On February 22, 2010, I presented an “Introduction to Drama Therapy” lab for the talented and exuberant freshmen and sophomores from the University of Michigan Department of Musical Theatre. Most had never heard of drama therapy, so this was their first real taste of how drama and theater techniques can be used not just for entertainment but for profound healing and life transformation as well.
Students did improvisational warm-ups to get their bodies, voices, and energy moving and to develop spontaneity. They learned about expanding emotional range through expressing different emotions with their bodies. They tried a Playback Theater exercise in which people told personal stories and saw portions of them acted out by others in the group for insight and emotional validation. Through psychodramatic techniques such as family sculptures (creating a snapshot of one’s family using actors from the group) and role reversal, students experienced how enactments can provide a lot of information to the therapist quickly and can elicit awareness, empathy, forgiveness, and deep healing on the part of the client.
Finally, students had fun acting as if they already were the people they desired to be in the future–in this case, Tony Award winners walking the red carpet. Drama Therapy can be a powerful tool to help people practice desired behaviors, feelings, characteristics, and life circumstances in order to get the ball rolling in the right direction. It helps them to begin to not only imagine a new and better life situation but to experience the joy and relief of having what they wish for NOW.
Intrigued? Then please enjoy this video of highlights from my Introduction to Drama Therapy class. Remember, you just may be witnessing our future Tony Award winners!
If you do, look no further than www.nightlyhealing.com. This is such a wonderful service, I had to tell you about it. It is a FREE nightly guided visualization for self-healing of emotional, physical, and spiritual issues, and it happens via phone conference.
Each night different speakers welcome those on the call and then lead a relaxing guided visualization followed by a time of sharing for those who wish to say something about their experience. It is a beautiful way in which to feel connected to others in love and acceptance, to have a time for healing and reflection, and to return yourself to a place of peace.
The Nightly Healing website states, “No matter how it is needed, or how you have suffered, come and participate in your own healing process. Empower yourself to heal. Empower yourself to live in a place of freedom from life’s chaos, anxiety and fear…. In a place of love, openness and joy.
Be reminded that no matter what is happening in your life, there is a place of wholeness and perfection inside.
Give yourself a moment to consciously slow down…to experience peace and inner quiet…to reconnect.
Be in the consciousness of oneness and healing.
Know you are not alone.
Know you are welcome. Know you are loved.
Know you can heal….You are already whole.”
Are you sold yet? All you have to do is go to www.NightlyHealing.com to register and find out the phone number to call. Then call in at the designated time according to the time zone in which you live (9 pm EST, 8 pm CST, 7 pm MST, 6 pm PST). The only charges you will incur are whatever long-distance phone charges you have on your phone plan.
This service is graciously offered by practitioners inspired by Brandon Bays’s teachings in The Journey. I have done quite a bit of work with The Journey and have attended many Nightly Healing sessions as well. Both are phenomenal healing modalities. What an incredible FREE gift being offered to you. Give this gift to yourself and let the healing begin!
I had the great privilege of lecturing to packed classrooms at the Women’s Health and Fitness Day sponsored by the University of Michigan Medical School on Jan. 23, 2010 in Ypsilanti, Michigan. For those of you who may have missed it, I’d like to share some highlights from my talk on “Intro to Holistic Health: A Body-Mind-Spirit Approach to Health and Healing.”
Holistic refers to the word whole, and the holistic medical model is interested in not only what’s happening in one’s entire body but in what is happening in one’s life, one’s mind, and one’s spirit. Ancient traditions and cultures (e.g., India, China, and Greece) have known for thousands of years what science and our American medical system is just starting to recognize: our view of health must be expanded to include lifestyle choices, mental and emotional processes, relationships, career and contribution, and our spiritual nature if we are to heal and remain healthy. All of these components contribute to our total well-being or lack thereof.
The holistic model essentially looks at everything that makes us feel good–gives us a sense of ease–or bad–gives us a sense of dis-ease (i.e., “disease”). What makes you feel good and nurtures you? Spending time in nature? Bubble baths? Painting? Laughing? Spending quality time with loved ones? Do more of it!
What in your life puts you in a state of dis-ease? A strained relationship? Too much junk food and not enough exercise? Lack of sleep? Fear and anxiety? Hanging on to old resentments? Feeling not good enough? All work and no play? Do less of it!
Sometimes, the most simple of positive changes can make the most profound difference in our health and happiness. What one thing can you do today to make yourself feel better, either in body, mind, or spirit?
As I explained to the wonderful women at the Women’s Health and Fitness day, there is much we can do to improve our health and to support our body in healing itself. Watch this website for more tips on doing just that….coming soon!
Florine Mark, President and Chairwoman of the Board of WW Group, Inc. (Weight Watchers), impressed an attentive audience of women at the Women’s Heath and Fitness Day, sponsored by the University of Michigan Medical School, on Jan. 23, 2010 in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Her story was one of inspiration, learning to love and respect yourself, and enjoying life.
Her story began with how she flew from Michigan to New York and braved her first Weight Watchers class, determined to lose weight. Fifty pounds lighter and thirty years later, she can brag that she turned that one courageous step into a Weight Watchers empire in which she was the owner of the greatest number of franchises in the world.
But she doesn’t. Instead, she humbly shares that every morning she looks herself in the mirror and says, “Florine, you can do anything you want to if you are motivated enough.” She recognizes that every day we have two choices: to be happy or not to be happy. She chooses to be happy, even though she lost her first and second husband to illness. “Make every day special. Make every day an adventure,” she declares. “We don’t know what is going to happen to us tomorrow.” I think Ms. Mark is right on the mark.
How about you? Why don’t you start each day off looking in the mirror saying, “Hey, good lookin’! Whatcha got cookin’? You are awesome! I love you, and you can do anything you want, if you are motivated enough.” And then cook yourself something healthy and delicious and make today special.
Here’s another incredible and FREE event that is not to be missed: The Women’s (and Men’s) Health and Fitness Day sponsored by the University of Michigan Medical School. I will be speaking on “Introduction to Holistic Health: A Mind-Body-Spirit Approach to Health and Healing” and will be giving some practical tools you can use immediately to improve your well-being for a healthy 2010 and beyond.
There will also be over 30 additional workshops from which to choose, covering topics including guided imagery, depression, financial health, memory, dieting, hypertension, diabetes, art for expression and stress management, optimism, sleep, menopause, and much more. You can try out Zumba, RussaYog Yoga, and Fitball, if you feel like getting your body moving. For the grand finale, keynote speaker, Florine Mark, President and Chairwoman of the Board of WW group, Inc. (Weight Watchers) will present a talk on “Tools to Be the Best You Can Be.” As if that isn’t enough, there will be FREE breakfast and lunch as well. Wow! Love yourself by learning how to get and stay healthy. You are worth it!
When: Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.
Where: Ypsilanti High School, 2095 Packard Rd, Ypsilanti, MI 48197
