The Power of Play in Healing (Yes, Even for Adults)
Let’s start with a truth bomb: play isn’t just for kids.
Somewhere along the way, many of us were taught that growing up meant growing out of play. That being responsible meant being serious. That healing meant being deep, heavy, and hard.
But here’s the thing — play is medicine.
It helps kids process big emotions. It helps adults reconnect with themselves. And in kinesiology, it’s one of our most underrated tools for shifting stuck energy, rewiring the nervous system, and gently guiding the body back to balance.
🧒🏼 Play: The Native Language of Kids (and Their Nervous Systems)
Children don’t always have the words to explain what’s going on inside. But give them a handful of crayons, a patch of dirt, a dress-up box, or a swing, and you’ll start to see the story unfold.
Through play, kids:
Discharge stress safely
Rehearse life scenarios
Explore emotions in a non-threatening way
Restore a sense of control in their world
Access joy (the ultimate reset button)
At Kineasy Kids, we lean into this. We might draw the emotion, use toys to represent parts of the body, or let movement tell the story. We don’t need them to explain their feelings — we just need to create a space safe enough for those feelings to move.
🧠 For Adults: Play is How We Reclaim Our Spark
Grown-ups need play too. We might call it something fancier — flow, creativity, spontaneity — but it’s all the same magic.
When we’re stuck in cycles of stress, seriousness, or shutdown, play helps us:
Activate the parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) nervous system
Boost dopamine and serotonin (those feel-good brain chemicals)
Create new neural pathways
Reconnect with joy, lightness, and possibility
Access intuition and imagination (yes please)
And no, play doesn’t mean you need to grab a skipping rope and wear glitter (unless you want to, in which case — absolutely do). It just means doing something that feels fun, free, and unpressured. Something that lets your inner child take the wheel for a moment.
✨ Healing Doesn’t Always Have to Be Heavy
Sometimes healing looks like tears, and other times it looks like laughter.
Sometimes it's deep tissue memories… and other times it’s blowing bubbles on a trampoline.
In kinesiology sessions (with kids and adults), I often invite a little play in. Whether it’s a silly analogy, a game-like visualisation, a spontaneous dance, or simply giving the client permission to not take things so seriously — it shifts the energy so fast. And it helps the body feel safe again.
Because safety and joy go hand in hand. And when the nervous system feels safe, that’s when true healing begins.
💡 Want to Invite More Play Into Your Day?
Whether you're 3 or 93, play isn’t a luxury — it’s a reset button. A nervous system circuit breaker. A bridge between pressure and possibility.
Here are a few ways to bring more play into your life (or your child’s) starting now:
🎨 Make art with no goal — scribbles, blobs, colours. Just because.
🛝 Visit a park and let yourself actually swing.
🐾 Pretend to be animals with your kids — yes, you too.
🎶 Put on music and move however your body wants (no choreography required).
🧩 Do a puzzle, build with blocks, or play a game you loved as a kid.
😜 Tell silly jokes, make up voices, speak gibberish. Let it be weird.
Play is how we remember who we are. It’s not extra — it’s essential.
🎈Final Thoughts
At Kineasy Kids, we believe healing should be holistic, yes — but also human. And humans, no matter how small or tall, are wired for play. When we honour that, we soften. We connect. We create space for healing to happen with less resistance and more joy.
So go ahead — find a moment today to play. Your body (and your inner child) will thank you for it.
