Getting in touch with your playful side.
Published by Maz in Reclaiming Calm · 19 August 2024
Hi, this blog is all about getting in touch with our playfulness. By allowing our playful inner child to come forth it allows us to let go of our inhibitions and just be in the moment.
Our days can be so busy doing things that we have no energy for anything else. When we get a chance to stop, we can often end up zoning out with mindless distractions. There can be little time left to connect with ourselves and others; a chance just to enjoy being.
By allowing our playfulness to come forth we can leave the hum drum and stresses and just be in the moment.
I love the thought in this quote that playing can keep us young, but I believe it is more than just a nice thought.
Play as a term is used in different contexts so first let me outline what I mean by 'play'
Play is about ....
*Letting go of the need to perform and achieve.
*Enjoying the moment - focusing fully on the here and now.
*Responding to that inner urge to break from the norm.
*Allowing the process to lead you ... wherever it goes.
*Escaping from all the head noise, stresses, tensions and just being.
*Putting down your mask, and letting the real you shine through.
*Taking the risk of not minding what others think.
Playing helps us ...
*Be more creative.
*Connect with ourselves and our bodies' sensations.
*Connect with others.
*Express our feelings and personality.
*Be spontaneous
*Use and strengthen our imagination.
*Rejuvenate us when we have felt sluggish and drained.
I remember climbing my favourite oak tree as a child. As I sat in the branches I felt like the keeper of the tree castle, I felt strong, connecting with the tree's life-force; I could do anything.
A few years ago, I saw a tree with strong branches calling out for me to climb it, pulling on my desire to reconnect with this childhood experience. It would have been so easy to brush this off as silly and walk away. This would be to deny this little voice inside, this urge to take the risk. But instead, I decided to go for it and decided to reach the first strong branch and sit on it. It was so much harder as an adult. I found my way to the branch and sat looking out to the field below. I could again capture a sense of connection with the tree and my own strength. I was in touch with my natural playfulness, and it felt good.
Some believe that we are all drawn towards one of the 4 elements in our play, do you know which could be yours? Mine has always been water first then fire. Here is some way we can connect to each.
EARTH - mud pies, getting muddy, gardening, connecting with the earth and with leaves, plants, clay and modelling.
WIND - Feeling the wind through your body, flying kites, going fast, anything which relates to speed and flying.
WATER - Could be swimming in the sea, the joy of waterfalls, splashing in puddles, hot-tubs, or just enjoying dancing in the rain.
FIRE - Whether its a real fire or a fire-pit there can be something quite magical about fire. We can also be drawn as we look at candles flickering in our home.
Play is about allowing ourselves to be who we want to be in that moment. It does not matter if there is anybody there to see us, it's about letting go and having fun.
To sing and be that superstar or winning ‘The Voice’ even from our own kitchen. To sing in the bath, shower or when cooking can all release that tension of the day.
Imagination -
We all have an imagination, but it can often be used as a way of feeding our anxiety as we 'imagine' the worst.
I believe we can exercise our imagination muscles and allow imagination to take us into special places, calming places, or exciting places.
We can imagine being, doing, or going wherever we want and enjoying the moment.
With practice we can imagine smells, sights, sounds so that we are connecting to our senses through our imagination.
NOTE: If we find ourselves triggered by what we imagine and it brings on fear, anxiety, bad memories it's worth exploring this with a professional therapist.
Creativity - Play can be about connecting with our creative side. There are so many different ways to be creative, it's giving ourselves the chance to let our creative juices just flow without feeling the need to perform or produce to other people’s expectations.
Connect with our children - When adults, particularly parents are able to immerse themselves in play with their children I believe it can be the most precious bonding experience. Children are able to enjoy a time where agendas, pressures, outcomes and stresses go and a playful connection in the moment takes over. From my experience working with children, it is these times they remember and cherish.
Connection with our partners - With work, families and day to day chores life can become a cycle of routines. Playfulness can put a spark back into life. From water fights at the sink, singing together or just being silly as you are out together. To just connect with your playfulness in the moment you can escape all the stresses and enjoy that fun and connection in that moment.
Connection with ourselves - Our days can often be about conforming, performing, losing a sense of who we are in order to be right for others. Getting in touch with your playful side can give you those precious moments when you can just be you, the wild you, the silly you, the risky you, the flamboyant you, the you that was maybe not accepted or maybe got suppressed or dismissed when you were younger.
What stops us allowing our playfulness to come forth.
So many people find it hard to get in touch with their playful side. Here are some of the reasons.
* When we were children we were given the message that playing was wrong and even shameful. Messages like 'grow up', 'stop being silly' 'you are showing me up' etc. These messages may have become embedded in us and stop us from following an urge to be playful.
* We can have such a strong sense of the need to always be performing. The need to produce results, to have an outcome in order for something to feel like it is worthwhile. To do anything in the moment would be a waste of time. I suspect anyone thinking this may well have given up reading this blog at the introduction.
*We have a strong perfectionist streak, the need to do something well or not at all will always take away from the ability of being in the moment in a playful way.
* We feel too exhausted by life to put any energy into play.
* We can be so focused on what people think of us, then we are far too self-conscious to be playful.
*People around us respond negatively whenever we are playful and so we have learnt to hold it back and conform in order to be accepted and belong.
We talk of being on our own personal journey of awareness, to learn more about ourselves. Exploring what stops us being able to be playful is all part of this journey.
It’s worth reflecting on what stops you getting in touch with your playful side. If you can overcome this and feel able to choose to take the risk and allow the playful part of you to emerge, you can enjoy and experience so much more of who you are, where you are at that moment and who you are with.
I hope this helps you unleash your playful side.
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