It is time for some summer magic.

It is time for some summer magic. Since the beginning of the year, we have been working hard –  both in and out of the home. Laboring for money, taking care of dependents, engaging in activism, tending to the garden, cleaning our homes, volunteering for good causes: all of these activities may be worthwhile but they are not leisure time. They do not typically engage us in play. 

We need play. We need time to explore, to be silly, to create, to imagine and to move for fun. When we engage in play, we reap mental, emotional, and physical benefits. Some of those benefits are:

• A reduction in stress: When we play, we lower our cortisol levels and free our minds from hypervigilance. Less stress means better access to coping skills that help us and not harm us.
• An increase in physical activity: For many adults, exercising can feel like a chore, and subsequently, folks are less motivated to move. Play, on the other hand, invites people to move because they enjoy what they are doing. Whether you choose to play a sport or tag or have a dance party, does not matter. Moving for fun is healthy.
• Grows connection: When we laugh and play with others, we experience a positive interaction that encourages closeness. One time I was waiting in a long line at the airport. People were getting grouchy and restless. One person started making jokes and the whole mood shifted. By the time that I got to the front of the line, I felt that I made new, if temporary, friends through a shared experience. Purposefully engaging people in fun activities makes folks friendlier and invites positive interactions.
• Encourages creative problem solving: Play gives us permission to think outside the box and approach situations with fresh eyes. Play incorporates mistakes in the process and teaches us that learning is not about being perfect but rather  learning becomes about trying new things. The freedom to try new things is at the heart of problem solving.
• Promotes overall vitality: Play makes us feel young and energetic. I love watching adults get silly and let go of expectations. This joie d’vivre, or joy of life, is attractive. It invites people to engage with you and it makes you feel better about life.

According to the National Institute for Play (I didn’t know there was one either), there are six different styles of play. While we can, and do, engage in many styles, we tend to have a “primary entry style” to play. On the NIP website, you can take an assessment to learn which style (Competitor, Explorer, Dreamer, Organizer, Creator or Mover) is your primary entry point to play. After taking the assessment, NIP will send your profile with recommendations about how to leverage your primary entry point to play. 

Thank you Linda Gellman for helping me cook for last week’s Group Living and Other Recipes event: your help was immeasurable! I appreciate everyone who came and discussed the topics in the book. A special thanks to Kate from Atlas Books who collaborated with me. Kate and I will be plotting a new book and event for fall. Stay tuned!

Whether you choose to take the NIP assessment or not, I invite you to engage with play this week. Start with something simple that does not require money or a lot of supplies. Make it easy and fun. Play should not feel arduous. Play does not need to be scheduled, but it can be. Spontaneity is fun too. If you are not used to playing, below are some suggestions to get you started. As always, take what works and leave the rest behind. Now, go play!

Wishing everyone a wonderful week!

Love,

Kim

Play Suggestions

• Jump in a body of water. Splash someone. Pretend you are a mermaid, a dolphin, a shark, a kraken. Make up some synchronized swim moves. Play Marco Polo.
• Pick two adjectives and then make a new recipe that reflects your adjectives. I once attended a party in which the host distributed random adjectives for just this reason. It was so much fun to come up with something edible that was both fuzzy and green. ;)
• Paint a design on your face and then go out in public. Act like you don’t know there is paint on your face.
• Dress like your favorite superhero and go on a walk. Periodically yell, “Here I come to save the day!”
• Dance the entire time that you are grocery shopping. Invite someone to do-si-do.
• Go outside and build something with natural objects. Could be small like acorn furniture or large like a fort. Allow yourself to get dirty.
• Pull out your art supplies and make a map for an alternate universe.
• Use your leftover pieces of fabric and/or yarn and make a wall hanging, a piece of clothing, an altar cloth, a quilt of your own design.
• Write a song, a poem, a short story that incorporates one of your favorite memories. Draw a picture to accompany your written word.
• Make up a game to teach your friends. Create your own obstacle course. Create a Bingo card to use while watching a movie or sporting event. Give the winners silly prizes.

For nearly thirty years, Kim Bushore-Maki has served Appalachia as both a pioneer and champion of holistic well-being and community health. 

A licensed clinical counseling professional, she became the first Master level clinician at East Tennessee State University's Counseling Center, where she provided therapeutic services and directed the Sexual Violence Prevention Program and the Alcohol and Drug Prevention Program.

During her tenure at ETSU, she was a founding organizer of the Tennessee Coalition for Healthy and Safe Campus Communities as well as Tennessee's representative for the National Prevention Network. She drafted ETSU's first Sexual Violence Response Policy and coordinated the region's first "Take Back the Night" program and fundraiser (the oldest worldwide movement to stand against sexual violence in all forms), the proceeds of which funded the first SANE nurses at the Johnson City Medical Center. Kim also served as Interim Director of Disability Services for 11 months.

In 2010, Kim followed her intuition and vision to found Shakti in the Mountains, a thriving healing-arts center that draws on somatic expressive therapy, archetypal psychology, wisdom traditions, and regenerative economics. Kim continues to maintain a small private therapy practice and also leads healing programs and retreats, guides the Shakti Stewardship Program, and serves as a community-building consultant to justice-oriented initiatives committed to building safe, inclusive, vibrant, and resilient communities.  ​

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