Play
Think back to when you were a kid. What did you like to play? My son was absolutely obsessed with building Legos and taking apart every electronic device we had in the house. Sometimes he would put them back together, but most of the time they became something else. He could spend whole afternoons in the basement just tinkering with whatever he chose to pick apart or put together that day.
When I was a kid, I spent hours with my best friend making tape recordings of our own talk shows and pretend interviews. (I know, this is not surprising to any of you) Some of my best days were spent in her bedroom laughing and doing voices and making up stories and songs. I kept a diary when I was a kid and wrote every day. Stories, thoughts, or my favorite - my own episodes of the soap opera The Guiding Light.
As I think back I can’t really remember when I stopped this kind of play. Likely it was around middle school. I had a lot more homework, more school clubs and activities, soccer was now an all year sport for me, and I became a lot more aware of how I was perceived by others. Even at the age of 13, I knew that what I accomplished and my busy school, sports, and social schedule was an indication that I was perceived positively by others. Play was for little kids or people who didn’t care about being successful.
Think about the last time you did something truly for the sake of doing it, not the result. Think of a time when you were so immersed in playing that you felt joyful and energized. I have had many experiences when I’m playing with my dog or floating on my stand up paddle board when I’ve felt inspired and even come up with creative ideas for yoga classes!
According to Dr. Stuart Brown, a psychiatrist, clinical researcher, and founder of the National Institute for Play, play shapes our brain, helps us foster empathy, helps us navigate complex social groups, and is at the core of creativity and innovation.
So why did we stop, and how can we start again? I think we stopped because as Brene Brown explains in her book The Gifts of Imperfection, “We’ve got so much to do and so little time that the idea of spending time doing anything unrelated to the to-do list actually creates stress. We convince ourselves that playing is a waste of precious time.” How can we start again? We make a choice, a commitment, and we practice!
Play is magic. When my mother in law passed away 7 years ago our whole family came to our house after the memorial service for dinner. On this terribly sad and emotional day, my husband goes to the game closet and pulls out the game Pie Face. If you have never played Pie Face, you are missing out. You’re welcome to google it, but it’s basically just a game where everyone playing at one time or another receives a face full of whipped cream. Every single member of our family ended up with a pie in the face that day. We laughed until our bellies were sore. Play is magic because in those moments of play, we connected as a family. We comforted one another not just through tears, but through our laughter. It was a precious moment in our family that I will never forget.
What are some ways that you can infuse play in your family life? What about your work life? Join us at the studio or online this month as we explore ways to play in our yoga practice.
