Joy list: what's caught my interest lately

I have this list of blog posts that I keep staring at, wanting to share so much depth of thought with you all. Then I can’t fathom where I will get the brain energy to do any of it justice, so for now… a list.

If you’re not in the sanctuary or you don’t often check it out, you’re missing some good stuff so I’m here to remedy that.

To start, if you didn’t watch the Grammy’s, be sure to check out:

This performance by Miley Cyrus, whom I never thought I was such a fan of but apparently now am. Pay attention to the last minute especially.

And Annie Lennox paying tribute to Sinead. I mean, who else could have really done this?

This study shows it doesn’t take long at all to make an impact on your brain with some semi-vigorous dance. (This would mean that you can kinda talk but not be 100% comfortable talking.)

Here’s a reminder that you can still get Vitamin D on cloudy days… it just takes longer, but this makes it even more important to get outside when we don’t want to ((whine)).

If you need a super short and concise explanation about how we got to this single, angry male god version of religion, this is for you. (Just under three minutes.)

And this is one of my new favorite movers. She’s freaking amazing. And she’s an example of how dance is for ALL bodies. (As in… you know the traditional dance world would say no to her… grrrr…)

I just had someone ask me for a Kundalini yoga resource that I like, which is asking a lot because there’s a lot out there that is just meh. Or even just annoying. BUT I do like this person and her stuff is free on YouTube. (Though also remember that I offer a quickie class that is a combo of Kundalini and whatever else is floating my boat at the moment.)

So tell me…

What’s catching your interest lately? Books, movies, whatever! I WANT TO HEAR!!

New Columbus Studio and Online Classes Update

So much has been going on in the 3D world that I’ve been a little lax with my online world, and I apologize for that. This space and all the spaces where we meet in this not-at-all-virtual world is so important to me.

So right up front, know that I plan on continuing my work here and in the private Facebook group and in zoom classes, regardless of what’s happening in Columbus.

That said, I have a new studio home here a mere few blocks from my house, and the fit is just amazing. Beyond what I could have hoped for.

It’s like I found a space where I don’t have to create the kind of inclusive compassion from the ground up … it’s already there. And it’s in full bloom so I just get to step in and do my thing and I’m surrounded by humans who get it very quickly and take it all in so beautifully that it can feel overwhelming.

You can see my Columbus schedule right here. I mean, if you’re nearby, come see me!!

I also look forward to running some workshops out of that studio that will be long enough to justify people traveling a few hours.

And you might have noticed a slight change to the name of my methods. I am hoping that calling it Peony Somatic Dance will help people to understand what I’m up to a little quicker than just calling it the Peony Method.

Finally, for those of you who still want to work with me online, THANK YOU. I feel so much gratitude for how supportive you’ve been through all of these changes to how we work together. I know it can feel challenging sometimes but I hope the work and the community warrants that.

A new session starts next week and you can find that schedule right here.

Resting in Dreamland: an extended winter solstice worksho

Written in the Body: Movement, Ritual, and Writing to celebrate seasonal transitions.

Winter Solstice 2023: Resting in Dreamland

ONLINE from December 3rd through January 5th with a live event on zoom on December 10th.

DEADLINE for Registration: Wednesday, December 6th

Co-Facilitated by me and Deborah Globus (more about her below!)

PLEASE NOTE: Our number one priority as guides is accessibility. All movement prompts, as with all of my teaching, will have space in them for every single body, no matter what’s going on with you in the moment. All of Deb’s prompts, and the entirety of the workshop, will place emphasis on honoring energy levels, so there will be options for low, medium, and high energy explorations.

Online, streamed, and filmed live event: Sunday, December 10th, 5:30 to 7:30 PM, Eastern U.S. Time. (The video will be made available to the group the day after and will remain available until after the new year.)

COST (and please email me if you need a different price. No questions asked, as always): $77

Written in the Body will be a series of workshops that focus on each of the solstices and equinoxes over the next year. It seems right that we start in the winter, this time of hibernation and rest and pause.

The live event part of each of these workshops will not actually take place on the solstice or equinox. It will always take place at least a week or more before so that you can then prepare, based on all you’ve learned and practiced, your own ritual on the actual day and at the actual time.

Perhaps, for example, you’ll take what you’ve learned and practiced and run a group ritual in your area. Or perhaps you’ll take what you’ve learned and practiced and enjoy a solo ritual.

The point is that you’ll get to the solstice or equinox ready in whatever way feels right for you.

