The Art of Mindful Play Workshop
The man (or woman) who does not play has lost forever the child who lived in him – Pablo Neruda
We all remember being ‘sent out to play’ as children and most of us welcomed the uninhibited freedom we experienced as a normal part of life and headed off with siblings or with our friends and simply played. Without plans or designs we engaged fully in the moment and allowed the moment to unfold, often experiencing pure joy and contentment. For many of us, our ability to fly with the spirit of the moment and play (just for the sake of it) has left our schedule. We don’t have time to play and would feel guilty if we indulged in a senseless act of fun – just because we could. Even though we may take leisure time, hobby time or exercise time for a lot of us this is not done with the same spirit as ‘playtime’. For a lot of us our leisure time is to ‘recharge or regroup’ often from a state of exhaustion, our hobby time is to create a painting others will admire and worthy of putting on the wall and our exercise time is to escape from our current life situation or because we know we should.
Take a moment to remember the spirit of play from your childhood. The spontaneity of the moment, where you slid down the slide for the act of sliding, not for the outcome of becoming an athlete. Where you allowed your imagination to take you like a leaf on the wind and time dissolved into the freedom of the moment. Even if you slipped when you ran and grazed your knees, after a short amount of anguish, you started running after the ball again with your friends and the pain dissolved into the past. We are talking of those moments where the act of play was totally free of stress or distress you simply lived the moment – fully, richly and deeply.
This workshop is about reminding and/or reteaching ourselves about the spirit of play – using art as our medium. We shall explore the act of mindful play and how the simplicity of being in the moment and playing (without goals or expectation) enriches our lives and improves our wellbeing. The simplicity of play combats the stress that can overrun our lives and is an essential part of living a balanced life.
Over the workshop:
- Liz Lane (Psychologist/ Artist) and Mary Aston (Qualified Life Coach/Artist) will engage you in a range of art exercises aimed to kindle the joy of play, explore the psychology of play and participate in mindful meditation exercises (drawn from both Philosophy and Psychology) aimed at fostering a sense of play.
- You will have the opportunity to explore both your creative and psychological barriers that have potentially overlayed your sense of play.
- You will be provided with tools that you can continue to practice after the workshop to keep growing play in your everyday lives.
- Most importantly the day will simply be fun!
Upcoming Workshops:
TBA
To express an interest please:
Liz Lane is a Psychologist with over 20 years’ experience providing workshops in a variety of topics including enhancing individual well-being & resilience. She has taught mindful practices to clients and groups over this time and has personally used mindful practices to enhance her life balance for the past 35 years. Liz would refer to herself as a Psychologist/educator/artist and bliss chaser. She affectionately regards Mary as one of her life mentors in how to have pure, joyful fun.
Mary Aston is a Life Coach with over 20 years’ experience as a Human Resource practitioner providing on the job coaching, mentoring, mediation and guidance within the work environment and our community. Mary spent the first 25 years of her career within health, law enforcement, transport and education and is currently enjoying a fresh change (the last 7 years) working within the private sector. Mary enjoys fostering a sense of wholeheartedness within herself and others by reconnecting us to our ‘heart play’. Mary describes herself as a professional unprofessional/ Coach/ Artist and joy burst giver. She affectionately regards Liz as a true friend and life-long guide.