Midwife Learns to Play-The InterPlay Way
I just had a great weekend workshop last week her in Austin from InterPlay. Along with other health care professionals, I practiced and learned techniques to bring playful energy to my clinical practice and my personal life. I’m so excited about the discovery, as I’ve always valued sacred play in children, and now I’m delighted to know that play is sacred for adults, too.
The workshop was led by one of the founders of InterPlay, Cynthia Winton-Henry, a therapist and dancer. She provided guidance and a safe play space. We partook in silly activities, like babbling, and storytelling, movement and games. We learned some of the most basic applications of InterPlay principles to our health care practices. As what they term “recovering serious people”, it’s important for us to remember to bring levity and fun into our interactions with our clients.
Don’t expect rubber noses or face paint, but I think you will see the changes that this practice is having on me as a midwife. It’s certainly affecting my interactions with family and friends. It is my hope to create safe play space in my client activities to enrich my client’s experiences of motherhood and community in their childbearing years and beyond.
So after you read this blog post, I ask you to do something fun, something non-productive-just because. Go draw a picture or turn on some ’80s music and dance; build a sand castle or make playdough. Do something just for the sake of fun, and see what happens. I’ll keep you updated as to the changes I see that come from this practice. For more information about InterPlay, go to their home page: http://www.interplay.org/index.cfm/go/home:home/
