Play
Do something novel today
One of the biggest things lacking in American culture is play; doing something unscripted, unregulated, solely because it's entertaining.
By this I don't mean video games. I have no doubt that people spend plenty of time staring at repetitive flashing lights on a screen. I'm talking about the sort of physical play that gives you a sense of flow.
Flow, as defined by Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi is the mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity.
Think of an activity like snowboarding or surfing. In these sports, you're generally there just for the simple pleasure of moving through and responding to a changing environment. There is an inherent element of novelty to each ride and each wave. The snow or wave will never be exactly the same and the path you take or exactly how you ride it will be a little different each time.
When you're in the process of experiencing physically novel sensations, your brain is constantly sending outputs and receiving feedback in order to learn how to make predictions.
Think of how many times you had to fall before you finally got up on a surfboard. At some point your neocortex had a sufficient level of connections to know what to expect at the moment your feet hit the board and how to direct your body from there, but before that happened, there was a lot of swimming.
Once popping up becomes second nature (it's well ingrained at a low level in the cerebral cortex) you'll start playing with learning how to turn into the wave, or cut back, or do the same thing on a bigger, more powerful wave. As one skill is learned, another is built on top of it.
Experiencing novel sensations like this and creating new synaptic connections from them is essentially mental exercise. Your brain responds with a release of neurotransmitters like dopamine that flood your mind with a pleasant, rewarding sensation. It just feels good.
How often do you incorporate this sort of thing into your life? When was the last time you did something physically just to see what it would feel like? You don't need to intellectualize it, just play.
Last week, we finished our usual workout ahead of time. We started looking at the ropes hanging from the ceiling, the I beams running in between them and one of us said, "Do you think it would be possible to move across those?"
"What do you think would happen if…"
What followed was a progressive game that, along with actually being a great workout, was refreshingly fun.
This is your homework. This is part of living a physical life. Learn what your body can do. You don't have to clamber around on 20 foot high I beams from your fingertips, but sometime this week, leave your spreadsheet and your stopwatch and your clipboard alone and just play. Find something you've never done before and see what happens.
Comments for This Entry
Muscle-ups look cool (and useful!) but I can't do one. I hope to add them to my small list of skills .
Posted on 01:54PM on July 19, 2010 [permalink]
Hi , Fun exercises , not for the weak or overweight people . Cheers
Posted on 05:31PM on July 19, 2010 [permalink]
That second video looked like great fun; I'd definitely be persuadable in the Tarzan Workout class direction!
Posted on 05:57AM on July 20, 2010 [permalink]
Wonderful! Inspiring! Fun!
Posted on 08:22AM on July 20, 2010 [permalink]
"How often do you incorporate this sort of thing into your life? When was the last time you did something physically just to see what it would feel like? You don't need to intellectualize it, just play."
Would you believe me if I tell you - Almost @ every training session? That's what Ghetto Workout is all about. It is about getting the peasur from the process of training through using one's imagination to create exercises no one ever done before! GW is not only about training muscles, but also about expressing yourself through the training!
And yes, it is an unique feeling - then you finally do the thing you wanted to do right!
Posted on 01:09PM on July 20, 2010 [permalink]
I used to play a lot when I was a kid. Running around for hours, cycling, etc were part of growing up. (Thanks Dad!). There was no play till my 2and 1/2 yr old neighbour entered my life. She would wait for me to come home from work (that kid really loved me!) and then we'd start. At least an hour of dancing, playing and giggling. So much better than flopping down in front of the TV. And then one day on a couple of days notice she shifted with her young parents to the US. If I'd known she would leave so suddenly I"d have played much more. Much much more. But you never know these things..
Nice videos. Your gym is really nice!
Posted on 10:50PM on July 20, 2010 [permalink]
Neat article. Never underestimate the power of the playground, for exercise and having a great time with your kids. I aspire to do what they do! On that front, I wanted to share this with you Craig, but lost your email: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfWTQA6QPk4&feature=PlayList&p=DB1875BF8F0CC2B5&playnext=1&index=1
Whatever your view of big business, this is a mighty fine ad. They were just missing the zombie apocalypse.
Posted on 05:19PM on July 27, 2010 [permalink]
Thanks for the link Ann, that's a good video. And a very good point about what exercise has devolved into. Although, as you said, that's not really going to change by buying some electronic gadget to accompany you on yet another meaningless jog.
Posted on 10:45AM on July 28, 2010 [permalink]
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