Play & Emotional Release—Wisdom We Can Learn From Children for Optimal Health
Play & Emotional Release—Wisdom We Can Learn From Children for Optimal Health
Mindbody Wellness Clarity Tips
Dear Awesome Woman,
It’s so funny that when we are kids, all we want to do is play grownup and become adults. There are some good reasons for this in terms of feeling more empowered and in charge of our lives by being able to drive or wear fun clothes or makeup. There is a feeling of power and control that a child believes comes with the territory of adulthood.
But nowadays people are starting to realize the health benefits of being like a kid. They’re recognizing that in the push to grow up—they’ve become too serious and left behind some incredible beneficial aspects of being young—the ability to play and the ability to feel their emotions somatically.
So, let’s talk about these:
Play
Do you remember as a kid, someone would put colorful crayons and a piece of paper in front of you or some playdoh and you’d attack it with gusto? You didn’t have a thought in your mind, just play in your heart. There was no purpose to the scribbles or colors that you chose or the shapes that you made. You just dived in with simple creativity. And you didn’t think about how your creation would be judged. You just played.
Well, bring it on back! There are such health benefits to doing that now as an adult. It doesn’t matter if it’s collaging (not vision boards which can bring pressure and “shoulds”—those can be for another time), simple watercolor pencil painting, charcoal drawing, rock painting, photography, or pottery. Whatever floats your boat! Just pick up the tools of your choice, make a large or even small space for yourself—I’ve even collaged in the bathroom when I had little kids and needed a 15-minute break!
There is no purpose to this simple creativity—it’s just about enjoyment and expressing your soul. The somatic feeling in your body should be expansion and uplift of spirit. If you feel constriction or tension, then you may be choosing something that doesn’t work for you. It’s normal to feel a bit of discomfort in your body or mind if play has not been a habit for you—you’re trying something new and your mind may judge or protest a little. But no worries—just keep going and know that you never have to show your creations to anyone. The seemingly “purposeless” process is what counts.
How else can you play? Can you go sledding, put music on and dance around, play tag with your loved one, swing on a swing? Laughter and fun, play and joy are truly wonderful for your nervous system and body.
If you feel like it, bring a friend or group of acquaintances along for the ride. These don’t even have to be people you are close to—the only requirement is that they are kind, non-judgemental and you feel safe with them. I had the desire many years ago to have more community in my life and so I gathered a small group of women who I barely knew but knew enough about them that they were kind and warmhearted. We began to collage and watercolor paint every new moon (it’s now moved to zoom) and it’s been such a delight for all of us. We share our thoughts and desires, our worries and woes, and our joys and delights as we gather to play creatively.
Feel Your Emotions Somatically
Children don’t usually suppress their emotions—they let them all out—either in the way of tears, temper tantrums, or whoops of joy. What a benefit it is as adults to do the same! You may want privacy for some of these expressions— at least with the temper tantrums—but the key is to express.
Emotions are “energy in motion” and are felt as physical sensations in the body. If this is the case then why do most of us try to think our way out of our feelings? Probably just from suppression as children are told to “stop crying”, “stop temper tantruming,” and stop playing so loud. As a mom, I know that sometimes it is necessary to ask kids to control themselves. And yet, it’s so important for validation to occur in which we let kids know that it’s okay to feel what they are feeling.
I invite you to do this for yourself—to validate yourself on what you are feeling and get relief through processing them somatically.
This can be done in a number of ways:
- Self-Compassion Break—please see my article, Pressure Off, Compassion On—this is so important for your nervous system!
- The ROAR! Process— is a somatic release process to get you unstuck. It helps you stop ruminating (you know those thoughts that go round and round?); it helps you process your emotions—anger, resentment, fear; it helps you unfreeze from the freeze response; it helps you tap into your intuitive wisdom; it helps prevent Mindbody pain; it helps you have greater health. There is such importance to experiencing your feelings on a somatic level.
- Make sure to celebrate yourself throughout the day—Arms Up! and Cheer Yourself On! Make sure to say “whoo hoo!” and pat yourself on the back for going through another day on this planet and getting so much right! Kids jump for joy when they’re happy, they dance and laugh and smile. You can do that too.
In what ways can you play and get in touch with your emotions? Kids have so much to teach us about joy, resiliency, and honesty. How can you get younger today?
Need a helping hand? Schedule your 20-minute free Clarity Call today! As a Somatic Healer, Relationship Expert, and Clarity Coach, I help empower women to trust themselves through the wisdom of their bodies and intuition. Stress and pain relief, trauma processing, marriage magic, dating help, career shifts, Narcissist/Borderline-relationship detoxing, and goal setting can all be accomplished through Mindbody Soul sessions (by phone). Each session creates quantum energetic shifts for healing, insight, and transformation. You have so much wisdom and it’s all within you!
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“I have struggled with IC and realized that in order to heal I had to address the mindbody connection and underlying emotional issues. I started working with Miriam and was able to get a lot of clarity as to how past events, traumas, trapped emotions are directly related to my physical symptoms. I was able to release a lot of emotions and feel empowered to take my healing into my own hands. Miriam is very intuitive and compassionate, which has also helped in other areas of my life I have been struggling with. I am grateful to be on this journey to healing and to have a very gifted healer to help and guide me on my path.” – P.H. Brooklyn, NY
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Feel free to forward the light of Mindbody Wellness today!
Enjoy my award-winning memoir, God Said What?! #MyOrthodoxLife , a story of love, humor, faith, and Kabbalistic mystical happenings.
