3 Ways Improv Leads to Mindfulness

In a tiny room with questionable air circulation five of us are huddled against one wall while a woman sits across from us with a notebook and pen. She calls out “sheet cake” and we jump off the wall two at a time to build imaginary but realistic worlds inspired by sheet cake.

We mime objects like glasses and hairbrushes, and open doors that aren’t real to define these places. We change our voices and bodies to tell the stories of the normal/ crazy/ funny/ sad characters who inhabit these worlds. We have no idea what will happen to these characters. We give in to their stories and let them lead us.

For two hours we do this - without smart phones or computers, without pens, markers, or paper. We are fully present and aware of every moment. We do not judge these moments, ourselves, or each other.

We are improvisers at rehearsal. We are mindful, together.

“Mindfulness” is moment-to-moment awareness. After beating myself up about not meditating everyday (which I like but I’m an ENFP and we hate routines), I discovered that you don’t have to meditate to be mindful. The more I learned about mindfulness the more I realized I’ve been practicing it for years in a group when rehearsing and performing improv.

Improv is “group mindfulness”. We are trained to give ourselves over to the moment, and like any other skill we have to practice this regularly.  I'll share a few basic improv principles that you can apply to any situation to be more mindful.

3 WAYS IMPROV LEADS TO MINDFULNESS:

1. Be Present - Use all of your senses to connect with others in the space and to get out of your head. Make eye contact and move your body to gain physical awareness. 

2. Listen - Actively listen to everyone in order to add value. Don't jump ahead or try to push your agenda. Go with the flow to create something meaningful together.

3. Don’t Judge - Once you’re aware of people, space, and what’s happening in the moment don’t judge it. Accept it as reality and work with it to support your group. Most importantly don’t judge yourself for the choices that you make. Trust yourself!

Improv at its core is not about being funny it’s about being truthful in the moment, which is the result of a regular mindfulness practice. How do you practice mindfulness in your life?

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Want to learn more about how to be mindful with yourself and with others? Join my workshop on 10/25 -  Details here. I'm co-leading with Executive and Mindfulness Coach Tanya Valle who has more great tips on her blog.