Here are a sampling of stories that folks shared when they logged in their connections online.
Krista Harris
I led a 75 minute InterPlay event focused on affirmation and play at Kindering, a facility that supports families with disabled children. I led a sibshop for female siblings, ages 7-11, (of disabled children) and their moms. We were celebrating the "normal" child and making extra special time for her with her mom. It was great!
Masankho Banda
In my Kamsisi Healing Sessions I use InterPlay as part of the Healing session. I typically use the InterPlay Solo Hand Dance and the InterPlay Hand to hand dance. We also use improvised singing as part of the ritual and I always introduce improvised as a tool that I learned in the village in Malawi and also in InterPlay.
Annie Goglia
I was leading a laughter yoga workshop for practioners (lay leaders) at the Oakland Center for Spiritual Living. I used a few of the Interplay warm ups and did a short WSR with them.
Dorothy Finnigan
The Saint Mary's Center Hope and Justice Peer Board meets once a week to discuss issues facing the homeless and low income seniors of West Oakland. For half an hour of their hour long meeting I led them in a warm-up, babbling, and I Could Tell You About.
Cynthia Winton-Henry
A wonderful group of new and long time InterPlayers gathered by Mary Ellen Lewis joined me to learn more about the secrets of InterPlay and hear about my new book. A Highlight was the baby strapped onto her mother and facing out. She giggled every time we walked stopped, ran or moved.
Phil Porter
Used Babbling during a diversity workshop at my church.
Dorothy Finnigan
In my first ever Somatic Therapy session, I sat down and immediately took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh - to the therapist's delight. I was able to put elements of the experience in the lay contexts of InterPlay for my own benefit, and for the semantic benefit of us both.
Allysson McDonald
I substituted for a teacher in a first grade class. While waiting for the group to assemble on the rug, I had those already present take a deep breath a couple of times, and modeled the sighing. It helped calm the class (and me) and gave them something to do while they waited (so hard to do when you're six!).
Jennifer Denning
For a program I work with called "Playmaking for Girls", I used InterPlay to help veteran teachers and new teachers get acquainted and to break up the "sitting" energy in a long training day. When the veteran teachers arrived to complete the training day with the new teachers, I led us all in the InterPlay warm-up and WSR. The teachers dropped right in to it. My favorite moment was when someone started clapping and we were all clapping together for awhile- new and old teachers all happy to be connecting together and training for the work of empowering girls through playmaking.... Good stuff!
Harriet Platts
I used the "I could talk about" primer to invite bereaved family members to share something about deceased loved one that they could talk about during a funeral planning meeting.
Stan Stewart
Used InterPlay forms for my relationships and in interactions with co-workers.
Elizabeth Mendana
Randall Mullins, Sharon Pavelda, Theron Shaw and Elizabeth Mendana re-enacted the wedding ceremony in fake foreign language for their community of Bay Area friends. This included a speed through using a made up language, a contact duet, a solo, and unfake tree climbing. The cake too was a grocery store improvisation.
Gay Guard-Chamberlin
Four participants in monthly community class including a 88-year old woman on her birthday! (Grandmother of LPP'er Dawn Wood).
Harriet Platts
I led the Physicality of Grace inquiry for the hospice team of 12 people at Group Health Hospice with roaring response/participation. Doctor left me a message next day saying we need to do further reflection on this.
Kate Arms-Roberts
I wrote about the Physicality of Grace on my blog and linked to it on my Facebook site. 7 people left comments.
Sheila Collins
Laveria Bogan organized a Performance Jam at Tarrant County College, South Campus hosted by the African American Student Association. Two gals from the Texas Life Practice Program, Maureen Ackley and Anne La Ganga joined us for the event. Administrators from other campuses were present in order to see what InterPlay was in consideration of possible future InterPlay events on all five campuses.
Jonathan Leavy
I led a 25 minute warm up with the grief group at Kaiser in Hayward.
Brent Adams
Center for Recovery
Sally Hussey
Used deep breaths and sighs with a caregiver.
Randall Mullins
Used InterPlay at a clergy retreat.
Ginny Going
Off The Deep End Ensemble created at InterPlay performance on November 14, 2009 with the theme Laughter, Mystery and Grace and 79 people attended.
