October Intention: Generate Play
What’s better than generating play in October!? This month we want you to start to generate play in your yoga practice and in your life. A lot of us have had a pretty crazy year, and it’s time to have some fun. We aren’t saying go out and spend a lot of money, but what we are saying is do things this month that you have fun doing. These are things that you like to do that might not be purposeful in reaching a certain goal, such as: gardening, reading, or painting. These are things that you normally don’t take time for because they aren’t on your daily to-do lists.
Here’s the trick to your treat of play - you most likely have to schedule the time to do it. Most of us don’t carve out time to read a book or work in the garden, but we challenge you to add it to your busy schedule this month. Giving your brain the opportunity to play actually can boost your creativity, innovation, and it can help you think quicker on your feet. So, it’s time to flip your dog, jump to the top of your mat, or maybe fall over in half-moon.
If you want to create “intentional” play, make sure you aren’t using it as a distraction in other parts of your life. Don’t play to put off doing other things, put it in your schedule so you know you set aside one hour to fully dedicate yourself to getting your play on. Also, make sure your play isn’t feeding into bad habits, this most likely means you should probably turn your phone off during this time. Also, if you know you are financially struggling, it’s not the time to spend money on a big vacation - see if you can find a local trail in your area you haven’t been and go hiking or picnic at your favorite park or even your back yard!
Dr. Stuart Brown says there are 7 elements of play:
- Looks like no purpose
- Not required - “not on to-do list”
- Appeals to your inner child
- Lose track of passage of time
- Unapologetic about how you are when you play
- Continued desire to play
Post a comment below to let us know how you will add play to your life this month!
Struggling with this concept here are some journal prompts to help you:
1. Sit down with your spouse or family and make a list of ways you can create play
2. Think about what you used to like to do when you were a kid, how can you recreate that for yourself as an adult?
3. What do you like to do that you normally don’t have time for?
Lastly, if you journal, here are some journal prompts for our October Intention of Play:
1)What is my definition of play?
2) Where can I create more play in my role at work and in my home life?
3) What is the impact of adding play to my life?
4) What are the next steps I need to take to add play to my every day life?
5) What’s holding me back from adding play into my life?