The Ebb and Flow of Inspiration

“Practice becomes firmly grounded when one continues to practice… for a long period of time without any interruption.” ~ Yoga Sutra 1.14

My love of writing started when I was young. I found that I could use it as a way to express myself when I didn’t have the courage or space to use my voice, and when I wanted to work out a new emotion or even vent. Over the last two-plus decades, writing museletters, aka blog posts, has helped me stay connected to that love. And now, after many years of hesitation, procrastination, and second guessing, I’m in a solid rhythm with writing the book. I can feel the remaining pieces of the puzzle falling into place so it doesn’t stay a treasured file on my desktop.

When I’m deep in the flow of inspiration, I sometimes forget that life still requires me to handle what isn’t inspiring. Lately, I’ve been navigating resistance around breaking my writing flow to give a few things my full focus. When I made the decision to take that pause, immediately my mind went to the fear of losing my rhythm, making it difficult to get back to writing with ease. It began as occasional worry and has turned into a few early-morning moments of dread.

For weeks, I’ve been carrying around a stack of tax-related documents, forms, notices, and bills. As if they would miraculously take care of themselves, I moved the stack from corner to corner, pile to pile, desk to bookbag, and bookbag back to desk. Time ran out, and it was time to sort out 2025 and make sure I stayed in compliance with what feels like constantly changing requirements.

And with that came the inner spiral of overwhelm.

Fear, panic, and that old scarcity mindset lingered for weeks. I worried that breaking my writing rhythm would mean losing it. I worried that exhaustion would push me toward numbing activities to soothe anxiety. I worried that the first part of the year, spent recovering from injury physically and emotionally, left too many loose ends that could come with penalties. And underneath all of it was the voice of scarcity: I don’t have enough time, energy, money, or capacity.

For weeks I oscillated and spread my attention thin, trying to do a little of everything. The way I was operating wasn’t healthy for my nervous system, and I knew I needed another way to work with my mind.

Yoga has always given me the language and understanding for moments like this.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 6.26 says, “Whenever and wherever the restless and unsteady mind wanders, one should bring it back and continually focus it on God.” I’ve learned that my wandering mind isn’t the problem. The desire to avoid what’s hard and the pull of distractions are functions of the mind, whether I’m deep in inspiration or not. The greatest opportunity is the action I take after I notice my mind resisting focus and wanting to do something else. The fear of losing inspiration is a thought, not the truth. While the mind loves to roam at times, I remind myself that my power is not in gripping tightly and fighting my mind. True power is noticing when I’ve drifted and guiding myself back to a balancing point of focus.

The ancient yogis named the Divine as that point of focus, and I do as well. In my own practice, returning to that point of focus is what guides me back to the highest part of myself. In this place of reconnection, I understand that I have a mind, but I am not my mind. And as sure as I am inspired by many things, those things don’t have the power to take me off course.

And this is living and embracing the ebb and flow of inspiration.

Flow is not only the moments when creative energy is high. Flow is also the ability to return to yourself when the moment asks you to handle the mundane parts of life, then come back to what you love without shame, judgment, drama, or making it something you put effort into avoiding.

If you are in a season of making your way back to inspiration, reconnecting with self-love, or you need encouragement on the path, try this short practice.

Write down your north star, or what guides you, in one sentence in your own handwriting, and use it as your focal point when your mind starts to wander. For you, that might be the Divine, your values, your purpose, a simple prayer, or a clear intention. Put it where you can see it. Read it out loud as many times as needed to shift the energy. Use it to start the energy of your day, before you start work, before you pick up your phone, before you begin the thing you’ve been avoiding.

Inspiration will ebb. It will flow. The power is in the practice to return again and again.

With love and gratitude,
Dana Andrea

If you’ve been feeling mentally scattered, emotionally heavy, or in need of practices to soothe your nervous system, check out Chakra Reset: 21 Days to Blissful Balance, a digital program. It offers a simple, structured way to come back to yourself, especially when life is asking you to focus, make decisions, and move through resistance without burning out.

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