Today on the playground I want to talk about the fact that there are many things we all know about but do not discuss. Snot and gas Are two of those things we rarely talk about, but ALL have. That’s what talking about mental illness feels like to me and to many other people that I work with and play with. There are spaces where we feel incredibly empowered to share and connect and there are places where we whisper and hide in fear of anyone seeing our snot. However, play allows us to be in a space where the mess matters less or not at all… when was the last time you were there?
Thanks for playing today, if you want hear more about how finding your play is connected to mental health, business, and education, for more Play For a Change, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.
If you would like more information on Brandi's Play Talks and Workshops follow us at
Brandi Heather
Inspirational, world-class educator and speaker who utilizes the power of play to help organizations navigate diversity, inclusion, communication, self-care and mental health.
What does that mean to you?
It means that she has spent her entire career building solutions to the challenges of meeting the physical, cognitive and social needs of every person. She will teach you how to recognize your potential and unique skills and the potential of others without shame and judgement.
Her presentation style moves the entire audience through play even if they never leave their seat! She brings laughter and profound "ah ha" moments to every keynote, workshop and training. If you are struggling to find your organization's common ground, this is the presenter you NEED.
You can expect the unexpected ... every time!
She speaks from the heart about her journey through mental illness and building strength in adversity and finding our creative potential through play. You will wonder where the time went when she is presenting!
Keynotes Include:
Play For A Change
(40-60 minute talk followed by Q&A)
It's time to Play For A Change! Find your play strength and use it to develop critical skills for self-care, leadership, and change management in diverse and inclusive settings.
Brandi utilizes a unique combination of Applied Play Experiences and Strategies, backed by the science of play, that ignites the audience's appreciation for difference, and the unique gifts every person.
This keynote will open the conversation about the physical, cognitive, and social/emotional effect that diverse and inclusive practice, workplace environments and expectations are having on personal and professional wellbeing.
Brandi shares her insights and research on play, inclusion and vulnerability as a professional businesswoman and educator living and thriving with mental illness who will change the way you see yourself and your professional practice.
Focus: Play, mental illness, mental health, rehabilitation, healthcare, self-care, work-life balance, practice -practitioner balance, diversity and inclusion
Playgrounded
(40-60 minute talk followed by Q&A)
PLAY is POWERFUL! Are you Play “grounded”? Play is a common ground for building skills, connection and engagement.
Play is one of the bravest choices we can make in a world full of structure and FOE (Fear of Engagement). Let's learn to fall down and get messy again, ask someone new to play and ignite innovation into our organizations! This keynote defines and ignites the power of play as a catalyst for organizational performance and engagement.
Explore how we can grow our capacity for change, diversity, and health equity by including play in our environment. Remodel your philosophy for self-care, inclusive practice and customer service. Discover that when we recognize and value our own diverse needs, knowledge, and experience that we are more open to understanding the unique needs of others.
Engage in honest dialogue about how inclusion is both successful and challenging in our spaces. Discover your play style and discover how to use it to improve engagement, personal and professional health.
Focus: Personal and Professional Engagement, Performance, Innovation, Inclusion, Customer service, Collaboration, Value of Play in Workplace Health
Participant Feedback:
"This PD changed the way I see myself first, how to value what I know and then how to apply that to connect to all the clients we see everyday"
"I will use this Monday, its real for me."
"No ordinary talk gets to the heart of what we deal with every day."
“Your energy is contagious; I lost all track of time!”
Brandi is available for travel in Canada and internationally.
For more background of speaking samples do not hesitate to connect on our website or to Brandi’s Podcast Play for A Change that can be found on your favorite podcast channel.
https://play-for-a-change.simplecast.com/episodes/committed-2-play
For more information on Play Services and Programs I offer see me at www.amped2play.com see details in the show notes
(00:01):
(music)If your eight year old you could walk right up to you and ask you one question. Just one question. What do you think he would say,
(00:11):
(Music)Do you ever play and more? do you ever have fun anymore?? Come out, come out, come out and play with me?
(00:24):
music
(00:28):
Come out and play for a change. Welcome to playing for a change. This is your host, Brandi Heather. This podcast is dedicated to navigating life's messiness and unpredictability where we use play as a catalyst for change and connection. Come on in. This playground is for everyone.
(00:49):
Do you ever play anymore?
(00:51):
Today on the playground, I want to talk about the fact that there are many things we know about but do not discuss. Snot and gas are two of those things we rarely talk about, but all have. Sometimes it's because it's impolite dinner conversation or because our parents told us not to or we're scared of what people might say or think and we stay away from that topic.
(01:18):
Have you ever been outside on a cold day with a running nose that won't stop and put a mitten or a sleeve up to catch it?
(01:25):
And in Canada you end up with a frozen snot mitten or have you ever swim in salt water? Only to realize why they sell compressed saline in bottles for congestion ?
(01:39):
Or have you bent over in chavasana, in a yoga class only to loudly announce the broccoli and cabbage salad you had for lunch.?
(01:48):
This happens to everyone, but when was the last time you talked about it or admitted it? You see we are prone to finding all sorts of ways to fit in and snot and gas we have decided is embarrassing, but do you even know where being embarrassed about it came from?
