Feeling aches and pains? Easy Movement Practices for Creatives and Makers with Missy Graff Ballone

What if adding in short moments of movement could add YEARS of FREEDOM onto your life and creative career? 

We were taught to ignore the pain and stress signals our body sends us. 

For many of us it’s WAY too late before we finally prioritize listening to our and that’s how we end up in burnout. 

Missy Graff Ballone helps creatives to get back into their bodies and identify the subtle and early shifts we can make to consistently thrive in our creative practice. 

In this week’s episode of the Creative Magic Club podcast, Missy shares the power of committing to an intentional movement practice. Starting from just 15 minutes a week - even breaking it down into 3 minutes a day (instead of scroll time?!) - you can change your body so that it feels good throughout your life and doesn’t have to wear down or develop chronic pain issues. 

Whether you spend many hours at a desk or laptop, or you have a craft that’s demanding on your hands and body, Missy helps us to understand that we can create consistently supportive movement practice that’s joyful, and doesn't require an extreme or unrealistic time commitment. 

If you have niggling (or severe) aches and pains that are calling for your attention, you’re going to want to tune into this episode! 

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Creative Magic Club
• 4:29 Meet Missy Graff-Ballone
• 6:01 Wellness for Makers Origin Story
• 12:27 Writing a Movement Guide for Artists
• 15:10 Redefining Movement for Creatives
• 20:47 Building Strength and Creative Confidence
• 25:23 Connect to Your Body, Trust Your Intuition

Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:43

What's up, this is Sarah Mack, and welcome to Creative Magic Club. Together, we'll discover inspirational stories of creative entrepreneurs living out their dreams, doing the work they are most passionate about, and building wealth in magical and fun ways, while building a six-figure income as a writer and coach, helping other women to launch their dream businesses. I've connected with so many incredible people and seen it proven again and again that you can thrive financially doing whatever it is you are passionate about. I am here to share life-changing strategies for mindset, making money and reaching more people with your work in a business and life filled with creativity, freedom and fun. Hi, everyone, welcome back to the Creative Magic Club podcast and I'm super excited to introduce my guest.

Speaker 1: 2:35

Today. We have with us Missy Graff-Ballone, who is the author of the book Wellness for Makers a movement guide for artists. She has a background in fine art. She's also a licensed massage therapist and she has over 800 hours in training as a yoga instructor, and her mission is to empower creatives to add years to their creative practice through movement. Hi, missy, thank you so much for joining.

Speaker 2: 2:59

Hi, thank you so much for having me so tell me your story.

Speaker 1: 3:06

How did you come to do the work that you do today?

Speaker 2: 3:11

Sure. So I first started as before going to school for fine art, I went to school for massage therapy, kind of as a fallback plan. It was something that I thought, you know, I could do. During fine art school I started to find these parallel interests being much more than a fallback plan and all of my art became about the body and about movement and the interior structures of the muscle tissues and connective tissue. So after that, while I was in school, I started noticing that all of my peers were burning out very easily and we were working really long hours in the studio. We were pulling out our backs and wearing out our hands very quickly and we were very young, you know. So this was alarming and one of my instructors had some time at some point, had mentioned to me like oh, what are you gonna do about it? Kind of thing, you know. And then I, you know, I kind of sat with me a bit like yeah, like what can I do about it? Like outside of my work, and um.

Speaker 2: 4:28

So after school I was teaching at um I at a craft center for adults called Peter Jolly School of Craft, and I was at lunch talking to a bunch of different makers and we were all talking about the aches and pains in our hands as a result of our studio practices, and one of them was like, well, we're all going to end up with arthritis, you know, so we might as well just suck it up and deal with it. And in that moment I was like, oh no, no, no, we can do things. Things you can massage your hands right, because I had a background in massage therapy. I had been practicing yoga for many years at that point and I knew there were things we could do, but I just didn't know how to articulate them at the time. So I went back to my room, I started looking for resources, originally just to share, and then I noticed that if there were any, they were incredibly hard to find. So I and I couldn't find anything. So I decided to create something.

Speaker 2: 5:27

So it originally started with me teaching workshops and and classes at Peters Valley School of Craft, and then I continued my training. I deepened my training with the body I started. You know, as a massage therapist, you have to continue your education in order to maintain your license. So I started focusing in self-care modalities and modalities that I could bring back, that artists could then apply to the artist studio practice and then I went through 800 hours of yoga teacher training and focused on the alignment and the physical body mechanics of the body and how we can then apply that to the postures that we move in in the studio. So, again, it was originally like workshops and events and then, around the pandemic, I started teaching more and more online, but then there was like this overlap of pivoting. That was very interesting. So, yeah, I've been teaching at different universities and craft centers ever since, and now online, that's amazing's amazing.