Winter Solstice: Resting in Dreamland Themes

“This is the solstice, the still point of the sun, its cusp and midnight, the year’s threshold and unlocking, where the past lets go of and becomes the future; the place of caught breath.”

— Margaret Atwood

It’s rather ironic that this time of year has become so typically frenetic. It’s the opposite of what’s happening with nature, right? And it’s the opposite of what’s meant for us, as we are nature.

We’re meant to come inside from the year’s hard labor and to light a fire and rest.

Rest being reinvigorating and not just the “catching up on sleep because we’re so freaking exhausted” that it’s become.

Rest is quiet time with family and friends. Sharing stories. Making good and warm and filling food. Dreaming…

And so we will be dreaming together. And we do not mean setting goals. That’s not dreaming. That’s the step after dreaming. (As Deb often has to remind me… if you know us, you understand that!)

We will be focusing on a couple of core themes:

Gathering around the fire in community is number one. Coming together to witness one another in our dreaming and to hold space for those dreams as they arise or as they pass away.

Exploring the wisdom in our bones. Another way to think about this is to ask: What is your body trying to communicate to you?

AND

Discovering what supports us in softness. This is something the larger world does not encourage, right? Hustle culture, scarcity mentality, the idea of winning are all about being less vulnerable, less open, and, well, harder. But we know that the opposite is what’s truly valuable. What do you need to really nestle in to your softness? To allow the soft that precedes growth?

The Basic Calendar

On Sunday, December 3rd, we’ll be opening a private Facebook group to which you’ll be invited. Everything pertaining to the workshop will be loaded there, including the eventual video from the live event.

It’s in this space that you can share experiences, ask questions, make connections with other human beings doing this sort of work or learning about it for the first time.

Again, community is a priority.

On Sunday, December 10th, from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM, we’ll be running the live event of the workshop. This will be recorded so if something happens and you can’t make it, you’ll be able to participate and learn after the fact.

Deb and I will be adding material to the Facebook group in approximately this pattern:

Mondays: I’ll load a breath/movement/rest video so that we start the week getting into these bodies.

Wednesdays: Deb will share a writing prompt to explore our themes more deeply.

Fridays: Deb will share a wide variety of information relative to working with the energy of the four quarters. Everything from information about what crystals might work best to correspondences and pertinent lore and myth.

Live Workshop: Sunday, December 10th

This will take place on Zoom from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM Eastern time, and again, it will be recorded for you to use and refer back to as much as you want and need.

During the workshop, Deb and I will bounce back and forth.

I’ll be providing movement, breath, and body based explorations that allow you to feel your way into what you need from this time of year.

Deb will be providing short writing prompts and also clearly demonstrating the four parts of ritual.

About Deb Globus

Hi! My name is Deborah Globus and I’ve been journaling for 35 years, and working with personal ritual for almost as long, helping women create beautiful rituals and practices to navigate, articulate, and share the milestones and transitions in their lives.

I draw from many traditions - the Christianity I was raised in, the earth-based practices I believe in, the Judaism I take part in, and the many other faiths and belief sets in which I find inspiration, and I use all that to support others who walk their own spiritual paths.

Oh, and I wrote a book! Which you can find right here.

REGISTER HERE

New Free Video & Last Classes of the Year

We’re going to be making a total of six of these videos (we being me and Linda Soto and Jillian Hynes) to show the fundamentals of a Peony Methods class on 3 different humans.

Here’s part two, showing some examples of possible floor (or chair) warmups. If you’ve been with me long, you know there are a bajillion things that we might possibly do for that segment of the class, but these are pretty standard.

And for the last class session of the year, I’ll be running the usual classes for four weeks. One week on, one week off for Thanksgiving week, three weeks on, and then a three week break over the remaining holidays.

GO HERE to looksie and register.

I would love to see you! Please always know that if these classes are out of reach financially that I will work with you to get you in. Just write to me and we’ll figure out what would be doable. I don’t need to know anything more.

Update on slow jogging experiment

I came here to write an update on my slow jogging experiment and I’ve come to realize that I’ve not written about this here. I think I only really shared about it in the JoyBody Sanctuary on Facebook.*

(Side note: Are you in that group? because it’s seriously full of goodness and humans being so beautifully loving and supportive of one another through some very difficult stuff. If you’re not in there, just ask me to add you.)

*EDIT: I did write about it. I just couldn’t find it. Here.

So now I’ll back up…

Slow jogging is a very specific sort of jogging that has come out of Japan, and there’s a ton of research that shows how much better it is for you than other forms of jogging and running because biomechanically speaking it’s more like walking.

You can learn about the form by watching this video. And here’s a post about the benefits with links to studies.

