Exercise and the Muse

(updated link)

When I was a child, on a sunny day, cold or warm, my mother would shoo me outdoors. “Go play. You need fresh air and exercise.”

Most of us know that exercise is supposed to be good for us, but when a poem is unfolding well, it’s all too tempting to sit for hours absorbed in playing with images, sounds, and the twists and turns of words.

Australian fiction writer Jessica A. McMinn maintains that writers should consider exercise more seriously. It can actually benefit our creativity. Her online article spanning the scientific, medical, psychological, and practical, describes several ways.

Exercise, she writes,
1. Releases neurotransmitters
2. Grows new brain cells
3. Strengthens mental health
4. Establishes routine
5. Changes our environment
6. Conquers writer’s block

To read her detailed and fascinating article, please click the ad-free link:

https://writersedit.com/mindset/6-ways-exercise-benefits-creativity/