(02:11):
Because with kids in play, snot and gas is everywhere. Why? Because we haven't taught them to feel bad about it yet. Just the other day I watched a kid on a ski Hill suck the snot hanging from his nose almost from the ground back up to his head so that he could beat his friend to the chairlift line.
(02:35):
No hesitation. Snot everywhere. When we are in play we get this same feeling. A kind of invincible.."the snot does not matter" kind of feeling. How long has it been since you were so carefree you didn't care who saw it or heard it or knew it?
(02:56):
What do we do to hide these embarrassing things? We don't always have a tissue or a mitten for that matter, and we certainly can only hold a fart in for so long or let it out so slowly that it's painful before it. Yep. Makes a sound.
(03:17):
That's what talking about mental illness feels like to me sometimes and to many other people that I work in play with. There are spaces where we feel incredibly empowered to share and connect and those places are places where we feel our most authentic and then there are places where we whisper and hide in fear of anyone seeing our snot, our mess.
(03:46):
But you see, this is part of us, but often we turn away or leave or apologize. We wipe and run and escape. How does all of this relate to a young mom and college professor in a mental institution? Let me tell you,...
(04:06):
There are only two in extremes in the psychiatric hospital, either you are full shame or none at all. Either the mitten was in your face the entire time or there was snot everywhere with everything, not just bodily fluids and gas.
(04:27):
You see, after I had created my freedom frog and let some of the perfection and self-loathing go, I recognized an opportunity for play for me and I started to lean into my artistic side again and see people instead of patients. I started to explore wood and building, which I had never done before, but here there was very little to get in my way, including how I felt about myself and my own ability.
(05:05):
You see, some people would say, "Oh, what a horrific thing you went through," but I grew here. Many of the characters in the hospital had very few filters for their snot and I quickly learned how to avoid getting in anyone else's mass. One of the characters was an older than me woman who would scream out at the birds through the window for what seemed like all day long and I would think, wow, are you really screaming at those birds again? On day one I gave this person such a wide berth hoping she wouldn't come after me or hurt me or talk to me and I thought now she, now she is screwed up and sick. What the hell am I doing here? And she would scream at those birds all day.
(06:08):
But I got used to it. And all of a sudden when you start to care about yourself, you don't see everyone else's stuff as threatening and scary.
(06:21):
And what I found out was that if you waited long enough, that same woman had every one of those birds named, she would talk to them all day. She valued them, they were hers and maybe her only thing you see in four weeks, no one came to see her. And the attendants ignored her until it was time to eat or bathe. And even then everything seemed like a fight again. She was wearing her snot and gas out loud for everyone,.
(06:58):
So no one approached one day when she stopped long enough to sit in the common area. I approached and I said, hi. It took everything in me. I was so scared of saying it wrong or upsetting her. I was afraid of her mess getting on me, but guess what she did? She smiled. Yup. No words, just a smile. I said, "I like your birds too", and like I wasn't even there. She started to name them.
(07:39):
I won't share her name for privacy, but she taught me to hold the judgment and that when I am feeling the worst, the chances of me being kind and generous and considering the lens of others is not great. When we are scared, we can be the worst versions of ourself and all the snot and gas. well it matters, it matters intensely,
(08:06):
but when we can breathe and lean into ourselves and ask, what is it that makes me so uneasy about that? Where did I learn to feel so uneasy about the mess of others? This could be screaming. It could be language, maybe personality, the way people move or act or their personality traits that is different from what I would do or who I am, but I realized, wow, how do I feel about me right now? Because there's a pretty good chance I feel good about judging someone other than, well me, everyone has snot and gas and it's okay if you want to avoid the things you're afraid to lean into, but ask yourself, what is it that really bothers me about that and where did I learn it?
(09:04):
Where do I see it repeated and how can I adapt and lean in and be curiously kind? How can I ask that person who I'm not sure is okay today? Hey, everything. Okay. Anything I can do to help you see play allows us to be in a space where the mess matters less or not at all. When was the last time you were there? That's all from the playground today.
(09:37):
Don't worry about the snot and gas. Go find your play!
(09:44):
DO you ever play anymore?do you ever have fun anymore? Come out, come out, come out and play with me.
(09:52):
Thanks for playing today. If you want to hear more about how finding your plate is connected to mental health, business, and education. Subscribe on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. Play for a change.
(10:24):
AMPED2PLAY was founded on the belief that everyone has Active Movement Potential. That's AMP!
(10:31):
In which movement encompasses our ability to move ourselves physically, mentally, socially, or emotionally. Movement is change and whether in community health or education or corporate sectors, our goal is to deliver education of active movement potential. Find your AMP. Today.
(10:58):
Play is when we are most open to taking risks. When we feel our most capable and confident in these moments, we are in self-discovery and expression. We're learning and reaching and attaining new experiences, skills, and abilities. Being immersed in creative change is necessary to understand adaptation and the ability to cope in any environment. Follow www.amped2play.com and subscribe to Play For a Change on your favorite podcast channel.