One of my favorite lines from a theatrical production comes from Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing", specifically the scene where the Prince, Count Claudio, and Don Leonardo have set the stage for the misogynistic, eavesdropping Benedict to completely misinterpret anything that now comes out of his sworn rival Beatrice's mouth to be cloaking her true feeling for him.
With the scene set, Beatrice, as part of the façade, is angrily sent to merely tell him "Dinner is ready." Of course, Benedict's mind, already primed, is sent spinning to make sense of the disconnect between what he has been lead to believe by his friends and the disdain with which she conveys her supposedly "true hidden feelings". It's at this point he delivers the classic line (beginning by paraphrasing Beatrice), "'Against my will I am sent to bid you come in to dinner' -- there's a double meaning in that."
So, what does this have to do with anything, especially meaningful play? A lot, actually.
One beauty of language is the many uses it inherently possesses, both practical and poetic. From the parables of Christ to the daily witty banter, words connect and disassociate ideas and draw parallels between two seemingly unrelated thoughts, conveying a deeper transcendent meaning/awareness to concept. Ever since I was young, my mind has been groomed to find these parallels (yeah, it made for a somewhat frustrating childhood), and I recently became aware of one while flying home from a trip to Utah.
As part of my training to become a physical therapist, a pediatric section was required and one of the integral ideas for intervention with children as the use of "meaningful play" - or using anything fun (games, activities, anything physical, visual, technological, quiet) to promote neuromotor or somatosensory integration.
The idea of meaningful play is an amazing tool when you see it put into action. It's not a cure all (like when the child just doesn't want to engage at ALL because it just happens to be a bad day), but most of the time, it has ways of evoking subconscious movement patterns that's almost unbelievable. It inspired me to muse on what the parallels are between what meaningful play does for children and what it means for us as adults as we continue to advance across the spectrum of aging, specifically in reference to: physical development, emotional development, cognitive development and the developing a skill set within interpersonal relations. So, for the next few blog posts I'll be delving into these aspects as they relate to our interpretations of "play". :)
Meaningful play is also very integral in a child's developing emotions, social skills, visual coordination - essentially normal development. There is so much that is learned on the playground that we miss as the Adult "voyeur", I think. This is where the Utah experience comes in. Flying home from a trip to Utah, my mother, who is a nurse at an elementary school, and I shamelessly and prively deconstructed the societal hierarchy and neurocognitive development of 7.5* children at a play table in the boarding area close to the gate. What fascinated me most was how innocently this social construct came to be merely because they were playing a game of Hangman, and how this basic blueprint does not change as we progress into adulthood. Sure, the "games" may or may not be different, but the rules, the benefits, the lessons learned (hopefully) do-not-change. Not to mention, if we don't continually practice these skills, we will lose them gradually.
Part 1 - Physical Play
My practice as a physical therapist primarily centers around adult patients and as much as I love creating functional exercises, I've come to find the ones who come to me as something a former boss of mine affectionally refered to as a "train wreck" are the ones who have forgotten to physically play. They have scores of non-genetic comobidities that likely could have been avoided if they had remained moderately active. Let's face it, when we think of exercise, we all have horrible images of past failed New Year's resolutions and disenchantment after 3-4 weeks to the point where we return to our relatively "sedentary" lifestyle (es, this does include those who are "on the go" because "on the go" is the norm...play is additional to the norm).
Why?
Is it because as we've meandered further toward the pied piper's call of the technological age, we're more apt to be passive participaters? Because we associate "play" with children and it has no place within an adult's lifestyle? I don't think this is the case necessarily, but I honestly wonder if, as adults, we've narrowed our view of what's enjoyable when it comes to physical activity. It's almost like we have a tendency to restrict ourself to what's appropriate for "adults" - since when did it become taboo to chase, kick, throw, tackle, and just flat out have a good time? Sure, you might get a little sore, but at least you had fun doing it.
In the end, I'd rather you have fun being active than variations of the alternative. There are several research articles showing the benefits of physical activity - in the broad sense of the term - for mental acuity, problem solving, emotional well-being....
So why not play instead?
Some modern adult versions of play could include:
- Walking/running with a dog (sorry, Dan)
- Recreational sports - either pick-up games or city leagues
- Charity/Benefit races
- Bicycling to explore your neighborhood, park, or preserve
- Learning a new activity - take a look at Groupon for discounts to get you started on something you've always wanted to try - you might find a new love (activity) or find a new pool of friends
- Just playing catch (one of my favorite pastimes)
- Yoga or pilates, or even jumping rope (Tangent: this just reminded me of something - any girls remember Skip-it?)
- Swimming, playing pool games with children
- Gardening or yardwork
- Social dancing (my ultimate game)
Those are only 10 out of a multitude of options that exist at your fingertips. Think back to what you find enjoyable and who you would like to share that experience with you - now go play, and keep yourself primed for life :)
Coming Soon - Part 2: Emotional development.
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