Rahla Kahn

Rahla Kahn is the creator of The POWER OF PLAY®, a unique, effective and infinitely entertaining approach to developing human potential using improvisational theater games and exercises. A native of Los Angeles, Rahla was an original member of L.A.'s prestigious Groundlings Improvisational Theater Company.

Her innate interest in mind/body/spirit healing led her to being mentored by Norman Cousins, author of Anatomy Of An Illness and radiation oncologist, Dr. O. Carl Simonton, author of Getting Well Again. She assisted Dr. Simonton at several Healing Power Of Laughter & Play conferences. Her own ideas for The POWER OF PLAY® were validated when Dr. Simonton told her she was on to something important and had to develop her own workshop, or as she called it, playshop. That was in 1983.

Norman Cousins opened a door for Rahla, which led to her working at the California Mental Health Associations Step Up On Second facility in Santa Monica. She conducted workshops from 1984 to 1993 for mentally ill and homeless adults and Vietnamvets. This work received wide public attention, including an article in the Los Angeles Times. She was also a guest facilitator at the Wellness Community, a cancer outpatient support program in Santa Monica, and has worked one-on-one with cancer patients and people with AIDS. In 1994 she taught her class at UCLA in their Entertainment Studies Program.

While Rahla continues to work with people dealing with cancer through weSPARK (a cancer support center in Sherman Oaks) as well as being an ongoing guest facilitator for the Simonton Cancer Centers monthly retreats in Santa Barbara, The POWER OF PLAY has expanded greatly in recent years. Seeing the need to introduce the business world to this innovative approach, Rahla adapted her work to benefit corporate clients and smaller businesses. She has worked with The Harlem Globetrotters, American Express, IBM and Hyrian Recruitment Services among many others. She currently coaches executives and employees on peak performance skills, sales and extraordinary customer service, is a motivational and inspirational keynote speaker, works with private clients on personal and life issues, and facilitates her own seminars based on the principles embodied in The POWER OF PLAY®.

Website: www.thepowerofplay.com