Would you like to come and play?
What do you do? Interesting question isn’t it. That question used to be easy to answer… What do I do for a living? was what was wanting to be answered. I had a very “grown up” profession. That’s what I did, that grown up profession.
I have found it a little harder to articulate now. A new path is unfolding. So now, I much prefer the question “What do I do …. to feel alive?”
What gets me to come alive…. Play. I get to play. A lot. How does life get better than that?
Play is magical, Yoga is magical, Life is magical… it is all entwined
For me, play and yoga flow together effortlessly, seamlessly, magically.
I love to play
I read an article yesterday on how much play you should have with your child
I say…. there is never too much, ever
I have a 7 year old boy. In our home, he is the only “child”. In our home play is invited. If he asks me to play, I gladly play. If i want to play, he plays with me. I know there will be a day when he doesn’t want to play with me. I know there will be a day where he doesn’t want to play at all, when the pull of responsibility takes over. When did that start for you? That pull? How does that start?
So I play, without question, consciously, without guilt. Honestly, i still feel that pull of responsibility, house work….what other adults think. Working on it. A thermomix helps! I cleaner might me the next step, for me, to create space and time for the thing i do, for the thing i love, for play.
Play for us, together looks like water fights on the lawn, playing leap frog, bouncing on the trampoline, laying on the trampoline making up stories about the clouds, making up new words, reading stories and making up stories, songs, dancing around the loungeroom, making a human hamburger with the most disgusting ingredients then falling on top of each other in fits of laughter, telling jokes, kicking the football, boogey boarding at the beach, collecting shells and telling a story about the creatures who touched, baking, acrobatics on the lawn…. whatever comes
creating sculptures out of nothing, out of something, creating memories
getting messy with paint, drawing what we see, what we feel
play is about fairies and pirates, face paints and dress ups
it is a time for loud, laughter, tears and tom foolery, especially when having other kids come to play
it is a chance to learn for children, big kids to unlearn and relearn
it is a new perspective, fresh ideas, fresh ideas … it is like the scent of lemons
it is letting go of anger, and fears and worries
it is innocence
it is trust
it is beautiful
it is simple
it is an expression of love
acceptability
acceptance
energising
grounding
expansive
joy
it is a time where communication flows, feelings are expressed, discussions and ideas shared
play is, at the end of the day, bedtime, with a child who says “i have had the best day” and falls asleep so easily. so peacefully. so quietly. ready for the next day of play
it is everything and it is
nothing
play…. together … and separate
play for me is a time to stop, release pressure from my head, to connect to my body, to let that gorgeous little girl inside of me…. out, for her to smile and be free and to float and to to wonder, to create, to experience life with innocence. To connect to what is important, to what is magical, to emotion, to what is light, to joy. Then it flows to the rest of my day. it is contagious.
I got to watch my Mum and my Aunty play over Christmas. I could see them as kids. I sat and watched them. The mischief, the secrets, the stories, the fun, the brightness, the wind, the laughter. It was beautiful. It was contagious. I joined in. Nanna joined in. It is my favourite part about this Christmas. There were no “children” at this Christmas, but there were adults who knew how to play, to be children.
What a gift I have been given by my family.
What a gift I get to share with others….
I get to share in play, in yoga, with children, with other families, with other adults.
Play is magical, Yoga is magical, Life is magical… it is all entwined
For me, play and yoga flow together effortlessly, seamlessly, magically.
What does play mean to you?
I invite you to play, as an adult, with the child within you, with the child you have gifted this world
Come and play with me
I love to play
It is what I do, it is what I am.
Xxx
Tam
