Yoga, Movement and the Way of Play

“Play is highest form of research.” – Albert Einstein 



Yoga, Movement and the Way of Play is an exploration of how the inclusion of play infuses deliberate practice with joy, novelty, spontaneity, and discovery. In its absence, practice risks becoming rote, stagnant, repetitive, dogmatic—and perhaps unsustainable. As such, the book is also an act of play, an invitation for life-long learning and creativity, an approach that has come to animate every aspect of Carrie’s decades-long practice as a mover and teacher. As essayist and naturalist Diane Ackerman observes: “Play is our brain’s favorite way of learning.”



For the purposes of this book, play is defined as something one does for its own sake. It evokes feelings of pleasure even when engaged in something challenging, frustrating, or exerting. It is voluntary—nobody can force you to do it, otherwise it isn’t play. It is a joyful, energizing, yet relaxing break from what can feel like the mechanical, monotonous, and overly predictable nature of the digital age.  Play is a principle, just like many of the yogic concepts Carrie has been exposed to in her long history with that practice.



As well as being an in-depth study of its subject, the book offers a remedy to dogmatic approaches to movement. In this spirit, each chapter is an adventurous inquiry into the what, why, and how of playful practice. It explores how the permission to play opens up fascinating avenues of discovery, many not limited only to yoga or movement practice. It examines how the opposite of play is not work, but depression, and how the absence of play can be a factor in a lack of motivation, enthusiasm and spontaneity. It reviews how play impacts healthy brain development and function throughout the lifespan; how it might aid adult adaptive neuroplasticity or one’s ability to learn new things selectively; and it explores play’s role in the social engagement system and how its signals help humans communicate in ways that reduce the perception of threat, both in oneself and towards others.



To illustrate the valuable process of play-based inquiry in practice, Carrie draws from her own experimentation and discoveries, and she also includes personal accounts from teachers and students who have experienced the transformative power of play. She shares interviews with psychologists, neuroscientists, play researchers, physical therapists, and dance, theater and movement teachers. There will also be recommended online supplementary videos where readers can play along with Carrie and other movement enthusiasts. Importantly, these sessions will be contextualized with important insights from contemporary movement science.