In this blog I'll be offering a series of 10 minute Playful Pauses, to help you reconnect, re-centre and recalibrate.

I offered this series of Playful Pauses on social media throughout the festive period. The idea was to offer simple prompts, using creativity, mindfulness and play to help people anchor themselves in the present moment.

Christmas can be a tricky time for many us, as we negotiate complicated family dynamics and navigate a host of festive pressures, expectations and assumptions. 

Things can get even tricker when you're also living with grief...

This Christmas and New Year marked the 5 year anniversary of my first miscarriage. As all grievers know, significant dates can amplify absence. To ease my way though the obstacle course of festive feelings and bursts of grief, I leant into to my mindfulness, creativity and play practices. 

I yoga-ed, cycled, walked, wrote, collaged, sang to the sea, talked to the trees, danced in my kitchen, played with my nephews and nieces and attended an online meditation retreat with Martin Aylward.

I'm so grateful for the way these practices help me press pause, ground myself, come back into my body, get curious about what's happening inside and find a more spacious way of connecting with whatever is happening outside. 

I've found that 10 minutes can actually be enough time to step out of my automatic reactionary thoughts, behaviours or emotions, to calm down my nervous system, soothe my inner parts and prepare the ground to begin again.

If you'd like to try this out for yourself, here are my 6 Playful Pauses for you to access whenever you need to press pause and start again.

10 minute Playful Pauses #1: Map the sounds you can hear

Draw a big circle on a sheet of paper and a shape to represent you in the middle of the circle. 

Set an alarm for 10 minutes and spend that time listening to the sounds, near and far. Capture each sound in some way on the page. See if you can map where the sounds occur in relation to you in the middle of the page.

At the end of your 10 minutes, take a moment to look back at your work and notice how you feel about it. 

Notice how you've been impacted by taking 10 minutes to do this activity - How is your body? How is your heart? How is your head? 

What might the next step in your day be?

10 minute Playful Pauses #2: Describe the space you’re in and the objects you can see in vivid detail

Grab some paper and a pen and set an alarm for 10 minutes. Spend that time describing the space you’re in and the objects in it in as much detail as you can.

At the end of your 10 minutes, take a moment to read back through your writing and notice how you feel about it. 

Notice how you've been impacted by taking 10 minutes to do this activity - How is your body? How is your heart? How is your head? 

What might the next step in your day be?

10 minute Playful Pauses #3: Draw an object without looking at the page

Choose an object to draw, grab some paper and a pen and set an alarm for 10 minutes. Spend that time drawing the object without taking your eyes off it. Don’t look at the page, trust yourself to capture the essence of the object in a perfectly imperfect way. 

At the end of your 10 minutes, take a moment to look back at your art and notice how you feel about it. 

Notice how you've been impacted by taking 10 minutes to do this activity - How is your body? How is your heart? How is your head? 

What might the next step in your day be?

10 minute Playful Pauses #4: Move Your Body

Line up 1-3 tracks of your choice and shake, stretch, dance, move your body in whatever way feels good!

At the end of the activity, notice how you've been impacted by taking 10 minutes to move your body - How is your body now? How is your heart? How is your head? 

What might the next step in your day be?

10 minute Playful Pauses #5: Find Yourself in Nature

Go outside and open up your senses. Let yourself be drawn in by sights, sounds, smells and textures. After a while, let something grab your complete attention - maybe a shapely tree or a quivering leaf or a passing cloud. Notice three things about whatever is drawing your attention - three qualities you think that thing has. Now apply those qualities to you - how might you be feeling like that, right now? 

At the end of your 10 minutes, take a moment to notice how you've been impacted by taking 10 minutes to do this activity - How is your body? How is your heart? How is your head? 

What might the next step in your day be?

10 minute Playful Pauses #6: Give Yourself A Massage

Set an alarm for 10 minutes. Feel into your body and notice how it feels right now. Which parts might need a little bit of loving attention? Perhaps your face might like a gentle massage? Or maybe your shoulders and arms might like to be pummelled and squeezed? Perhaps your legs and glutes would like to be patted? Or maybe your feet would like to be held?

At the end of your 10 minutes, take a moment to notice how you've been impacted by taking 10 minutes to give yourself a massage - How is your body? How is your heart? How is your head? 

What might the next step in your day be?

If you like this sort of thing, check out: 

Creative Clarity online workshops

Creative Clarity in person workshops  

Online one to one sessions.

Wishing you peace, space and ease,

Holly Stoppit xxx