Mikkipedia Play Your Way to Better Health and Fitness - with Darryl Edwards
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This week on the podcast, Mikki speaks to Darryl Edwards, movement coach and founder of the Primal Play Method, about rethinking exercise through the lens of play, biology, and human nature.
In this conversation, they explore why so many adults lose their natural instinct to move, and how modern, structured exercise may be missing something fundamental. Darryl shares how playful, varied movement aligns more closely with our evolutionary design, and why this approach can support not just physical fitness, but brain function, resilience, and long-term health.
They also discuss the psychology of movement—why enjoyment is often the key to consistency, and how play can shift our relationship with effort, discomfort, and motivation. Along the way, they challenge reductionist thinking in health and fitness, highlighting the broader role movement plays beyond calories burned or steps counted.
This is a refreshing and thought-provoking conversation that invites a return to movement as something instinctive, engaging, and sustainable for life.
Darryl Edwards MSc, FCIMSPA (Chartered), FBSLM, DFSEM(UK), DipExMed, ACSM-CES, CertLM is a London-based movement coach, author, speaker, and founder of the Primal Play Method®, an approach grounded in evolutionary biology, exercise physiology, cognitive neuroscience, and play psychology. With over 15 years of experience coaching and teaching movement, his work focuses on improving long-term adherence through practical, engaging, and sustainable activity rather than rigid exercise models.
After nearly two decades in investment banking technology, he rebuilt his own health using a back-to-basics movement approach, which now underpins his work with individuals, clinicians, educators, and organisations aiming to reduce sedentary behaviour and support both physical and mental wellbeing.
He is a Fellow of the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine, a Chartered Fellow Physical Activity and Health Practitioner with CIMSPA, a Diplomate Member of the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine (UK), and an ACSM Cancer Exercise Specialist®. In 2025, he received the US Play Coalition’s Stephanie P. Garst Distinguished Service Award for his contribution to promoting physical and social health through play, and in 2026 he is a keynote speaker at Playtopia: Make Way for Play in Boston and a speaker at the ESMO Breast Cancer conference.
His TED talk, “Why Working Out Isn’t Working Out,” explores why traditional exercise often fails people and highlights the importance of enjoyable movement for long-term consistency.
Darryl Edwards: https://www.primalplay.com/who-is-darryl-edwards
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