Speaker 1: 6:36

I love that and such a great example of how you know. By the way, I'm curious do you know your human design? Yes, I do.

Speaker 2: 6:44

I'm a manifesting generator. Yeah, non-specific, which is very manifesting generator. Yeah, and I'm a manifesting generator.

Speaker 1: 6:52

Yeah, and I'm a manifesting generator.

Speaker 1: 6:55

I know like there's a lot of manifesting generators in my community and it's like such a you're such a beautiful example of how you know you kind of take all these different turns and it just layers on skill sets that bring your work so much value for the clients that you're working with today and I was kind of noticing that that was a trend among a lot of my clients.

Speaker 1: 7:23

And one pitfall this is kind of a sidebar, we'll come back to you. I want to talk about your book next, but something that people fall into, that I have fallen into, that I see a lot of my clients fall into is like we kind of forget everything that we came from. When we come across a new skill or a new modality, we become very obsessed with it. We're really excited by it and we suddenly like stop talking about all those other things that we bring to the table with us when somebody hires us and it's so I love how you seem to be really beautifully like weaving in all of those past chapters that are make you so, so, so relevant and, you know, uniquely positioned to help your clients. So I love that about your work and I'm curious to hear about the process of writing your book, like how did that kind of come about? What was the the process like for you in publishing it?

Speaker 2: 8:15

Yeah, absolutely. And before I talk about the book, just what you said just brought up this exercise that I did when I was in graduate school there, you know, because I believe that holding on to parts of that story are very important, at least for me. And when I was in art school, trying to figure out, like, what to make my art about, one of my teachers noticed that I it was very important to me to mention that I was a massage therapist, and this was really before my artwork pivoted towards the body and I just kept talking about, well, I'm also a massage therapist, and it was like, why is this relevant? And they asked me to draw out, you know, create something like from the lens of a massage therapist and to create something from the lens of a jeweler, you know, and kind of figure out how they combined. And because my MFA is in metalwork and jewelry making, and that was like a really pivotal moment because you're you're connecting your stories, you know. So, yeah, I think it's it's beautiful to hold on to those different chapters of our lives.

Speaker 2: 9:18

And for the book, so basically what happened was I had I apparently met this publisher at a, an event years prior and had told her about my idea for wellness for makers and she just kind of kept her eyes on me and I didn't know it. And then in the pandemic she reached out to me and said hey, you know, I would love. I've been watching you for a long time, I wanted to see how you, you grew and everything and I would love for you to write a book. And so I wrote the book Wellness for Makers a movement guide for artists. I wanted it to be the resource that I didn't have in fine arts school, that my friends didn't have and that it could just help, you know, guide artists in the studio to have them have something tangible to hold on to and come back to. So the guide is it goes through different movements but also body mechanics and alignment. So it's really helpful for anyone who, you know, sits for long periods of time and lives a very sedentary lifestyle, right, and it breaks down like what movement is and what movement can be.

Speaker 2: 10:26

So movement we often think of movement. We think of, you know, exercise, we think of working out at a gym, going to a yoga studio, pilates studio, things like that. But the word movement literally just means to change positions. So that could be, you know, as simple as moving from sitting to standing right, like having an adjustable height desk, and it could be taking a deep breath, right, like breath. Work is movement, walking from one side of your room to another, that's movement, right? So breaking it down to be like as simple as that and as accessible as that, to then open up the dialogue of how and others feel that adding movement breaks into their day can make them less efficient. But if we are, you know, but how inefficient will we be if we burnt out our hands or bodies? Right? So that's basically what the book is about.

Speaker 1: 11:31

Love that, yeah, I love that, yeah, and I get it with the resistance to like adding extra things to do into our day, especially for creatives, because we're usually so passionate about what we do and we tend to get lost in our work. And you know, I can say as someone who's been through a burnout and who has experienced a loss of health, you know like that was the lesson I needed to never deprioritize my well-being ever again. And you know, really see the value of those like sometimes small but consistent habits that we bring into our day that really create that longevity and really do make a difference. And I really got that lesson because you know I had chronic fatigue for five years and I was doing all the things and you know I obviously at that point I was willing to do anything to get my health back and so I was doing everything within my power and for many years it felt like it wasn't working and I was continually seeking new solutions. And then, you know, I got to a day where I was like, oh, like I'm better.

