Less Force, More Flow — Bringing Play back into our lives

by Saira Riyaz

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

Some of us don’t have an answer to this, some of us have tried and given up and some of us haven’t tried because life got in the way.

Here’s the thing — we as a species are so consumed by the daily hustle, the rat race that we all want to win, the breakneck speed at which our lives are moving — that we forget to take into account our personal wellness, physical and mental. We have left a very important aspect of our well-being far behind — play. Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we stopped playing.

Of course this is because being in a state of play was easier as a child. It was easier to immerse ourselves, focus on what we are doing in the present, and be in the moment without anything weighing on our minds — in the state of flow.

Your next logical question, naturally, is What is Flow?

American Psychologist Mihali Csikszentmihalyi first recognized and named the concept of flow, a state so immersive and enjoyable that people lose track of time. Sounds like something most people search for in productivity self-help books. But here’s the exciting part — flow is, in fact, an easy but great avenue for us to achieve the much-needed downtime & playtime that we need to inculcate in our daily lives. And here’s something we don’t think about — it’s a ton of fun!

“There is still a certain level of aspiration attached to the idea of flow and flow arts in India, purely due to a lack of awareness and education about the benefits that come with it.”

Why Flow?

According to Mihali, there are ten factors that accompany the experience of flow.

Artist: https://instagram.com/sessigianoglio

1. There are clear goals that, while challenging, are still attainable. As Nike says, Just Do it!
2. There is a complete focus on the activity itself. Focus is key, you see.
3. You experience feelings of personal control over the situation and the outcome. Self Control in an out-of-control world.
4. People have feelings of serenity and a loss of self-consciousness. Inner Peace. Inner Peace.
5. There is immediate feedback. Hashtag Instant Gratification!
6. You know that the task is doable and there is a balance between skill level and the challenge presented. Life after all, is about Balance.
7. People experience a lack of awareness of their physical needs. Be in the moment.
8. The activity is intrinsically rewarding. ‘Take action to see reward.’
9. There is strong concentration and focused attention. The Focus is strong with this one.
10. People experience timelessness, or a distorted sense of time, that involves feeling so focused on the present that you lose track of time passing. Go with the Flow!

Flowing with your partner(s), friends, co-workers, pets, and children is a sure (and fun) way to fuel your imagination, creativity, problem-solving abilities, and mental as well as emotional well-being. It is a time to forget about work and commitments, and to be social in an unstructured, creative way. There doesn’t need to be any point to the activity beyond having fun and enjoying yourself.

Now let’s go back to the part where we spoke about awareness and education of flow arts — there isn’t any. Due to a lack of awareness comes a lack of demand, and eventually a lack of supply of flow toys, props, gear, information, educational content and spaces that facilitate and enable Flow. Which is what players in the flow community such as Supervillains.wtf are here to change.

The Supervillains, in their words, want people to #GetTheirFlowOn. Drawing from individual personal experiences, they say that inculcating flow in their lives and being part of the very warm flow community has influenced them in a very positively fulfilling manner. They believe they draw their motivation from this, and want to make flow available and accessible to the general janta through flow-first experiences, creating unique flow toys, artist workshops, fun content and jam sessions with a highly engaged community that everyone can be part of and benefit from.

What are Flow Toys, you ask?

There are many, many flow toys that have managed to make their way through a very interesting course of history, but we’re not covering them all here. Instead we’re listing down a few that are easy to obtain so you can get up and #GetYourFlowOn!

Hula hoop — First documented in 500 BC, hula hoops have crossed cultural boundaries and have been made with everything from grapevines, rattan, stiff grasses and good ol’ plastic. Fun fact — bigger the hoop, easier it gets!

Poi — Originated with the Māori in New Zealand; pois are tethered weights swung around in rhythmic patterns and integrated with other dance/musical forms. They’re also one of the most popular toys to be set on fire. One of the easiest flow toys to start your flow journey!

Bo Staff — Widely used across Asia since antiquity, bo staffs have cultural significance through Japan, South East Asia and China. Started as a weapon of choice for self-defense and evolved into martial art techniques independently across cultures. Popularized as the Silambam in Tamilian literature. If you’ve ever played with a stick, you know the joys of a bo staff!

Dapostar — One of the newest members to the flow props. Dapostar’s name origin is a mixture of “drap” (drape) in Catalan i “trapo” (rag) in Spanish. Culturally, it’s an evolved cloth version of plate/basketball spinning and allows an incredible array of solo and cooperative play.

So here’s a chance for you to do something for the first time, reap a ton of benefits from it and have a truck load of fun while doing it. If you’re still unsure, head over to Supervillains.wtf to get started and #FindYourFlow!

Author bio:

Saira Riyaz is a self-taught flow artist and co-founder of Supervillains.wtf. With a background in marketing and motivation channeled from 10+ yrs in 9-to-5 corporate jobs, she is on a quest to change the way the world operates at a fundamental level (for the better, of course), along with her friend and co-founder Amit Goyal.