We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jamie Coffey. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jamie below.

Jamie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

We are all born with creative fire in us — agni, prana, energy — but the world moves in swiftly, so its up to us to hear the call and keep the fire stoked. I can remember feeling a creative pull at a very young age. There are moments when I’ve stood on stage and felt the lights on my face and simply known that I was home. I have also had this feeling while singing, while dancing in the studio, while skating on the rink, and while leading a practice. While these are all very different experiences, the feeling is the same and it’s what keeps me on the path.

Jamie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have been extremely fortunate to build an eclectic skillset that has led me around the world, working with incredible teachers, leaders and colleagues. My greatest joy is teaching yoga and my teaching style is innately inspired by my experience in the arts as a trained actor, dancer and singer. More importantly, it is authentically informed by this crazy life I’ve led and the many ups and downs that I’ve experienced along the way. Along with my creative pursuits, I have also enjoyed a career in the nonprofit arts and higher education sectors. My dream and vision are to fuse these two dimensions into one experience that allows me to teach and inspire my students, while also actively fundraising to grant opportunities and exposure to the healing and creative arts to those who may not otherwise be able to attend. To be in service to others is the greatest gift!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

In my creative process, the biggest lesson I’ve had to learn is to let go of shame. With shame comes self-judgement which just puts you in your own way. You cannot experience true flow when shame is present. This is an ongoing process as shame is generally embedded at a young age. It wasn’t until I found yoga that I truly began to have compassion for myself and my experiences that cause this creative energy block. As Martha Graham wrote, we must “keep the channel open.” None of it is ours to judge, it’s simply an expression, a creative act, pure and simple.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

As we move ever swiftly into the world of AI, I believe the arts will be more important to society than ever before. So many of the things we do on a daily basis are becoming automated and our brains are becoming more acclimated to the digital world — which does not bode well for the creative, free thinking spirit. Society must make the arts accessible to all and the arts need to be integrated into healing and recovery. The arts need to be reprioritized within our school systems and artists should have free (or subsidized) studio and gallery spaces. It takes courage to be an artist, to dedicate one’s self to a creative path — and society needs to recognize and celebrate the importance of all arts and creativity within the fabric of humanity.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yogijamie/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-coffey/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSxYQudoZ4G0U9L3Aw4d16X2TBxRCPrF9

Image Credits
Amanda Marie Mason Photography