One of my amazing coaching clients recently suggested trading posts on each others’ blogs. I couldn’t be more thrilled with what she chose to share. Anyone who want to make more space for play will want to continue reading for Rosslyn Kemerer’s insights on play:
For the past few months, I’ve been receiving thought-provoking business coaching from my friend Amy Camp of Cycle Forward. (If you’ve never heard of Cycle Forward, the coolest thing you need to know is that most of the coaching is done either biking or walking along local park trails.) I’ve been really excited to manifest some huge changes within my life and business, so I decided to start a sadhana around what I was already doing.
The main theme of my sadhana is defining and balancing ‘work vs. play’ in my life. Having a job that I adore has created a lot of gray area between ‘work and play.’ (I’m sure that many entrepreneurs can relate!) During my most recent business coaching session, Amy prodded me along with my ideas of play. How did I play as a child? As a teenager? How exactly did play make me feel? These were surprisingly difficult questions, but so helpful for me!
I discovered that during play as a child, I always felt totally present and totally carefree. Oftentimes as an adult, what I was categorizing as play was actually just a sort of fun chore. There’s nothing wrong with accomplishing things, but in order to create balance, I needed to understand that at the end of the day, having the added responsibility or goal behind any type of “play” eventually logged it into the “work” category.
So I sat down to make an actual list of how to play. (My inner child was probably laughing…) I hope you might help me add to this list of “play” ideas that cannot be misconstrued as work!
HOW TO PLAY
- Sky-watching (rain, clouds, stars…etc)
- Running
- Coloring
- Reading a good fantasy book
- Hula-hooping
- Taking a genuinely leisurely stroll
- Swinging on swings
- Bike riding
- Collecting flowers, leaves or stones
- Board games, puzzles or video games
- Climbing, hanging from or just sitting under trees
- Dancing
- Playing with dogs (or your animal of choice)
- Kayaking
- Swimming at a lake
- Going on an adventure (fake it till you make it)
- Flying a kite
- Blowing bubbles
- Rollerblading
I plan to regularly add to this list as I grow and become more comfortable incorporating play into my daily routine. Just reading this list gives me a lighthearted feeling and I know that adding some of these activities into my schedule will leave me feeling truly refreshed. Have fun making your own list and see what you come up with or how your definition of play might differ from mine. Regardless, learn how to play and savor your downtime!
When she’s not playing, Rosslyn Kemerer runs Wholehearter Yoga, a private studio based in Irwin, PA. She offers customized one-on-one sessions, workshops and special events, and even does some of her yoga coaching via Skype. If you’d like help in exploring your physical or mental potential, learn more about Wholehearter here.
