“We don’t stop playing because we get old, we get old because we stop playing”.
George Bernard Shaw
Our unconscious mind is like that of a toddler, it loves to play and talk to you in signs and symbols, like little puzzles for you to figure out. Our unconscious mind loves it when you get playful too, because during this time we are open to downloads and messages that our busy brains would otherwise not hear.
When we play, we laugh, and when we laugh, we can enjoy the healing benefits of laughter. When we are too serious it can bog us down and lead to stress! Stress and negativity weaken our immune system. Did you know that 1 minute of laughter boosts our immune system for 24 hours, while 1 minute of anger, stress, or fear weakens our immune system for 4 hours!
There’s a powerful connection between the mind and body.
Play Is Nature’s Therapy and Is Medicine For The Whole Body.
As adults we are too serious! We get stuck at our desks, worrying about finances, life, getting our to do list all done, thinking about that presentation next week, next month’s holiday when you visit your family …. Feeling like everything is caving in on us. We need to do something about this!
I want you to stop and imagine being a child again…. close your eyes and think back to when you were 6 or 7 years old. How excited were you for recess? You got to go outside and run around, you probably didn’t even care if it was raining, you were with your friends playing, you were in the moment, you didn’t have a care in the world, other than the sheer joy of being able to run, skip, slide, climb, seesaw or hang upside down on the monkey bars!
Do you remember that? Do you remember how that felt, the excitement to be free of the classroom, the sheer joy of moving through the wind and air in someway, feeling the wind on your face, blowing in your hair? Where did that person go?
That person grew up and per societal norms, stopped skipping, jumping, hanging upside because in middle school it was no longer cool…. but we still played organized sports through school and our community and that continued through high school, so we are still having fun, moving our bodies…and then it was time to go to the university. Some people played sports at this level or intramural sport…but then came the real world knocking on our door. The “dreaded” job. Life got busy with our 40-hour work week, socializing, maybe there was a community sport you played once or twice a week…. but then you got married, had a family and there is no longer time for that either….and if we don’t protect our play time, it’s suddenly gone…we start looking after everyone else first. BUT HEY, we then decide to commit to going to the gym to workout. Does that even sound fun? NO…. it has the word WORK in it, so for most people it doesn’t sound like fun at all.
We have the best intentions, we start going to the gym, but it doesn’t last long! We get bored or tell ourselves we are too busy. We lose interest. Doesn’t the word PLAY sound so much more fun than WORKOUT? I know for me I would much rather PLAY then WORKOUT.
I would like you to say the work “workout” out loud, how does that make your body feel? What does your brain sense when you say the word “workout”?
Now, I want you to say the word Play out loud? Did you feel the difference in your body when you said the word PLAY, vs workout?
Yet it doesn’t seem to be accepted for adults to just play. Yes, we can play a game, or play a sport, but it always must be organized, what if we could just like we did as children?
Moving your body has so many benefits, and it’s NOT JUST for weight loss, the data is fundamental:
- Moving your body improves your mood
- Moving your body boosts your memory
- Moving your body reduces stress and anxiety
- Moving your body staves off a host of preventable diseases from heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and some types of cancers
I’ve always loved watching dogs – they all know the word ‘walk’ to the point that many pet owners must spell it or come up with another word, because when their dog hears that word, they go nuts, tail wagging, jumping up and down to get at the leash because they are so excited to go outside for their walk / run. Why can’t we humans be like that? Always excited to go outside and walk / run /play?
It doesn’t have to be a huge time commitment….
What Can You Do To Ensure You Play Every Day?
Choose something you love, that is simply fun, and doesn’t feel like work. Make it so it’s easy to do, without needing big plans to make it happen, i.e., ease of access. You just need 20 minutes a day at minimum. You can even break that time down into 10 minutes each time.
Here are a few ideas:
- Go for a walk around your yard. Look for birds, other small animals, soak in the sun…take your camera with you and take pictures
- Grab your bike and go for a quick bike ride
- Put on your favorite music and dance around your house
- Play outside in the rain, run around arms wide open, and enjoy nature
- Hula hooping
- Blow bubbles then chase after them and pop them
What ideas can you come up with? Honestly, think back to when you were a kid, what did you love to do then?
I challenge you to take a piece of paper and write down all your ideas of how to have fun and play! This is your homework assignment for the week!
I would love to hear your ideas in the comments below. Share them with all of us and let’s see how we can help each other with ideas on how to PLAY and have FUN!
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