Feel like your life has done a number on your fun factor? You&#39;re not alone. Deadlines, bills and crazy-busy schedules keep most of us from cutting loose and getting silly. All work and no play isn&#39;t just dull. It negates something that&#39;s hardwired into the human psyche, say &quot;play experts.&quot; So we&#39;re giving you an assignment: Carve out some time for playtime. Find something that makes you feel like you&#39;re floating free, happy and totally absorbed in your own play land.

Here are some ways that a busy grown-up can cut loose, play and even learn something new along the way.

<ul>
	<li>Find your inner artist. Haul out your water-color set, old sewing machine or woodworking tools. Feeling musical? Dust off your old clarinet, take a guitar class or join a band. As long as you&#39;re having a good time with no high-pressure expectations, it&#39;s play.</li>
	<li>Flex your green thumb. Gardening doesn&#39;t just produce beautiful flowers and produce, it can also be a relaxing way to get your daily dose of exercise in a stress-free way. Once the ground thaws, make a pact to plan and plant a plot this year.</li>
	<li>Turn your workout into play. Haven&#39;t found a physical activity that you dig? Don&#39;t give up. Be brave in your search. Consider outside-the box activities, such as roller skating, salsa, hula hoop or join a sports league at work or in your community. Kickball, anyone?</li>
	<li>Learn a new language. The ability to chat in Thai, Greek or Arabic is good for more than ordering coffee abroad. Learning a new language as an adult or picking up where 10th grade Spanish left off exercises your brain cells in ways that guard against memory loss and fuzzy thinking.</li>
</ul>

Tapping into your spontaneous, inner-child packs big benefits for your health, mood, mind and job, as well as relationships. A study shows it eases job strain, connects you with others and makes you laugh. So what are you waiting for? It&#39;s fun time!

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Our lives are constantly forming around our intentions whether they are conscious or unconscious. When we make them conscious we are choosing to move our lives in a certain direction, and these intentions take shape depending on how we tend to them. Now that Spring is here, flowers are starting to bloom and the sun is shining stronger, it&rsquo;s a wonderful time to clean out the old and give new energy to what we are trying to grow in our lives.

I remember as a small child we always did spring cleaning. It was a time for taking stock in all that we had collected over the past year and then clean out whatever didn&rsquo;t serve us anymore. We carefully made our way through the entire house bagging up items to give away and cleaning the dust and dirt that had collected in the cold dark months of winter. Afterwards we would delight in the spaciousness it created. My drawers and closets had space for something new.

Planting the Seeds of Change 
This is the same spirit that we can use to set intentions. Getting rid of old thoughts and patterns to make room for the new is like preparing the soil before we plant our garden. We can start by assessing where we are and what we are willing to change. Then we can decide the new shape we want our life to take. As we focus on the positive changes we want to create, we can plant a seed of conscious intention. We clear the ground, clean it up and then plant the seed. Just like water and sunlight provide nourishment to our gardens we too can nourish our seeds of intention with our awareness and attention.

Making Room for the New 
As you reflect on the current shape of your life, you can look at the things that don&rsquo;t bring you into alignment with what you want to create. You may see that you have a lot of stress in your life and you prefer to have a more peaceful life. Perhaps there is someone in your life with whom you are struggling to get along, either at work or at home. Maybe you want to have more harmony in your relationships. Maybe you long for adventure and yet night after night you get sucked into the same routine of watching television and overeating. Setting a positive intention can help you make choices that support change.

The Practice

<ul>
	<li>Sit quietly or lie down in a comfortable position.</li>
	<li>Start by focusing on one thing (you can always choose more later) you would like to affect; one area of your life that needs some spring cleaning.</li>
	<li>Imagine letting go of your old way of being in that part of your life. You can do this with a few long slow exhalation breaths while you envision those patterns leaving through your fingers and toes.</li>
	<li>Now invite a new image into your awareness. Begin to see yourself behaving differently in that area of your life. For example, if you want to create more peace in your relationships, begin to imagine yourself in harmonious relationships. This paves the way for something new to emerge.</li>
	<li>You can now state your intention by using a positive affirmation. Try to use &ldquo;I&rdquo; phrases to make it more personal. &ldquo;I live in harmony with those who surround me. I nurture peace in myself and in others.&rdquo; Say it three times to yourself and plant it like a seed in your heart. Let it take root.</li>
	<li>Return to your intention throughout the day imagining it as if it were already so. This provides the nourishment it needs to bloom. Over the days, weeks and even the months you will find yourself shifting your actions to align with your intention. Those actions will start to shape the world around you.</li>
</ul>

Spring has always been a time for new growth and new beginnings. Let this spring mark the beginning of something new for you. Start with your own personal intention and let it bloom.

Learn how practicing yoga and meditation can sharpen your ability to change your mind. Read <a href="https://www.ornish.com/zine/how-to-change-your-habits-with-yoga/" target="_blank">Yoga to Change Your Habits</a>.

This content was originally published on <a href="https://www.ornish.com/zine/spring-cleaning-change-growth/" target="_blank">Ornish Living</a>.

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