Speaker 1: 12:41

And that was enough evidence that the sometimes seemingly small daily shifts that we create they're making an impact and they are adding up over time and they really do make a difference and you kind of you know this is why we need teachers and mentors and like frameworks to follow, because sometimes we don't believe it, because sometimes, especially with the body, you don't always see instant results. Sometimes you do right and I know like you have created some really like quick breakthroughs for your clients. But sometimes we just need that faith and we need that commitment before we finally get that evidence and that feedback of like, oh yeah, it's working, especially with pain, because I feel like when it's not there, we don't notice, because we're living a full life and we only really notice it when it creeps back in. And you know, obviously as a writer, I went through a phase of having really bad neck pain until I realized that I had to have an ergonomic station. My laptop has to be at eye level and it's like when you're looking down and texting, it's that simple repetitive movement and I was like going to the chiropractor, going to the osteopath, and I was like, oh yeah, if I just sit properly, then I don't have to deal with that issue, I don't have to spend time and money going to get it fixed. So yeah, it's so, so powerful.

Speaker 1: 13:59

I'm curious how you found in your business kind of like. Obviously there's a lot of like fundamental principles that apply across the board. How have you navigated that with you know, like tailoring to more like specific, um kind of like practices and practitioners?

Speaker 2: 14:20

there are a few things that came up for me here, like um. One is I like to break down that pain also is not just a bad thing. Right, like, pain is a signal that our body uses to communicate with us, and we end up ignoring pain signals, and that's not our fault. We were taught that at a very young age. Right, we're taught to sit in chairs for long periods of time, and once we enter school, we're taught to ignore the signals to need to get up for a drink of water. We're taught to ignore the signals to go to the bathroom and to hold it longer. So we're taught at a very long, at a very young age, that the signals our body is sending us are less important than the work in front of us.

Speaker 2: 15:03

So, by helping artists, creatives, you know, entrepreneurs get back into their body. This is, you know, a very important thing. Right, to be like. We need to listen to the early pain signals that our body sends us, because our bodies do tell us, hey, you're uncomfortable, and we ignore it. Right. Your body tells you you need to go to the bathroom and we ignore it. Right, and the pain signal will come back and come back, and come back again, until it is an alarm system going off in our bodies telling us that we've reached a painful situation, burnout or injury. So my goal as a practitioner to stand out differently is to help people get back into their bodies to realize you know what, like, help them gain more kinesthetic awareness to understand what's happening and when. What early shifts can we make? What subtle shifts can we make? Because, like what you were talking about with that, consistency is so important. Like, how can we be more consistent? Because, yeah, we can, like we can do this whole thing and maybe it'll feel great once, but we won't keep it up, right.

Speaker 2: 16:20

Like when the new year comes, people are like I'm going to do, you know, you know three yoga classes a week, or I'm going to do five Pilates classes a week, and it's like too big of a goal, especially if, like, ok, if you usually do four classes a week and you want to do five, that's totally different, right? But like, if you are new to movement and you're like I'm going to do, you know, I'm going to go to the gym every day, I'm going to do, you know, I'm going to go to the gym every day, you know, it's like too big of a goal. So you have to work your way into creating consistent steps. So, for me, I want to break down movement to be, like, the most accessible, joyful thing that you can have. So that way, you said, oh, I want to do this more often, right? So by breaking it down to, hey, you could do this in 15 minutes a week. Who doesn't have 15 minutes a week? You can break down a video into three minutes a day, right? And then you can't tell me you don't have three minutes a day. Look at your scroll time. Right, like, you have three minutes a day to do a few minute movements.

Speaker 2: 17:21

So what I've done is I created this Mindful maker membership, where it's 15 minute segments that you get every week and it's, you know, movements directed for long periods of sitting. Basically, right, it's. It's directed towards creative practices, but also people who sit for a long period of time. So the first, like, four weeks, build off of each other and their neck and shoulders. Right, like, but not just like. Oh, I'm gonna do a few stretches that I can Google on YouTube. It's like, no, these are pinpointed to help you build strength in that area, to help you, like, build a better, stronger posture. So that way you can feel more ease while you work for periods of time. It's also created to like. These sequences are created to like help you get back into your body and acknowledge those, those tiny micro shifts that are happening. And then we go into the hands, wrists and forearms and do things that you might not have ever done, so you might not have ever felt your hands in this way before, right? So yeah, this is that's. I hope I answered your question kind of.

