Beyond the basement

Your body speaks in subtle ways. It signals what you need more of less of, keeps you safe, and gets stuff done. But do you listen though? After a period of intense study and travel, Chris is a bit fragile and restless. Join me as I explore these signals and discover a new need to hiding, being small and blending in - at odds with a lifelong habit of showing off, trying and performing. This one is...

Emotional intelligence, empathy and self-awareness all have their place, but if you're fully attuned to yourself and everyone around you, you'd never get anything done. In this episode I ponder a question put to me by Mark Walsh on a recent embodiment retreat. I make the case for both expanding awareness of your inner world, as well as numbing out - escapism from the intensity of what it is to be...

This last week I've been in Slovenia, exploring how we relate to, express, and experience life through that thing below your neck. Join me on a mountaintop for helpful insights I picked up studying with Mr Embodiment, Mark Walsh, like how to find yourself when stressed, and what other people make of you. I recorded this while having a very direct experience of the universe; all the feels you can e...

This one's for anyone curious about or new to improv. I'll dispel some myths about what it is, as well as give you a flavour of what to expect when you first try it. You'll also get a sense of how I run Leeds Improv Co-Lab - my growing community of improvisers who regularly come for open play sessions. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access...

Here are three big insights from the lovely improvisers who came out to play this Sunday for the third Undefended Improv workshop, this time in Liverpool, hosted with my friend Jen Hardy. In opening up, relating, and revealing what it's like really being us, we uncovered some universal truths that apply to life, whether you improvise or not. This one's for anyone tired of trying so hard to follow...

Hey perfectionist: "Allow yourself acceptance and rest, trusting that there is loving, transformative power in the absence of striving." Easier said than done though, right? But what if no doing is required? Can you still progress, grow, have good things happen in life if you simply allow life exactly as it is? That's the work for every perfectionist, even though it's totally at odds with how we r...

This is one of improv's finest and most transferable principles for getting you out of a tight spot. Whether that's a tricky scene, or just generally in life when you feel low mood or motivation. I certainly feel that way at the moment, so here I explore the value in focusing on what's good - like gratitude for what's here and now or our relationships. This is a public episode. If you would like t...

Join me in the woods for a big one, exploring the case for having a more emotionally engaged experience, and how that affects quality of life. I'll also share 3 ways to change your relationship with how you feel those tricky feelings that every part of you wants to avoid. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chris...

A bittersweet one for you here, all about the way we handle change, a threshold, or something coming to an end. Also what this can invite or reveal about our inner world. I share reflections on work I've done to make endings smoother or at least less uncomfortable. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenwort...

Do kids annoy you? Or pets? What about high-vibe people? Or loafers; the rich and leisured classes; care-free folk who drift through life, unaffected. Ever feel jealous or sad you don’t? These strong reactions could be telling you something about your unmet need for play. Here I make the case for more of it in life. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers...

Sometimes we don't have big up-and-out-there playful energy Maybe you're flat, tired, lonely AND you have an appetite for some kind of light playfulness - you're in need of fun. In this episode we discuss that tension, and explore 3 ways to be playful and creative when you're a bit low. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episod...

A chilly swim in the English channel prompts some reflections on how the way we do one thing, is the way we do everything. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com

Earlier this week, 8 improvisers explored their innate qualities of earthiness, fire, water and air and how that helps you relate and express to other humans. Here's what happened and how the 4 elements help or hinder us. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com

Do you fear becoming an arsehole if you 'indulge' yourself or even dare to put your needs first? Do your needs even matter? Because your inner child certainly thinks so, it knows you DESERVE fun and pleasure. Yet as grown-ups we deny ourselves joy. Here's another installment of how to reclaim play and build a healthier relationship with your inner child. This is a public episode. If you would like...

Tomorrow, we're exploring the 4 elements in a workshop I'm leading. Each element has a quality that can feel familiar or less so, and with it an invitation to play with a different way of showing up in the world. In this episode I explore each element and give a favour or how to get playful with your elements, and what change that can bring about. This is a public episode. If you would like to dis...

Join me for a coffee walk, reflecting on three big insights to come out of Saturday's Undefended Improv workshop in Leeds. We explore tricky conversations, why everyone is waiting for everyone else to go first, and why it's easy to drop the mask when you stay with yourself and what you really care about. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acce...

Chris has another rant about goals and a possible antidote to find your way through life with more ease, fun and fluidity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com

In this live recording, I explore who your inner child is, how it relates to creativity, and how to nurture yours so life's more joyful. Recorded live at The New Mondays creative network event in Leeds on Monday 7th May, 2024. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com

Leeds improv Co-Lab community is 1 year old. Here's 3 lessons I've learned (hard won) about taking risks, and turning an idea or hope into a real-life event. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com

Tomorrow at The New Monday Leeds, we'll be exploring how to help your inner child go nuts, creatively, by tapping into your innate playfulness. I'll do this through the lens of improv, during a short talk at this local networking event. This is me getting some practice in, and giving you the unedited, full-fat version full of tips and tricks on how to handle uncertainty, while feeling more free an...

Lessons from the dancefloor in what happens when we quieten the mind and let the body do the talking, or more accurately, listening. This one is all about how old habits show up in new ways. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com

Welcome to a new segment: BtB nightz... Where Chris tries to make sense of bedtime philosophy. This one's about the nature of change, its inevitability and how it comes to our rescue. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com

An odd thing happened recently. I realised I actually quite like Mondays these days. If you're anything like me, the start to the week often loons heavy with foreboding and an urgency to resume the grind. Here's an alternative, to reclaim your week. I'd add that this might help in how you relate to any tricky thing in your life; work, projects, people - not just Mondays. This is a public episode....

It's been a while, but I've just returned from a super workshop in Lancaster where I bumped into myself again and learned more vital and pressing lessons in what it means to be human. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworthy.substack.com

After mind-reading, expressing needs and getting them met (or not) is probably the single biggest cause of relationship turmoil. Here's an exploration of honouring self and other, a practice from Authentic Relating, and what it teaches us about life and happiness. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chriskenworth...