Blogs

[#1]

When Laurie and her team decided on the idea of play for this month’s theme, I was stoked! Immediately, I was reminded of a wonderful quote by George Bernard Shaw…

This quote has such significance for me because as I entered my fifties, the notion of play became somewhat of a personal mantra for me. At the time, I had an “aha moment,” and I decided that I would finally give myself permission to play. Play without guilt. Play without feeling irresponsible or immature. Just play for pure, sweet pleasure and release. Play because we are all worthy of balance. Because we as daughters, sisters, wives, mothers and friends, deserve it.

I grew up being uber-responsible and hard-working. I felt that working hard was the path to success. Anything less might lead to chaos and loss of control. I wondered why it was that children are not afraid to play. They are not embarrassed to twirl around, be silly and fall. They just get right back up. Is it judgement from others and ourselves that we fear?

Play happens when we let go of our attachment to perfection. So, I did.

When I turned 50, I went to Miraval, a mindfulness spa in Tucson, Arizona, with my grown daughter and my sister and her daughter. Here, we willingly and excitedly signed up to participate in what were referred to as “Challenges.” These Challenges turned out to be outrageously scary activities that were meant to challenge you (thus the name!) physically, mentally and spiritually. We were in small groups and were guided by a Mindfulness Coach. Our group became an intimate community, and we rooted each other on to stay strong and to “dig deep” to do our best to participate in the Challenge without making a quick getaway when no one was looking! In other words, we were forced to PLAY…no judgement and no expectations of perfection allowed! In fact, the Challenges were intentionally so difficult that very rarely could anyone successfully complete one. Because that was not the point. The point was to PLAY. We were reminded that we are not here to be perfect. We are here to play, through play is how we learn about ourselves.

Walking across the desert by very high tightrope – YIKES!

I learned that I could go WAY outside my comfort zone without inner judgement. I could push past the fear and not run away screaming, but, instead, come out the other side empowered and inspired!

A few years have passed since my stay at the spa, however, my journey has been to continue to challenge myself to embrace play every day. I’ve even decided to take my regular yoga practice off my mat and onto the water!! The beauty is that by giving ourselves permission to play, we give others permission to play as well.

With love,

Andrea

Wearing my Laurie Felt Weekender Jeans at my favorite yoga studio, Just Be Yoga.

Playtime with my daughter, Amanda, during a Paddle Board Yoga sesh!

My friend Amy (who happens to be the most awesome yoga teacher) and me trying to make a heart with our bodies! LOL!