Penny Mann
Three friends are dealing with injuries or illness right now. I do hand dances on their behalf while I am at home. I saw one in the dining hall the other day and told her I was doing "a hand dance on her behalf". "Tell me more" she said. So I put up my hand up in the space and moved it gently, holding her in my awareness. Soon, she was slowly moving her injured hand a bit with mine. Just a few seconds in time, but timeless in its connection.
Connie Pwll Tyler
Before starting my students' piano recital this afternoon I had everyone, students and parents, take a deep breath, let it out with a sigh, shake one hand, shake the other, shake all over. We had one of the best recitals ever. I was more relaxed after doing this and I think it communicated to the children who played really well!
Annlee McGurk
Used InterPlay at a professional conference.
Beverly Voss
I've been using IP more with clients who have PTSD/DID. One client danced "OBO" for herself; have taught forms of "body vocabulary" and used thrusting for anger work; hand dance also used OBO and toning used to calm self.
Sheila Collins
Our InterPlay troupe performed at a fund raising event for the Balanced Heart Healing center in the Pittsburgh area. There were about 50 people in the audience when we asked them to shaking out what they were sitting on.
Steve Condit
In the context of the course (online Ecological Psychology) several Interplay ideas have been relevant, such as incrementality, and overcoming the mind/body dualism.
Sharie Bowman
While attending workshops about the brain at the Evolution of Psychotherapy conference I told people how IP would be great to stimulate the neuroplasticity of the brain.
Amy Smith
brought another dance on behalf of "remembering through movement" to my agency's winter memorial event. Had folks do deep breaths, too, of course.
Linda Schlabach Miller
Used InterPlay in Water Aerobics Class which I taught.
Laurie Rudel
I introduced simple hand dances in the sermon time as a means of meeting oneself and others. At the benediction we used hand motions to bless ourselves, bless others, bless the earth, bless the heavens . . . and everything else!
Amy Smith
deep breaths, seated warm-up, babbling, toning in teaching about spiritual care at end-of-life to medical students.
Brian Herring
The Evil Twins Strike Back performance jam.
Ginny Going
Off The Deep End Ensemble did a benefit concert for The Hope Center at Pullen on Sunday, January 24, 2010 that raised $2250 for job readiness programs for the homeless and academic mentoring programs for at-risk young people.
Angela Lange
Communiacted in jibberish to a friend in an email and explained what it was then she responded back in kind.
Jenny Batten
I teach Performing Arts at Milgate Primary School in Australia). I am using the incremental story telling forms to teach Grade 5/6 students ( aged 11/12) about performance, helping them to explore ways to improve their communication skills by reflecting and noticing. They particulary enjoy 3o sec stories and using jibberish and movement to help tell their stories. They are having lots of fun and the more quiet reserved stduents are developing confidence in performance.
Grethen Wegner
I was giving the Keynote Address at my Masters in Education program. We were discussing Community and Learning. I led them in the seated warm up, and told them that the most important thing I've learned from InterPlay is the importance of grounding my learning -- and my teaching! -- in the body!
Mary Ellen Lewis
Another InterPlayer and I use the InterPlay Inspiration Deck on our desks at work. We draw a card and share it over the phone daily when possible. Today we did a babble in another language at the end of the day as we left our chairs behind.
Harriet Platts
Offered a "dance on behalf of" for a new widow...in her living room.
Diane Rawlinson
I taught two InterPlay workhsops at the National HS Dance Festival at New World School of the Arts in Miami. Had teachers and student attend the workshops and they were incredibly successful. Attendees at the festival represented over 100 high schools (public, magnet, performing arts) and their teachers from the US, Canada and Australia. One teacher was there from Germany who was a former Nikolai dancer and intrigued with the work. Kids were very receptive and appreciated the ability to not be judged or corrected. Amazing positive feedback and ran out of the 40 flyers I had printed up!!! Who knows what seeds have been planted.
Gretchen Wegner
I was speaking to a group of parents about how to support the academic success of their 8th grade girls. We did an "I could talk about..." list and we also did the seated warm up.
Stacy Miller
I described Exformation to my sister-in-law, who is sighing a lot these days due to grief and loss. I demonstrated taking in a deep breath and letting out with a noisy sigh, and "shaking it out." She looked at me like I was from outer space, smiled, and sighed again.
