Here We Go Again...

See that beautiful #treester #nutbag behind Craig and me? The one holding the book? The one who MARRIED US? That's how important she is to me... she MARRIED US.

And now, finally, because I don't know why we haven't just done this already... ((BIG ANNOUNCEMENT))...

Erin Lea and I will FINALLY BE STUDIO PARTNERS.

Shakti Movement Arts: Sanctuary of Embodiment will officially be joining up with Pranayoga - a little breathing room and will be living out of and working out of Erin's beautiful space starting with the new class session beginning Sunday, September 8th

LET THE CRAZY BEGIN!!!! <3

The space I've been in for the summer is lovely but there's nothing like working with a best friend.

And we have been working together but we've been doing so back and forth between our spaces... which is silly.

NOW WE ARE JOINED!

The Home of the Soul is Playful

I’ve had quite the summer, as evidenced by my lack of writing. I moved into a new and beautiful and tech-heavy and modern, gym-like studio space, only to figure out that I desperately need windows and that it’s more about the FEEL of a space than the look. So there’s more change coming there but I’ll write about that another time.

For now, I wanted to briefly write about something I’m learning on a deeper level than ever while I’ve been observing/working with a bunch of women in private sessions. (Remember that you don’t have to be local to have a private session with me. I do them locally AND via Zoom/etc. Go here)

I’m learning, yet again for the millionth time, that joy comes from being in the body, and that only when we work from a state of wonder and curiosity and play do we really settle into ourselves, into this home, into our very souls.

Here’s the thing: no matter what women come to me for — balance issues, pain of one kind or another, overwhelm, anxiety, and on and on — they are really coming to me to rediscover this essential and original form of themselves.

Here’s another thing: It doesn’t take much.

I have new private clients who have only worked with me for maybe 4 sessions who come in and can’t get over how much they’ve been spontaneously dancing to the radio again for the first time in far too long to remember.

Or they are finding themselves SINGING at the drop of a hat.

Or they come in and their face has completely changed and there is LIGHT and smiling and no more hiding behind a veil of “I’m so EXHAUSTED by all the TRYING.”

This work is not some instant fix, nor will it work in the long run if we do it for a short time and then stop. This work is a practice, for sure, and it is meant to be a lifetime companion…but who doesn’t want a companion who simply wants to play?

Our Studio...Blessed

When I suddenly got the new studio, I immediately knew we’d have to do a blessing of the space.

When you teach out of your home, it so very easily creates a sense of temple because you’re opening up your most personal space to people. Over time, as they come and go, the students imbue that space with even more sacred and peace and intention.

You can’t just move into a new space, especially one that’s a bit more… sterile, and expect it to have the same feeling. It takes time.

But it also deserves a marking of the transition into the space, a setting of intention for the space and the people who will be in there, and an acknowledgement that we are now starting to take this space for our own sacred temple of community.

So we did that. A small group of people came together, each with their own gift to give — whether it be creating sound, making and sharing scent, saying words, being with us, bringing sparkle balloons, and so much more!

It was perfect and I hope when you first walk in here that you can feel how we are taking care to make this new studio special for you.

Happy Healthy Feet

As I say in the video, everything is about the feet because that’s where it all starts.

This is just a simple, quick, few moves practice that, if done every day for a month, will change not just your feet but your sense of ease in your body overall.

Remember that you can subscribe to my YouTube channel so that you’re alerted when I load new content.

A Glimpse into My One on One Work and What It's All REALLY About

I work with people one on one, and with every person, this will look very different, of course but eventually it all comes down to similar issues.

People will come to me wanting to work on flexibility or they want to get stronger. They often start by coming to me with what they perceive to be a physical issue.

But eventually and inevitably, we get to the real issue.

Chronic physical issues (as opposed to illnesses) always have a basis in your emotional or spiritual life.

The body is simply telling the truth about your pain or what you need before you yourself are ready to articulate it.

Some of my students though know this from the start and come to me immediately with requests like Chris, for example.

She’s working through a lot of layers of grief, and even though she takes weekly classes with me, she knows that on occasion she needs more intense and focused help. So right now, we’re doing a series of one on ones focusing on exactly HER.

This is how we started last week — with what I simply call folding and unfolding. It’s a way to very easily drop into the body without feeling like you’re trying to make the body “perform” in any way.

Unpacking the word "embodiment"

New studio means new logo and wow… this one is PACKED. It feels just right to me… on the deepest levels.

Each and every single word and bit of this logo has meaning that is like a little Russian doll... it can be opened and there's more and then opened and there's more...

Let's look at the word "embodiment," which is getting kinda popular lately but which has always been a word I use to describe what I do.

I mean it way beyond "the body in which you experience this life."

There's the physical body, for sure, and then the emotional, mental, spiritual, and energy. All of those things are Russian dolls in and of themselves.

But I still mean MORE...

I mean the body of the community.

The communal body is really the whole entire point of the work on the individual body.

We work on the micro to affect the macro.

We are all truly one and each part being most fulfilled, functioning most effectively, and experiencing its true self is important to the integrity of the whole.

FINALLY... but not really...

I also mean the body of your life.

What you do and make in this world. How you walk in and take up space. The voice that comes from your heart.

If you're not embodied in the first way, you'll never be embodied this way.

So join us for far more than postures and mechanics. We've got that part nailed down, for sure, with our combined experiences of well over 40 years.

But the ritual and the sacred and the transformative aspects of this work? That's where we ROCK.

The Morrigan Project: Communal Movement Rituals for Grief

(Though this particular demo is happening in Erie in a couple of weeks, it’s something that I really really really want to take on the road, so if you’re interested after looking into this, contact me, via email or on Facebook.)

This is what I've been up to for the past many months: Experimenting with and developing embodiment ritual processes for grief, working in community to express and transform.

These processes have been created so I can take them to any group, anywhere, and go through steps that will result in a unique-to-that-group representation of their own inner journey as well as the journey shared with community.

Whether the daily small things that happen to all of us or those momentous losses that change everything, everyone is walking around with grief in their hearts, and very few of us have effective ways to express and transform that grief over time.

We've especially lost connection to rituals that are body based, and so we have the Morrigan Project.

This is a demonstration of PROCESSES rather than a performance of a product.

I'll be giving a short talk; my movement artists will share what they've been working on together for the past months; and we'll all share in some very simple grief expressions (not mandatory).

Please arrive early.

DEMO AT UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH on Perry Highway in Erie, Sunday, June 23rd, 10:30 AM

AND PLEASE: Bring either a photo of someone you've lost and would like to remember or an object that symbolizes a grief for you.

What the HECK is "Movement Art?"

When I say "movement art" rather than dance or yoga or any other specific system, I mean to open your mind to possibility...

To the possibility that you can be a curious explorer of your own body's potential for creativity and expression rather than being a body that mimics and attempts to perfect.

To the possibility that your body is your main medium of expression in this life... no matter what you are doing... sitting, standing, choosing what to wear, moving through space in any way...

To the possibility that because your body is your main medium of expression that without taking time every day to be with that and explore that that you are missing out on a huge part of your life... that your life is smaller because you don't have this ability to listen to the way your body tells the story of your life... to the way your body is actually narrating your life and designing your life experience...

Without this level of consciousness, you are at the mercy of outside forces and general brain assholery and you'll never know your true potential whether in work or relationship with self or others.