Welcome to Open Hearts Unite
Time to play!
Here's what I learned just by playing!
A big part of breaking free from oppressive imprints is PLAY!
Play is our first act of seeking connection, learning to understand the world and imprinting ourselves in our own surroundings. When we were children most of us painted on the walls, stuck our feet in the paint or glue just for sensation. We learned a lot about our environment, our bodies and those around us based on play. Unfortunately, most of us were also met with a lot of shame for it. We were taught to recoil from natural play because of the reactions to our play by adults.
Over time, society impresses upon us social "norms" such as play is only for children. This then includes shaming adults for play and relaxation. Most of today's societies often dismiss play as inconsequential to our daily life and instead centralize work as the totality of existence rather than an aspect of life.
So what happens if we return to the organic rebellion of play?
A return to wonder, innovation, creativity, connection and community are a few elements that present themselves when reconnecting with the joy of play. We also remember to connect with our body!
The body holds deep wisdom of enriching its own health that is often blocked by colonization-based body relationship limitations. So much shame and fear have been placed on our bodies simply for existing and it constricts daily under that pressure and disconnect. One of the most important elements of deep healing and relaxation begins with our own relationship with our body. We open the door to this communication with our body through play!
When we remember to play, we listen to our body which has often taken in so much projection, so much generational and societal "you should"'s, that our own muscles start to tighten as a reaction to such pressure and stress which can cause many variations of physical un-wellness. This forced disconnect from our body also affects our mental health. For how can we be disconnected from our very own body and find peace within it at the same time?
Your body is your home, and you deserve health, freedom and safety in your relationship with your body. As we start to practice body connect, we are deconstructing the oppressive norms that block that connection. When we are decolonizing our relationship with our body, and in time it becomes more and more an organic process and you feel more at ease with yourself, your body and your mind. One of the most powerful ways to do that is play! Open Hearts Unite is here to remind people to play!
How does play help us connect with our body?
We're told in society that we need to force ourselves to create just to function in the daily set up of how the world runs. When it comes to playing, we get to let go of the day to day rules and get present to our own being. We have the opportunity to sit in silence, or blast our favorite song, or listen to nature sounds if even on a video. When I step into my creative flow, part of that oneness with play, is letting myself be present in my body.
I think this is the experience we are looking for when we watch a show, a movie or listen to music that brings up deep emotion. That seeking of sensation and desire to feel deeply, to me seems like a seeking of connecting with our own body.
When we play we have an opportunity to be present. Not a forced presence of work or chores, or annoying errands that cannot be ignored. There's the rekindling of aliveness, of excitement, of deep joy of the heart.
There is a true freedom in regards to play. A deep remembrance of our own sovereignty. The delicate yawn of possibility reaching across what many of us forgot in adulthood and beckoning us back to self love, self care, self tenderness and body reconnect through play.
There is so much fun to be had and you deserve time to play.
The Science of Play
For those who are interested in the scientific aspect of play here are some sources on how play has been proven to enhance our life, functionality and health:
When was the last time you played?
Everyone's type of play is different. Some enjoy physical activities and sports, others enjoy dance classes, others yet love a good art class or playing games! What is your form of play? Do you like board games, video games? Creating new recipes in your kitchen or cooking together with family or friends? Maybe bringing to life an old recipe that brings warm nurturing feelings to the forefront.
What can you do to take some time to play today?
What's stopping you from enjoying play?
Is there something you've been wanting to do since you were little?
One of the things I loved to do when I was little was to glue tissue paper on construction paper with no rhyme or reason. As adults we can be afraid of being made fun of for doing something without absolute purpose. But play is such an integral part of revolutionizing how we process our day to day, and when we remember to allow ourselves to play and create with seemingly no purpose, we free ourselves from stagnant daily patterns.
Opening ourselves up to play again is vital to supporting healthier daily life choices. We get creative and break patterns that may be hindering us in various aspects of life, be it interpersonal or even in business itself. Play is the relief our mind and body needs to see old patterns and replace them with new, to see our own resilience in difficult times and to allow ourselves to truly savor the beautiful moments. Impermanence is the only definite, and so each moment we can find to play is truly a gift.
What does Open Hearts Unite have to do with play?
Here at Open Hearts Unite, as artists, we support play and want to remind people that art is for everyone and anyone can create art. You do not have to do art in any specific traditional sense to be an artist. In this very sense, play is for everyone. It's a birthright. A powerful inheritance that unfortunately so many have been pushed away from. We want to encourage people to reconnect with nurturing and self loving play. You deserve it.
Here we share our own art with an invitation in it to rekindle the art in you or to allow yourself full permission for the art you already create.
A gentle reminder that your breath itself: is art. Your art of existence.
You can check out our lived experience education and see if what we share resonates. We hope it sparks validating your own lived experience.
We will be offering courses as well based on our lived experience and our experience with play as an artist. Our Self Love Poetry Workshop will be available again starting November!
We will also be making videos on play that you can enjoy for free on our social media as well as exclusive access to our art and videos on our Patreon.
Open Hearts Unite is a business based on creating products that empower self love and play.
Hangout with us!
Join us in our play! You can join us as we stream our gaming LIVE on social media and we'll share more on how to do that soon! We'll also have art LIVE streams!
We'll be sharing more of our poetry as well!
Thank you for taking the time to explore Open Hearts Unite!
Hope you get to take time to do something self loving and fun for yourself today!
We Rise, We Rise Together.
"Bigotry is the extreme expression of a lack of self-responsibility. "