Gary Steven
Interplay Class Offering at the Annual NW Focusing Retreat.
Sage Lewis
I'll be hosting a prerecorded radio show with 6 Interplayers on my show, The Pet Playground, on April 7. Listenership is around 3000, and the show will be aired on May 2, 2010. We're gonna get em all thrusting, hanging, shaping and swinging!
Becky Myrick
Used with people who have too much stress and with woman on spiritual retreats.
Julia McKay
In a the Pacific Northwest District conference of Unitarian Universalists, I was invited to facilitate the Ingathering Worship Service -- in which I in turn invited InterPlayers who danced, drummed, sang, and moved with and for the congregation. In the middle of the service, I asked participants to "talk about" an experience of sanctuary in their lives. This was in the context of church as a spiritual community of witnesses -- a place where we hold one another's stories and uphold one another's lives. There was a high level of participation, laughter, and JOY!
Gay Guard-Chamberlin
I led about 15 minutes of basic InterPlay forms with over 100 adults of varying ages at the annual owners meeting of People's Co-op, a locally run food and more store. This was a historic event with the largest turnout in years as it marked the Co-op's 40th anniversary with details on exciting plans to build a new, larger store this year. With Doug Chamberlin's musical support, we did Seated Warm Ups, One Hand Dancing, Babbled about food we like to eat, a time when we moved or helped someone else move, and about the words "healthy community", and ended with a Shared Hand Dance OBO growing our community. Everyone who I talked with after said it was a great way to get the meeting started, to raise the energy, and get to know one another quickly.
Krista Harris
My 89 year old dad has done InterPlay with me several times in Seattle in previous years. He understands the hand dance and loves it. When I am about to leave him after a week's visit in New Hampshire, he says, "When you miss me and want to feel connected to me, just put your hand in the air toward the East. I will hold my hand up toward the Northwest." This always chokes me up!
Cynthia Winton-Henry
InterPlay at Domestic Violence Center, with women out of prison and seminarians in India.
Phil Porter
Did a keynote presentation at an event of CAL students called "Soul Food for the Activist," a retreat looking at the ways that we can take care of ourselves and our communities as we try to change the world. I called my talk "You Can't Change the World if You're a Burnt-Out Husk of a Human Being."
Cynthia Winton-Henry
The Dance on Behalf of musicians (Amar, Sahib Amar, Mark, and Shezam) helped us dance on behalf of connections to people across the street that Beth Hoch collected, through Facebook, and through our own concerns in the room.
CC King
Moment while at pulpit during my father's memorial service, of having whole sanctuary sigh and growl in practice for giving bear hugs to others, a la George King!
Elizabeth Lang
I belong to a small group of Crones who meet 2x a month to talk about being old. I often refer to InterPlay in these meetings.
Gay Guaud-Chamberlin
Gwen Hershberger and I co-led the Annual Reunion of Girls in the Wild, a non-profit dedicated to the empowerment of girls ages 11 - 18. The director and co-founder of GITW, Dawn Wood, recently completed the Life Practice Program in Kalamazoo. About a half-dozen people there had done InterPlay before. There were a couple of Mothers and Daughters there. Age range was from 11 or 12 into late 50's. Gwen and I led 3 sessions together at the beginning, middle, and end of day in basic forms of movement: Warm-Ups, Walk-Run-Stop, Solo Dancing, Duets, and Group Dancing. We played with Toning and Sound and Babbled on themes of spring and renewal. We also Babbled about "how I like to be treated", leading to the formation of the GITW "rules". Every year they create their own guidelines and this was the first time it was done using InterPlay. One of the highlights of the day: a lively group dance with each other to Aretha singing "RESPECT"!
Rita Otis
I had a spiritual direction session with a directee that has been with the same story for a long time. I decided to ask her if she wanted to do an interplay form about stories. We went back and forth saying "I could tell you a sory about..." and then opened it up to the idea that the story did not have to be true and went another few rounds. After that I asked her if one of those stories had some energy and needed to be told. We concluded the direction session with her solo hand dance that I witnessed. At the end of the session she was feeling alive and more free.