Exercise is an important part of a healthy life, but how we do it is important. Jenn Hicks has been teaching Nia through a body/fat positivity and Health At Every Size lens ever since recovering from her eating disorder and exercise addiction. The practice draws from martial arts, dance arts, and healing arts, empowering people of all shapes and si…

Screen Free Week, May 3-9, 2021, is the Children's Screen Time Action Network’s annual celebration of unplugging, reconnection, and joy. They’re celebrating differently this year because screens have become the only means of connection for so many of us. But maybe that’s all the more reason to focus on this area of our lives? In our interview with …

How can we play like children, but as adults? And how could it transform the workplace if we learn to develop deeper, adult ways of playing as we got older instead of putting it away? And most importantly, how can play principles be incorporated into our workplace relationships and career goals? This conversation tackles all of these questions and …

Mike Montague, founder of Playful Humans Clubhouse and host of the Playful Humans Podcast, discusses one of the most difficult issues facing us humans these days – what to do about social media. We talk about our response to The Social Dilemma, which leads us to a deeper discussion about how we can rethink what it means to curate, not our feeds, bu…

Alessandra Calderin has a very no-nonsense approach to health and spirituality that I really appreciate. Conversations about spirituality can take on characteristics similar to a religion with its own jargon and its own sets of assumptions. If you don’t agree with those assumptions or understand the jargon, it can seem as if you’re on the outside l…

Dementia is seen as one of the most horrible things that can happen to a person – a “loss of self” or “living death.” Susan Massad and Mary Fridley are part of a coalition working to challenge that way of looking at dementia, known as “the tragedy narrative.” They created a workshop called The Joy of Dementia Workshop (You’ve Got To Be Kidding!). U…

Spirituality and religion are linked to positive physical and mental health outcomes, but at times, unhealthy teachings can cause more problems than they solve. On this episode, Gary Ware interviews Kara, the host of PlayGrounding. Through her work toward interfaith ordination, she’s begun the process of uncovering her own story of religious trauma…

Rona Lewis, Founder and CEO of Playful Minds Project, explains her work with businesses to improve mental health in the workplace. Rona doesn’t believe in work/life balance. Work is part of life! So how do you balance it all? It’s about taking time to make time work for you. And above all, having an attitude of play that makes life an adventure, no…

If you’ve ever believed you couldn’t share your own story or let your voice be heard until you “fix” yourself, then you need to hear what Jessica has to say. Jessica Brustad, Co-Founder of Playful Mind Project, has worked with individuals struggling with mental health issues like anxiety, OCD and Postpartum Mood Disorders and has helped companies l…

Meet the co-founders of the recently launched Playful Mind Project, play experts Jessica Brustad and Rona Lewis. The focus of their launch is on one of the hardest hit demographics during the Covid-19 pandemic – working moms. Jessica and Rona are not therapists, but their work is informed by therapeutic exercises like cognitive behavioral therapy. …

This week you’re going to meet Charlette (Charly) Ford, a seasoned entertainer, executive producer and curator of the You’s A Fool Improv and Variety Show in Atlanta, GA. Charly is an Improv Acting Coach and bold event host, she brings charisma, comedy, and culture to her students and audiences alike. She’s one of the most playful people you'll eve…

Play can be an empowering spiritual experience, regardless of what you practice, or what religious or spiritual subculture you belong to. And no one has been better, over the years, at helping us understand that play has an important role in healing from trauma and helping us deal with shame than healer, speaker, author, and poet, Vince Gowmon.…

Kay Ross believes that life is an improvisation game and a playground of possibilities. She is an improv performer and an Applied Improvisation trainer; a bodyworker/healer; the Head Tour Guide in The Playground of Possibilities (that’s her project about guiding people to choose more joyful, resourceful thoughts, beliefs and stories about themselve…

Have you ever heard the quote, “Be the person you needed when you were younger.” This quote by Ayesha Siddiqi is embodied in the work of Rita Ezenwa-Okoro. Rita lives in Lagos, Nigeria and is the Founder and Lead Visionary of Street Project Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that uses creative arts and performing arts tools to facilitate opp…

Gary Ware is concerned about your plan to work an all-nighter to finish that project. You might want to listen to his advice, because he's been where you are. Gary is the founder of Breakthrough Play, where he helps teams be more creative, confident, and collaborative using play. He has over half a decade of experience with improvisation, and over …

None of the problems our world is facing right now can be solved if we can’t find new ways to talk to each other. Right now, consensus seems like a far off dream and we find ourselves asking, are we doomed to fail? Or is it possible to create a new way to talk to each other so that we can reach consensus and move forward? Maybe we’re following a sc…

Was 2020 supposed to be “your year”? Of course, sometimes things don’t go the way we want them to, but Jeff Harry has a message for you. Play is a superpower that helps you become more resilient not only in the face of our personal struggles, but the struggles facing our country and the world. So get ready to put away your expectations and start se…

Pat Rumbaugh, founder of Let’s Play America, returns for another conversation on PlayGrouding! Let’s Play America has a new e-book called The Play Day Handbook, which is an amazing, step-by-step guide for how to create play days for your community. Their play days, and all the advice in the Play Day Handbook, are relevant for kids-only play days, p…

According to Andrew Walsh’s daughter, he is “A librarian who teaches grown-ups how to play”, which is far more important than any “real” job description. He is founding editor of the Journal of Play in Adulthood and is a core member of the Playful Learning Association. Hear about his research into how adults play and about his newest book, a compil…

Scott Froschauer is an artist known by many for his public art installations of street signs. They look just like the street signs you pass by every day, but the messages they convey are not what you’d ever expect to see. In this episode about play and activism, he discusses how how experiential art has a lot in common with improv. It grounds us in…

Meet Cathy Salit and Fernanda Liberali, founders of The Global Play Brigade, a volunteer community of play and performance activists, improvisers, clowns, musicians, educators and therapists who have come together in response to the global pandemic and the distressing, inequitable state of our world.…

"Heavenly Brown Body" is Leslie's most recent installation, based on a haunting poem by the late Mark Aguhar called "Litanies to My Heavenly Brown Body." His work is challenging and for some of us, myself included, it’s really hard to take in. But we’ve all been learning that the most important first step toward healing as our nation responds to th…

Mary Catanzaro, Founder of POGO Events in New York City, left her career in the corporate world to bring people together for scavenger hunts and game nights throughout the city. Hear how she built her business like a family and is dedicated to keeping it running through this tough time so that anyone, anywhere, can have access to connection and fun…

Death has been heavy on our minds during the Coronavirus pandemic. Most of us don't like to think about it, but this conversation with interfaith Death Midwife Rev. Maggie Burbank Yunoki is a great way to open up to new ways of thinking about death and seeking deeper meaning for our lives.

The whole world is going through a trauma right now. And your part is no smaller than anyone else's. It's vital right now to find the courage to face our emotions and find ways to enjoy life. Even if it takes baby steps to get there.