Designing Serenity: How Vedic Meditation Inspires Creative Solutions

Imagine the sound of waves crashing over white sand beaches, softly chirping birds, and meditative Om chants coming together in a harmonious symphony while sitting alongside fellow designers and creatives. Welcome to the Fifth Floor Meditation Retreat in New York’s Fire Island, a space that invites inward explorations run by weaver, textile artist, and Interior Design Hall of Famer Suzanne Tick.

Now a certified Vedic Meditation teacher in New York City, Tick first turned to the practice when she realized how stress was hindering her work, and happiness. After learning about the mantra-based practice, which is done twice a day for 20 minutes to take practitioners into a deep, restful state, she realized Vedic Meditation can relieve stress and help open the doors to creative thinking. After being initiated in India into the Saraswati tradition and meeting fellow practitioners like designer Gala Magriñá, founder of her namesake studio, Tick started her own meditation studio, Fifth Floor Meditation Center. She also shares her practice widely via webinars and events, like the group meditation held at Interior Design’s recent Giants and Rising Talent conference.

Tick’s outreach caught the interest of designers like Mary-Ann Agresti, principal and owner of The Design Initiative, Suzanne Dean, founder of Suzanne Dean Interior Design, and Annie Mock, cofounder and principal of Chan Mock Architects, who now practice Vedic Meditation. “Meditation has improved the way I listen to others, [and] also how I respond to day-to-day situations,” Dean adds. “It gives me more space to consider the outcomes and then direct clients to better solutions.”

Designers Share Insights into How Vedic Meditation Fuels Creativity

Understanding the Science Behind Meditation

From reducing stress to enhancing mindfulness, those who meditate claim the practice brings deep rewards. For instance, Tick says she has noticed a “chemical shift from stress to bliss in [her] physiology.” But what’s the science behind it? Neurologist and Harvard Medical School associate professor, Sara Lazar, states in her research that meditation can physically change the size of key regions in the brain.

Normally, as people start to age, the cortex of the brain, which carries out essential functions like memory and problem-solving, starts to physically shrink, which is why it gets more difficult to remember events later in life. But Lazar’s research shows that some 50-year-old meditators have a cortex that functions similar to those seen in 25-year-olds who do not meditate. Evidence like this, Lazar theorized during a talk at Harvard last year, suggests that “meditation maybe had preserved the thickness of the brain region.” In doing so, meditation also helps practitioners become more empathetic, compassionate, and resilient under stress.

Igniting New Design Ideas Through Meditation

As for the connection between meditation and creativity, Tick claims she is more aware of how she hears, feels, and sees, which helps her with product ideation. “This enlivens me and my studio to have the capacity to develop products and colors that are more and more relevant for what is needed at any given time,” she says. For Tick, design and meditation are tightly woven together, which is made clear at Tick Studio, the creative’s townhouse that also operates as her living space, weaving workshop, and meditation center.

Designers who have developed their own Vedic Meditation practice after working with Tick, like Agresti, say it helps clear the noise that builds throughout the day. This, in turn, helps her formulate ideas that might have been blocked otherwise. “I’ve used the pause to rediscover some unique ways of sketching with collage and three-dimensional material studies which has strengthened my creative practice,” she says. Through Vedic Meditation, Agresti has rediscovered new ideas for material sketches that touch on nature and help with her design research.

How to Develop a Meditation Practice

Getting started with a meditation practice begins with a curiosity to learn more. Magriñá, a holistic interior designer who finds Vedic Meditation to be transformative, suggests trying out different techniques to learn more about which type of meditation resonates. “Try an app, or sit in on a class that sparks your curiosity,” she says. “There are many types of techniques and for it to stick—and for you to want to practice daily—it’s all about finding the best technique for yourself.”

Meanwhile, designer Annie Mock, also introduced to the practice via Tick, encourages first-time practitioners to find someone to help guide them through the process and open their minds to different meditation paths. “Find a good teacher who will answer your questions and support you. In Vedic meditation, all genuine questions are worthy inquiry, which is highly valued in the tradition,” she says. “With an open mind, adaptation skills and the desire to grow and explore, life is less of a struggle and more fun.”

Peek At Projects Sparked By Vedic Meditation