Like Yoga for the Brain

When I practice the discipline of improvisation, I feel more alive. In the same way we've learned that we improve our physical balance and function through stretching, we can improve our mental balance and function through improvisation. Improvisation is like yoga for the brain. Increase your mental agility and your ability to think on your feet with the practice of improvisation. To get started, try this: Just play a game with a friend. Tell a story together, taking turns, one - word - at - a - time...

"One - day - after - a..."

After a couple minutes, stop and ask yourself: Did you have long run-on sentences, no protagonist, was it chaos? Was it fun?

Try it again! This time try these suggestions:

- Name your characters: Start with a name - any name. "Bruce - wanted - to - go - to..."

- Use punctuation: Say, "period" at the end of sentences. You still get a word!

- Listen to your partner and honor the story that is being told: Let your partner change you.

How was that? Did it make more sense? Was it still fun?

After a few tries, people usually find that the stories improve and make more sense; they have heroes, events take place, and sometimes ideas take shape in spontaneous harmony.

One of the reasons I love this game is that it is so simple and no matter how many times I play it, it is still spontaneous and playful. If it were predictable, it would no longer be fun.