The Power of Play for Sensitive Adults
And Why I’ve Taken Up Ice Skating at Age 40
By Michelle Luken
May 2025
Back in the fall, my 3 year old daughter started taking ice skating classes. My husband and son are at the rink playing hockey all the time, and I always found myself wanting to learn (properly) how to skate.
Watching my daughter out there having so much fun every Saturday morning, I decided to sign up for lessons myself.
My class consisted of me and a bunch of elementary schoolers. Once I learned how to position myself to avoid being taken out by a rambunctious kid on skates for the first time, I loved it!
Hobbies, Play, & Fun
Having a hobby that’s all about play, fun, and movement - with no outcome to chase, no performance to critique, no productivity metric to meet - has been more therapeutic and liberating than I expected.
I’m not skating to get better at my job. I’m not skating to parent more effectively. I’m not even skating to get in shape. I’m skating because I want to. Because it’s fun and it lights something up inside me. And as a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), that kind of soul-spark matters a lot.
Why Play is Great for HSPs
HSPs tend to crave depth and meaning in what we do. We process the world and feel things deeply, noticing and thinking about the nuances others often miss. While I do love and appreciate this aspect of being an HSP, it’s a double-edged sword: Trying new things can come with a flood of self-consciousness and overthinking.
At first, I was very aware of my awkwardness on the ice, worried about whether I’d screw up the other skaters and hyper-aware of every misstep. But week by week, that noise started to quiet and I began deliberately turning my attention from my brain to my body.
For HSPs who can get stuck in our heads, having something that pulls us back into our bodies is invaluable.
Skating reminds me what it feels like to be deeply present.
I feel the cold air on my face, the rhythm of the music in my chest, and my blades as they glide across the ice.
Going Full Send
After seeing the Nutcracker on Ice over the winter, I signed up to skate in the Spring Show and registered for the local figure skating club. Committing to be in the show was key, because it offered a source of external accountability that helped me to prioritize my new hobby, to play, to have fun, and spend about an hour a week doing something for myself.
And so there I was last weekend in a sparkly outfit and stage makeup, under the lights, music blaring. And let me tell you…it was liberating.
It wasn’t about being the best one on the ice.
It was about being out there at all.
At 40.
As a mom.
As a recovering perfectionist.
And as a sensitive soul who’s learning that taking up space can come in many forms.
Play Over Productivity
It’s so easy - expected, really - for us as adults to stop playing.
As if it’s some rite of passage to replace play with work and productivity in adulthood.
But that doesn’t have to be the case.
Call to Action
If you’ve been waiting for a sign to try something new - something fun - let this be it!
Let yourself be a beginner. Let yourself fall and wobble and laugh and get back up. Let yourself play.
Take the Next Step
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