Speaker 1: 18:35

Yeah, and I love this concept of building strength and how it relates to our creative practice, because I've definitely found that correlation for myself that when I prioritize building strength in my body, like everything else in my work and my life, just it functions better and I'm I have a higher level of capacity, I make more money, I'm more productive, I get more done. It's like, you know, it's like the preventative care, right, instead of dealing with pain or dealing with fatigue or, you know, the things that get in the way of us being able to fully express ourselves and bring our ideas to life and actually, like, put in the work that's required in order for that to happen. Like we're unable to do that if our vehicle is not functioning well. And something that I always come back to you is, like, when I want to take things to the next level, my number one focus is my physical strength. Like I'm going to turn up the dial in my commitment to the things that make me feel good, the things that literally build like muscular strength in my body.

Speaker 1: 19:44

And I I think you know, especially for a lot of us entrepreneurs, especially women, especially creatives like confidence is a real issue, you know, especially when it comes to making the money that we want, because it all connects back to confidence. Confidence is the thing that leads us to pitch with conviction, that leads us to pitch with conviction, that leads us to take those uncomfortable actions to ask for the money that we want to, you know, show up and sell and that's literally like our core, at our center, and so I, you know, from remind my clients, like what can go and do some core work. You know, like, bring that into your practice, strengthen the center of your body and like you stand taller, you hold yourself with more openness and confidence and people, people pick that up. You know, when you're on camera, when you're even if you're not on camera, when you're speaking, like you're going to breathe differently, you're going to speak differently, and I think I think this is why there's a lot of crossover with performers and people who end up like in coaching and like content creation and entrepreneurship and just artists in general, because you know we have this business and we're learning new skills and we kind of can feel over our head at times because you know the social media algorithm changed again or whatever.

Speaker 1: 21:15

Everything's always changing and evolving and adapting or we always need new skills or there's always another level right, but it's so important to remember, like a lot of these skills that we have as like foundational things that we've probably learned somewhere down the line, that we kind of like throw it out the window, especially when you're online and everything's so like you know, we're in technology, so obviously I know your, your clients, that you work with it's. It is very much focused on physical practice, but I do think this is such a a powerful message for entrepreneurs as well absolutely, and, and you know, having a creative practice.

Speaker 2: 21:49

You're also, you know, um, promoting and doing all of the things to be a creative entrepreneur, promoting your work, right, um. So it's like double time, and when you're when you're scrolling and you're like um, doing all these different things to promote or working on your creative passion, whatever it is like, you end up really in your head. You know, and it can be hard to trust those decisions that you were, you know, kind of talking about a moment ago. Right, like, because you can't decipher what, what feel there's a disconnection from your own intuition. And when we get back into our body, we can connect more to our intuition. Right, like, if we're not grounded, if we're not in our body, how can we know what decisions, or you know, are, you know what I mean? Are that like true intuition, that that calling that we feel connected to? Otherwise, there's a, there's a big disconnect. So, definitely, like, getting into your body is just so, so critical. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 22:53

It's such a powerful, like a few breaths, right Like taking three deep breaths calms you down, it sends signals to your nervous system to to calm you down, to regulate right Like moving your arms, shaking out your hands, lifting, stretching your arms up, right. All of these things help get us back in our body. So it's not as challenging or as complicated as some people make it.

Speaker 1: 23:21

I love that message Cool. Thank you so much for coming in sharing these nuggets of wisdom and really powerful reminders. Missy, can you tell us, for anyone who's interested in learning more about your work and what you've got going on, where can they find you?

Speaker 2: 23:35

Yeah, absolutely so. My handle is at wellness for makers and you can find me on Instagram. I'm now on blue sky sub stack and yeah, and then I also have the wellness for makers podcast and my book is available, so I would love to connect with you all there.

Speaker 1: 23:52

Amazing. Definitely go and buy Missy's book. Definitely check out her work. She is amazing. Thank you so much for being here and if you know creators or people who are suffering with pain, please forward this episode on to them for anyone who you know this would support. Thank you so much for listening and watching and we'll see you next week. Bye, for more inspirational content, head over to my website with sarah maccom and please support the show by liking, commenting and subscribing.