Workshop ‘Connected by Play’ (Warschau)

For people, play is vital. When we play, we connect to ourselves and to the world around us in a way that supports safety and belonging. For some people, this is not so easy as it seems. All of us have had life experiences that taught us to tighten up, close down or fight. If we carry these habits for a longer time, we might get sick or lose connection to people around us.

When people have experienced trauma, their nervous system has dealt with a challenge that was too sudden, too much or lasted too long. It is almost like our response to the world around us has been frozen in time. Our reactions and responses, conscious and mostly unconscious, are influenced by these experiences in the past. A big challenge in dealing with trauma is finding ways to listen to the message of your physiology, so that your body can release the energy it is using to deal with intensity that once was there. This means helping to recreate the ability to experience security, relaxation and true reciprocity, feeling that you are really seen and listened to, feeling that someone has you in their heart and mind.

In this workshop we build upon the knowledge and practices of Original Play, Somatic Experiencing and Nonviolent Communication. By compassionate connection with ourselves, we will enter a different place from which we can connect differently to others. We will share exercises that help us to regulate our nervous system and coregulate those of people around us. And we will do exercises to come back to the living energy of our needs behind our thoughts and feelings, as well as connect to those of others.

Original Play, Somatic Experiencing and Nonviolent Communication share a focus on compassionate presence. With ourselves and others. But to be present can be hard work! We have judgements about ourselves and others that stand in the way of connection. And we all hold patterns of fight, flight and freeze in our bodies that can make it hard to connect and play. Each of these three modalities offers a unique perspective as well as distinct exercises that can help you open your heart enough to a different kind of connection and changes.

Original Play?

Researched for decades by O. Frederick Donaldson, Original Play helps to get out of the fight or flight state and reorganize the perception of threat. It helps to anchor in the present and feel that we live together, here and now. When we play, there is joy, wonder, curiosity and connection. When we play together, damaged attunement systems are renewed. Emotional control, self-confidence, creativity and play skills are regained. We experience feelings of connectedness and joy.

Somatic Experiencing

Somatic Experiencing was developed by Peter Levine to help people unlock trauma responses that keep our body and brain locked in the past. It is a slow and careful process of exploration of the experiences we still hold in our bodies. By regulating our own nervous system, we can help others regulate theirs.

Nonviolent Communication (NVC) originated with Marshall Rosenberg. It is a vision of people meeting needs peacefully and it is a process to foster connection in and beween people, based on empathy and honesty. With NVC, we connect to universal needs behind our thoughts, words and actions.

What to get out of the workshop

Whether you come for yourself, or because you want to support others, we trust that you will leave this weekend with an open heart and lots of inspiration!

Trainers

Jolanta Graczykowska is a teacher and mother of two children. She devoted over 20 years of her life to researching the essence and meaning of Original Play. She conducts educational and social activities. She shares her knowledge and skills with adults, specialists working with children, parents and guardians of children. She supports children in various parts of the world and in various environments. She played with about 20,000 kids. She worked in refugee camps, orphanages, pre-adoption centers for infants and small children, centers for single mothers, family support centers, slums, and hospitals for children with cancer. He works with children with special needs, street children and victims of violence. She cooperates with universities.

Christiaan Zandt lives in The Netherlands and works as a trainer and mediator. He is a CNVC-certified trainer in Nonviolent Communication (2015), Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (2024) and has been learning about Original Play with Jolanta Graczykowska and Fred Donaldson since 2012. He strives to help people find back qualities of play, creativity and belonging. He is father of two sons.

Dates and location

March 21-22 2026 in Warsaw

Want to register or find more info?

Get in touch via e-mail: jola@originalplay.pl