Ep.49 Unlocking Your Flowtential: Flow State Psychology & the Art of Coming Alive with Crystal Smith, LCSW

Today we are joined by Crystal Smith LCSW, a licensed therapist, professional flow artist, and founder of Stay Calm Wellness Products. Crystal has spent 15 years spinning poi, hula hooping, and doing fire arts, and she has woven all of that into a therapeutic approach built around one of the most underrated concepts in positive psychology: flow state. This conversation will make you look at your everyday life — the dishes, the laundry, the morning walk — and see it completely differently. Crystal's playful and passionate approach to educating made this conversation FLOW easily, we would love to hear what new perspective shifts you take away!

Tag us on social media @SacredTreehouse @Flow.Therapist

Listen to learn:

• What "flow" is, the difference between mindfulness and flow, and how flow releases a cocktail of brain chemicals that function like a natural antidepressant
• Why self-consciousness, perfectionism, and distraction are the biggest blockers of flow and how to reduce resistance before you try to enter a flow state
• The story of factory workers in China who report greater happiness than middle-class Americans
• How to gamify your ordinary day for flowtenial
• The connection between flow, attachment, and trauma: why people who grew up in unsafe environments often lose access to play and how reclaiming flow can be part of reclaiming that lost freedom

If this episode sparked something in you, share it with a friend who says they're "not good at anything" — or anyone who has forgotten what it feels like to lose track of time doing something they love.

Connect with Crystal

Crystal Smith, LCSW is a licensed therapist & flow arts practitioner in Jupiter, Florida.

• Website: flowtherapist.com
• Instagram: @flow.therapist
• Wellness Products: staycalm.app/ @staycalmwellnessproducts

Sacred Treehouse

• Explore upcoming mindfulness-based classes for meditation, mental health, nutrition, and relationships: sacredtreehouse.org

Resources

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi The foundational book on flow state research.

The First 20 Hours by Josh Kaufman The book behind the 20-hour theory Crystal references and how to rapidly learn anything and push through the initial period of suckage.