Workshop: How to Avoid Growing Old

Please join me and my co-host Caroline for this FREE workshop on how to avoid growing old. The instructions will be simple. Play.

This workshop is facilitate by Craig Metz.

Craig has been leading play therapy groups for adults since 2010. Craig has a private psychotherapy practice and also works at a clinic providing therapy for those with a severe and persistent mental illness. Read more about his story below.

Play benefits us in many ways.

It heightens attention and amplifies our innate creativity.

It encourages flexibility and magnifies our attunement to others.

It enhances potential for brain growth.

Most importantly, it offers opportunities to move, connect with others, have fun, and laugh.

How to prepare for the workshop.

Wear comfortable layered clothing and socks, (we may be taking off our shoes).

Bring a bottle of water.

Explore your mindset.

How to explore your mindset

Approach the day with curiosity about yourself—notice your thoughts, behaviors, emotions, body sensations, and feelings as you get ready and experiment with play.

Have compassion for yourself around any awkwardness, which is an expected and integral part of play.

Remind yourself of the benefits of play, familiarize yourself with the types of play we will explore, and articulate what you want to learn.

Types of Play We Will Explore

Word play—a primarily cognitive play, in which words are the medium of connection.

Imaginative play—a type of play in which we engage in consensual unreality.

Copying or mirroring play—where our words or movements are mimicked to some extent.

Movement play—where we use our bodies to communicate.

Touch play—where we feel an increase in social risk and opportunities for pleasure.

Free play---where we create, open ourselves to inspiration, and explore our affinity.

Questions You Might Explore

What kind of play is most fun or pleasurable for you?

What kind of play is the easiest or least risky for you?

What motivates you to play?

What kind of play do you wish you had more of?

What kind of play do you wish felt more comfortable?

What surprises you about how you play?

What risks are you willing to take to have more play in your life?

How well do you read the emotional state and preferences of those around you?

How can you bring play more into your life and your current activities?

Craig's background in his own words

At one point in my adult life, I found that my life had become flat and boring and I started to get depressed. It was through rediscovering the importance of play that things turned around for me. I learned the hard way that if I cannot find play in my work, then it becomes a chore and I do not perform well, but if I can find play in what I am doing, then I will fully engage and excel.

Without access to a sense of play in my life, I lose track of my purpose and meaning. In all of my different kinds of relationships, when play is part of the relationships, then the relationships are enlivened and I look forward to our connections.

As I was rediscovering the revitalizing aspects of play in my own life, I noticed that many of my psychotherapy clients had lost play in their lives, or never had it strongly, and that as a result they too struggled with depression, anxiety, lack of meaning in their lives, and disengagement in work. As I assisted my clients in bringing play into their lives, things began to turn around and we noticed striking progress. Depression and anxiety began to fade, confidence returned, problems became puzzles to solve, and life became more fun and interesting.