Self-isolation. 10:10 am. Woke up. How good! There is no rush, you can relax and do what you want... This is how joy feels! “The Engine from Romashkovo” is such a happy baby who manages to live with pleasure. Total spontaneity. How little joy adults give themselves. I often hear that when they were little they thought: “When I grow up, I can do everything (a ton of chocolate, sleep until lunch, stay up until midnight, go wherever you want).” From practice. Here in front of me is a young, smart, beautiful girl. Sits with his head down. Deep sadness in her eyes. There is a lot of me in the conversation, but there are a lot of pauses from it, tears before every answer. Outwardly everything is fine, he smiles through them. A common answer is “I don’t know.” From the analysis of feelings: I’m always ashamed, scared, sad, “life is going in vain,” “I don’t have time to do anything.” I say at one of our online sessions: “Now pull out some trick right now!” Pause. Confusion, resistance, a lot of questions “how to do it right.” I give permission not to be on camera... to jump! Smiles for real... just something! She spoke at this session, and then also wrote afterwards: how nice it is for her... to be spontaneous.🤗This is a frequent exercise during sessions. The hardest thing is to complete it the first time, because it makes no sense, it does not fit into the context. It is very difficult to say some nonsense, because assessments are used: “this is stupid”, “why do this nonsense”, “is this even normal?” Another example. We are working with a boy with a fear of performing in sparring competitions. He’s successful in training, the coach is very happy, but in competitions he’s miserable. I say: “Oh, take the mace (soft toy), let’s fight!” My client's eyes widen in surprise. Silence, pause, stop... I start first. Timidly begins to respond to my movements, his face is serious. I have the thought in my head: “It’s just a game! How difficult it is for him!” Gradually a smile appears on your face, joy. We discuss, and during the conversation we find out that making noise and jumping around at home is not allowed - one of the relatives gets irritated. "Wacky" (noisy games) are prohibited. Winning a competition is a serious matter, and you cannot lose!! Anxiety and shame block any movement. And EVERYTHING is at stake. This is how emotions block behavior. Playing in a session, as a resolution, is an opportunity to see and understand in practice that participation alone brings ease, interest, and excitement. Activity without interest and pleasure is work! Joy can arise from the fact that you have satisfied someone important to yourself, received joy (rather calm) in exchange for this approval, acceptance or security. But it’s “work” here. And the joy from the fact that this is your personal desire, inner motivation and your own interest, you do it for yourself - satisfaction!! It feels so good and your body relaxes! Because you want and can, you are free like a child! Learning to listen and hear yourself is the initial stage to “make” yourself happy!