Dear community,
Happy July!
Today, I have a moment of levity for us — something we all need more of in our lives and outlooks.
This is Where in the world? Paid subscribers will additionally have access to the today’s answer (normally revealed in the next Wiw column) and to my top travel tips for a recently mentioned destination.
🌏Where in the world? An original photo or video from somewhere in the world — to unite us across borders — and open to your guesses as to where it might be.
Where in the world? Frolicking. (Pure joy.)
Do yourself a favor: watch this brief video from beginning to end.
It features cartoon Bambi-like utter joy and abandonment. It’s what we all need more of in our lives. The degree to which it shows up in this video is almost unbelievable. (My father took this video, and I almost didn’t believe it wasn’t manufactured.)
Where do you think the video above was taken? And where have *your* favorite frolickings been?
Laughter and finding a sense of levity does wonders for our biology and health, including inducing physiologic relaxation and helping with loneliness, depression, stress, and self-esteem.
Unstructured play — typified in today’s video — stretches us in new directions. It helps us find cognitive flexibility and enhances executive function, the ability to take risks, try new approaches, be creative, self-regulate, exert autonomy, and make meaning of our experiences. It enhances connections between our neurons and physiologically dampens the effects of stress. And perhaps most importantly, as we see among our four-legged friends, play helps us connect meaningfully with others.
“Play is not frivolous: it enhances brain structure and function and promotes executive function (ie, the process of learning, rather than the content), which allow us to pursue goals and ignore distractions.” -The American Academy of Pediatrics’ report on play
Young kids are lucky — they approach so many experiences in the world with a sense of profound wonder and lightness. And we caregivers who are in their orbit can absorb so much of this from them, whether we’re playing ‘The Floor is Lava’ or engaging in a spontaneous interpretive dance party. When we get older, we have to work a little harder to cultivate this outlook. Here’s your reminder that it’s worth it and that playfulness does reside inside each of us.
So how can you breathe more lightness into your general demeanor, so you can leap a little higher and experience life from a place of more ease and flexibility? What can you do today to reframe the way you might be approaching a tense situation at work, at home, or with a friend? It’s partly about connecting to your inner child and flexing that deep play muscle we all have. Even dancing for a few minutes like nobody is watching, rereading a best loved story from childhood, watching a funny video or standup special, or spending time doing laughter yoga, can make a difference.
What can you commit to including in your day or week to harness play?
To close, here are some recent playful moments with our little guy, Rumi:
Last time…
We featured the bountiful and wondrous impacts of the clouds, sunshine, and birds on our well-being — along with my top tips on traveling WELL with kids.
Here’s where the two photos we featured were from:
The first one was taken in San Francisco, CA, USA, at a park about a block from our former home
The second photo was taken at sunset in El Nido, Palawan, the Philippines (Manila was another former home for me growing up)
You can find that post below:
Where in the world is our community?
How diverse is our community here at Ask Dr Devika B? So far, we are in 41 countries — up from 36 last we counted a month ago.
Help us continue to grow by recommending us to a friend who would benefit from receiving this content on evidence-based well-being insights!
Wishing you light,
Dr Devika Bhushan
BONUS: Travel tips for the Philippines
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