Up Next: Eight Shades of Play

The storyteller

The Explorer

The Collector

The Joker

The Competitor

The Artist

The Director

The Kinesthetic

Expand Your Play Profile - A Short Series With a Focus on Your Inner Child

Inspired By The Huberman Podcast “ The Power of Play”

Play is the ultimate portal to plasticity, says Andrew Huberman in his podcast, The Power of Play.

Dr. Andrew Huberman seems to live his life by science: when and what to eat, when to sleep, what kind of exercise. Quite the bionic man. So his episode on the science behind play is both a surprise and delight.

No surprise, actually. Play is an easy way to develop neuroplasticity. Dr. Feldenkrais knew that decades ago. Awareness Through Movement is play in action. Again the science is catching up with Moshe.

So what about play makes it so valuable? Among other benefits, Huberman’s show notes include:

  • Play releases natural opioids from the periaqueductal gray (PAG)

  • The prefrontal cortex sees and explores many different possibilities of how to interact with our environment while in a state of play

  • New situations are brain workouts. Novelty increases plasticity.

  • Play allows us to explore different outcomes in a low-stakes environment.

  • We discover our proficiencies through play

  • Play is about testing, experimenting, and expanding the brain’s capacity

  • Through the process of play, we become and adjust who we are as adults.

  • Beneficial social play involves low amounts of epinephrine (adrenaline). While neurochemical substrates created by trauma shuts down play circuits, by engaging in play as adults, we can re-open these substrates.

We are built to play. In fact, play is a homeostatic function: if we don’t get enough play, we have to make up the deficit. Play circuits remain in adulthood, even if we no longer feel very playful in our daily grinds.

Not included in the show notes, but covered in the actual podcast, is an introduction to “Personal Play Identity,” our personal play styles that developed in childhood. These styles are not fixed. Our adult play patterns can be fluid, and expanded play can affect your future self.

Dr. Stuart Brown, the author of the book Play, identified 8 “play personalities” based on animal and human natural behaviors:

  • The Joker - laugh - find lightness in your movements

  • The Kinesthete - move - find pleasure in moving

  • The Explorer - go deep - where does this move take you?

  • The Competitor - games or goals - how much less can you do and still feel?

  • The Director - organize - guide movement through the body

  • The Storyteller - imagine - write a new narrative about that block

  • The Collector -make connections - how many variations can you imagine

  • The Creator - express - how can you use this move in a different context?

Enjoy (!) familiar lessons through the lens of play - and expand your play repertoire. You know you need it!

Begins April 6, 2022. Classes by Zoom on Wednesday 9:30 am and 6:30 pm.

BY ZOOM New Students: Register here

One registration covers Wednesday morning and evening classes. Come to either or both. $15/session, $40/month

Thanks to colleague Anita Bueno who instantly knew how to apply the principles of play to ATM. Anita - you are a genius.

Jacki Katzman