R-Rated Movement: In Defense of Adult Play

Here it is. The best piece of movement advice I can give you: Go outside and play.

The end.

I know it sounds too good to be true, but play, especially outdoors, carries a huge return on time invested. Meaning, it’s powerful stuff. I know it’s too easy sounding to be true because I hear, a lot, in my teaching … I feel like a kid / this reminds me of that one time when I was young / Oh to be a kid again / and other words that circulate around the same idea. What I interpret from the language is: This is fun! How could it be helpful? (Read: Why am I paying for this?) 

I wanna know, when did we start ascribing G-Rated vs. R-Rated values to movement?

When did PLAY fall exclusively into the realm of kids, and “exercise” into that of grown-ups? ‘Cause if words matter … the word exercise kinda’ sucks.

Psychiatrist Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play (and after reading there’s such a place - also known as Mr. Brown, My Future Dream Boss) says, “What all play has in common is that it offers a sense of engagement and pleasure, takes the player out of a sense of time and place, and the experience of doing it is more important than the outcome.”

EXERCISE should really consider hiring PLAY’s marketing manager … ‘cause that’s a way better campaign than anything I’ve heard from Team Exercise.

This is NOT me stating to not engage in anything formally considered “exercise.” This IS me advocating for a re-consideration and re-configuration for how we look at, enter into, and value our movement practices. There will always be devotees and enthusiasts who gravitate toward the formal structure of anything, exercise modalities included. The rest of us (those of us interested in movement practices) just wanna have some fun, feel good, explore, and frankly … play. 

When my mind zooms out there’s a larger conversation and context going on here too. As we chronologically age we often begin to de-value the wisdom of the child. Certainly with age comes (certain types of) wisdom … but I also wonder what we begin to forget, or give up, along the way?

There’s a new-ish NASA study that measures Creative Genius. Or one’s ability to “creatively” problem solve / think out of the box / be innovative. The longitudinal study tested 1,600 kids between 4-5 years old. An astonishing 98% of the children qualified as Creative Geniuses. The study followed the same kids and re-tested them at age 10. Alarmingly only 30% of them re-tested at creative genius level. The study continued, and at the age of 15 the kids were tested yet again. Shockingly only 12% were categorized at the genius level. The scientists were so disappointed that they stopped the study. Luckily, thousands of “average” adults have been tested using the same rubric. The answer is 2%!!! Only two percent of the average adult population tests at Creative Genius level.

The science team conducting the study, led by Dr. George Land, believes the culprit for the diminishing genius is in fact our school system. Our schooling values facts, linear reasoning, absolutes, and divergent thinking. Before we’re taught “how to think” our brains are more apt to process convergently - creative options and possibilities. Schooling trains the brain to do both our natural creative processing (convergent thinking) and cultivated learned reasoning (divergent thinking). The crux is that divergent thinking is filled with criticism, limitations, and self-censoring because it’s based on what has been tried and proven previously (AKA what should be done to be successful). Culturally we aren’t trained to value convergent thinking, and we aren’t taught how to well assimilate the two. So our brain goes to war with itself, fighting between creative ideas and proven ideas. 

Kids naturally make space for innovation and creativity.

Here’s the deal, as I see it: If a movement practice is designed to support and be a part of a healthy lifestyle … what aspects are you supporting? 

Historically valuable exercise (doing sit-ups for abs, and bench press for chest / or this posture correctly / or that gesture better than) are great physical practices for learning to follow rules and discovering how to fit into roles within boundaries. That was a great movement practice to support Industrial Era lifestyles that required people to operate, and be successful, as machines. 

We raced past the Tech Era and are nose-diving right into the Artificial Intelligence Era. Let me be clear - in the near future, no one will need a human cog to fit any systematic wheels. What we’ll need, what will be valued, is Creative Genius. The world is going to increasingly need innovators / thought-leaders / and outside-the-box idea generators to engage with the future’s problems and successes. You need a space to practice embodying THAT. 

So, next time you’re expecting R-Rated movement, and instead are asked to roll around on the ground … crawl … make a weird shape … or simply tasked to let go and play … know that what seems like G-Rated movement is really an important resource not just for your current health and well-being, but for the future of your body, professional success …. and humanity alike. 

Homework: Go to a playground and swing. If it’s busy just wait your turn or go back when it’s not … but just get on a swing, and SWING. Don’t swing for a couple minutes. Stay on that swing for at least ten minutes. Be present with what comes up for you. When was the last time you allowed yourself to swing? To play? How does play make you feel? In your body? In your heart? For me, swinging is one of the most centering and somatic experiences there is. You might feel the same or challenged by it. Either way it’s an interesting investigation. 

~ james CRADER