Lightening up with improv

Last night I went to my improvisational acting class. The depth of stuff that gets revealed as my classmates and I tell our stories is pretty amazing.  Without much preparation, we allow solo pieces to emerge from our memories and sub-conscious. This can be quite surprising, even to ourselves.

That is the beauty of improv. It is totally in the moment. You never know what’s going to pop out of your mouth. Kind of like life.

In this class, what is popping out of many of us are issues of the very vulnerable type. It takes a lot of courage to get up and share these kinds of stories in front of an audience, not to mention family or friends.

Making these stories both poignant and entertaining, we learn to take ourselves and our ‘issues’ lightly. Yes these things happened. And people relate. As difficult as our lives have been sometimes, it is important to put it all in perspective.

Scenes from when I was a young mother, struggling to know myself came up. I gained more insight on things I struggle with – like eating too much ice cream! There is a reason for all the ups and downs in my life. I know that. “Oh great, another growth opportunity! Can’t I have a break sometime?” I often thought. Breaks do come now and again, but at least when they don’t I can approach it all with a sense of wonder at this point.

I have been very courageous about many things in my life, moving overseas, loving my body, standing up for myself when it was far from popular and more. But nothing has been more challenging for me than learning to lighten up and take myself less seriously.

In the past I made everything a production. Even a dance class could turn into an opportunity to delve into major life trauma and drama as I shook and danced the energy away with angst rather than joy. As we shed the heavy limiting beliefs that have weighed us down, we literally become lighter. (I guess I have some more to let go of!)

When I was first asked to give a talk about personal transformation and make it entertaining I balked. “This is serious stuff! It is not funny!” But why not? Let’s do the hard work of living and working consciously – even saving the world – but let’s lighten up and not take ourselves so seriously along the way. It will be a lot more fun and I know we will be even more productive in the long run!

Join the Conversation: What aspects of yourself are you taking a wee bit too seriously? How might it feel if you gave yourself a break and lightened up?