Hi Friends,
I was thrilled this Summer when Natural Awakenings magazine contacted me asking if I would be willing to do a trade with them…teach some classes to support women in finding their confidence and power through improv, in exchange for some big ol’ ads in their mag and a full article on me and my work. Teaching classes to help support people find their confidence? Voice? Passion?
Of course, I was in.
I wanted to share the article. Go pick up a copy too if you are in the Triangle area. It’s the October issue (pg.38!)
The Power of Improv and Play
Do you experience high
levels of stress?
It is reported that more than 40 million U.S. adults ex-
perience anxiety disorders which negatively affect the
health of the body and mind. Those affected experience
the flight or fight response far more often than is normal.
While this response is an innate survival mechanism that
allows us to see and react to a threat, being in this over-
stimulated state too frequently or for too long leads to the
body’s production of an excess of certain biological chemi-
cals. Chronic stress and anxiety can lead to high blood
pressure, migraine headaches and many other chronic
Did you know that
shyness can lead to a
high level of anxiety?
Nearly one-half of all Americans claim to be shy,
overly self-conscious or miserable in social settings. The
emotional constriction caused by shyness comes with
a cost. From the inability to make friends or to think or
respond in the moment to feeling alone and isolated,
those who are shy experience physiological symptoms of
distress. For them, public speaking can be a nightmare.
Excessive shaking, stuttering, dry mouth, racing heartbeat,
and even the inability to speak at all are normal reactions
for people who do not feel comfortable speaking in public.
How can you overcome
the emotional queasiness
that comes with stress,
anxiety or shyness?
Anoo Tree Brod, founder of Improvisation and In-
tuition for Transformation comments, “The benefits of
improvisation and play are endless. Many people who
take improvisation classes feel more confident, create
healthy relationships, and heal themselves. Participants
take the tools and principles and apply them to their lives.
Improvisation and Intuition for Transformation offers
classes with different themes, each aimed at helping you
create overall health and wellness: Living with Joy – Re-
leasing the Pain Paradigm; Creating Money Through Fun
and Ease; Support, Sleep, Sunshine, Food – The Basics of
Loving Self-Care; Clutter Clearing for More Manifestation;
and Connecting to Nature – Life’s Great (+Free!) Medicine
Cabinet!”
Classes and workshops are filled with inter-active
exercises. For example, in an exercise called “Yes, and…”
participants create a story by going back and forth and
building upon each other. Instead of negating the other
person, no matter how silly the story sounds, the partner
will acknowledge and build upon the previous statement.
Participants are cohesively creating something as they
work together, and the piece becomes greater than each
individual. Learning improvisation skills allows partici-
pants to let go of the fear and anxiety of being wrong.
Instead, they learn through a playful and non-judgmental
environment that their voice and perspective is powerful.
Anoo adds, “Many people will hear of improvisation and
say, ‘Oh, I could never do that,’ yet the tools I teach my
students are simple and easy. In a non-threatening envi-
ronment, I teach participants to be in the moment, to listen
and respond, which we can all do. Using my exercises,
I help take the stigma out the thought of improvisation.
Not only that, but through being in the moment, brilliance
happens, and these exercises can be used in the office or
in any kind of situation.”
Improvisation is also a tool to get un-stuck. Often,
when people feel stuck, they do the same thing over and
over; following the same cycle, repeating the same ha-
bitual actions, and, of course, receiving the same results.
Improvisation allows each participant the opportunity
to create in new ways, usually ways they would never
expect, and often leads to life transformation. In the corpo-
rate environment, employees may rediscover the value of
team work, gain greater job satisfaction and find the tools
they need to get their creative juices flowing and increase
their productivity.
There is never a lack of laughter in improvisational
lessons. Studies have shown that that laughter lowers
blood pressure, boosts cardiac health, strengthens the im-
mune system, triggers the release of endorphins and fosters
a general sense of health and wellbeing. So the next time
you feel worried that you said the wrong thing, take a
deep breath, let it go, and keep flowing.
For information about Improvisation and Intuition for
Transformation, visit www.anootreebrod.com.
Presented to you from the October 2014 edition of NATURAL AWAKENINGS
Intrigued? New Classes starting this week! To learn more go to: http://www.anootreebrod.com/classes/improv-classes/