicits intention speaking for me and has really helped me connect to the spiritual meaning that creative practice holds in my life. 

I hope some of these ideas may jive for you and help you connect with your self, your timespace, and your instrument. 
Ultreia, Hayley.