When I was a kid, I loved playing superheroes with my friend Steve. We would battle one another with our imaginative super powers, trying to out smart each other with our creative strategies.
It would go something like this.
Steve: “I’m going to blast you with my invisible beam of lasers!” Then he’d enact it by taking a warrior stance, extend his arms, palms faced to me and send his laser blasters my way.
Me: I would physically act as though I was about to receive the blast and then exclaim, “Oh yeah? I’m holding up my bulletproof shield that’s going to reflect the lasers back to you! Ha!”
Steve: “I’m going to develop rubber like strength so the lasers just bounce off me and turn into a tornado that whips everything back at you!”
And so on it would go….sometimes for hours.
Somewhere along the way in life I forgot about my ability to play and use my imagination.
In my mid-twenties, while exploring my path as an actress, I was introduced to improvisation. My talent manager had seen me in a Star Trek-like play, where I was really just a back ground cast member. All I had to do in each scene was act as though the gadget in my hand was taking readings of the location. Could and should have been right up my alley. My manager said I looked bored.
With much of my stage back ground in musicals, I had learned to stick to the script. I had to listen for my stage cues, which involved precise timing and knowing when and what was next. I had forgotten about the imaginary world I could help create. So, at the advise of my talent manager, I enrolled myself in ACME Comedy Theater in Los Angeles. During the course I realized - “Oh. My. God. I have forgotten how to be a kid, how to have fun!” I fell head over heals in love with improv and joined an improv troupe as soon as I could. I even held an improv show as a fundraiser for the Rock n Roll marathon I participated in on behalf of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I called it “Tossed Cookies” wherein we literally tossed cookies out to the audience in between skits.
Through the eyes of improvisation I began to see the world as colorful again and sprinkled with unlimited possibilities.
WHAT IS IMPROV?
Improv, often called improvisation, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers.
There are basic rules to improv in order to create a safe and creative space for you, your team mates and the audience. Here are the first 10 rules:
The first ten improv rules are:
1) Say “Yes, and!”
2) Add new information.
3) Don’t block.
4) Avoid asking questions- unless you’re also adding information.
5) Play in the present and use the moment.
6) Establish the location.
7) Be specific and provide colorful details.
8) Change, Change, Change!
9) For serious and emotional scenes, focus on characters and relationships.
10) For humorous scenes, take choices to the nth degree or focus on actions/objects.
In improv, you leap first and figure out the rest along the way. Half the fun is to see how you’ll land. Scary? Perhaps to some. To me; absolutely thrilling!
The thing about improv is; you are not alone. You have a partner(s) you play along with. Each of you support the scene that unfolds one moment at at time. Everything offered by you or your scene partner(s) are gifts. (In other words, what ever you blurt out of your mouth becomes part of the reality you co-create). It’s a beautiful balance of trust and mentally free-falling.
Here’s an example of how a scene might unfold using the above rules.
A: I’m so glad you died your hair green today, honey.
B: Me too. I felt called to honor St. Patrick’s Day.
A: It’s my favorite holiday. It reminds me of the first day we met on the space ship.
B: (Sigh)…I know. That beautiful emerald green interior and lab space was excellent for dissecting humans.
A: I know! Truly brilliant. If it wasn’t for that job, that ship and meeting you, I would have never opted to adopt a human body and come here.
B: You inspired me too, my love. Too bad these bodies age though. We’re going to have to figure how to body snatch another couple.
A: True true, in due time. The public seems to love a couple named Bonnie and Clyde. Sounds like they have excellent skills!
End Scene
It’s zany and that’s why I love it!
Improvisation later resurfaced in my life during my yoga teacher training. Our instructor Kat Connors-Longo (now a dear mentor and friend) integrated various improvisation techniques into her Practicum 1 course.
Here is an example. During an exercise, Kat directed us to teach our prepared practice without speaking. We could make gestures, sounds, facial expressions - just not speak. The purpose of the lesson was to understand the value of not locking ourselves into our prepared lesson and how we taught it. I was SO excited. I loved the challenge. Some of my peers did not.
All yoga instructors need to remember they are a human guiding other humans - not teaching or talking AT them. The process of instructing is a shared experience. I believe it is important to be open to how a group of students may feel energetically or if someone has an injury because we need to be able to adapt. Being able to adapt is key and not just in a studio, but in life overall. It requires having an open mind and an open heart.
I learned early on to let go of prepared sequences in order to honor the collective energy of the class. When I allow my intuition to guide me, beautiful practices emerge that were wholly inspired by the participants. Some call that channeling and others call it improvisation. To me, they are the same.
More often than not, a class becomes a collective consciousness. Whether they know it or not, their individual energies become familiar with one another and when you take the time to get to know your students, you can read that collective consciousness. You can feel it. Similar to improv, the insights your students offer can be gifts that lend to the way you guide the class. One of the many truths in teaching yoga is that your students can become your teachers.
In my experience, improvisation and meditation are similar because with both, you need to be absolutely open and present to what is. In meditation the focus may be on observing your thoughts or feelings; truly allowing yourself to be as you are in the now. This means not thinking about yesterday’s dinner or what’s on your grocery list. Just stay in the present. With improvisation, in order to support your partner(s) and the scene, you have to stay present in the moment and open to what comes next - whether it be from your team mate or your own intuition. The less you are in your head, the more unlimited you are and the more fun you can have!
As my dear and wise friend said, “The only thing we have is the now. Otherwise, you end up living in Never-Never land”.
Both improv and meditation enable me to be here in the now. Whether it is being be playful or focused within, staying attuned to the gifts of the present are precious. We never really know what gifts await us, whether it be from another person or mother nature. Life is a journey that is meant to unfold as we evolve.
When was the last time you played? And I do mean, like a kid! Would you allow yourself to skip around the neighborhood today? Jump the waves in the ocean? Look for four leaf clovers? I highly suggest taking off your adult-hat and let the child within your head loose, even for just a few minutes. The joy of liberating yourself will do wonders for your heart and soul. Trust me.