So I started to slow jog on my treadmill last fall at some point. I’ve always hated running. HATE IT WITH A PASSION actually.

Some of you might remember that I spent a summer running until I could run a full mile non stop and then I stopped the experiment because I still hated it. Also remember, I can go to a workshop and dance for 8 hours a day no problem. This isn’t about fitness of the body but just a hatred for the form.

When I started to slow jog last fall, I had also just started to play tennis again, and the main thing I noticed that I was lacking in tennis was “light feet” and quickness on the court.

Slow jogging changed that within a couple of weeks. ((SNAP!))

At first I would just slow jog for five minutes. And it was hard, for sure. Because I’m just not a natural.

But here’s why I came to update:

I’ve not been really consistent with this practice. I can go a week without doing even one minute, but lately I’ve been doing it a bit more because of my Apple Watch. I aimed for ten minutes (and I would watch a dance documentary to keep my mind occupied).

Quite suddenly… I found myself EASILY doing 15 minutes. And now? I just had a 26 minute slow jog and my heart and lungs were great for the entire time. I sweat a lot but I’m not out of breath. (PERFECT zone.)

And? Though I’m still doing the form, my pace has also gotten a lot faster.

Again, without a lot of serious commitment to the practice.

My point? As I turn 55 in November, my message remains the same: your body is miraculous and is capable of much more than you can even imagine. No matter where you’re starting from.

The Unique Movement of Different Bodies

So that you can see the work of the Peony Method on DIFFERENT BODIES, I'm starting a series with long time students, Jillian Hynes and Linda L Soto where we'll demo the fundamental parts of a Peony Method class, starting, of course with the always present seated circles. (For a breakdown of the basics of this movement, see this previous video.)

The first person who watched this new video had a lot of things to say:

1. She thought she would hate hearing the breath and she LOVED it. So volume up. She said she was so used to hearing MY breath that she didn't realize how different it could be and now she feels like "oh! I could do this!"

2. She was so used to seeing ME do the movements that she wasn't sure they were for her, but after watching how different they look in different bodies, again, she feels like "oh! I could do this!"

Which is the whole point of this type of demo... to underscore what I am constantly saying: THIS IS DIFFERENT FOR EVERY SINGLE BODY and DIFFERENT IS BEAUTIFUL.

I am demoing in a chair to remind people that that too is possible.

Go here to see what else is on my YouTube channel, and don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to help get this work to more people who need it.

It's already October!

Which means we start a new 4 week session next week, Tuesday and Thursday, October 10th and 12th.

First, if you need these classes and find they are out of reach in terms of payment, please tell me. I am not owed any explanation; just let me know your need and we’ll get you in to class one way or another.

GO HERE TO REGSITER

As always, I want to remind you all that you don’t have to be live for any classes and that the videos remain available to you for the entire four weeks PLUS whatever time there is in between the end of that session and the start of the next. Usually that means you get at least an extra week to play with this material.

Quickies are based in Kundalini yoga but there’s all kinds of functional movement added in, and these (like all of my classes) can be done on any level. You could do everything I teach from a chair if need be.

Tuesday Peony is fundamentals and beyond. This is a great place to start if you’ve never taken a class with me.

Thursday Peony is based in Butoh and only recommended if you’ve taken at least one other class with me.

If you have any questions, just send me an email.

JoyList: Things that make me go OH!

I haven’t done this in a while so here are some things that are making me happy or feeding into my curiosity or making me go OH! in a big way. I hope some of them do the same for you.

This tai chi guy is one of my fave movers right now and his shorts on YouTube (and TikTok) are just the right bit of info to give me something to play with or think about with my movement.

We often think of “exercise” (not the movement play you and I do together) as activating of the fight or flight response on the brain level (and it is), but now research is showing the vagus nerve can be active too. I’m thinking that what you and I often do together is activating all kinds of safety in the body so I find this research interesting.

This podcast is delightful on many levels. The Movement Movement is hosted by a guy who talks in a way that totally reminds me of Jeff Goldblum. Same sorts of rhythms and phrasings. HY.STERICAL. BUT he also has a lot of great guests and he’s pushing the ideas around movement in ways that I appreciate and you will too. This particular episode has a section about healing touch that is compelling on an neuroscience level. They don’t call it healing touch but that’s what you, my woo sisters, would know it as. ((smile)) Here it is on Spotify and here it is on YouTube.

Speaking of Tai Chi, here’s one of my favorite choreographers whose work is grounded in Tai Chai, working with one of my favorite companies. When you’re watching, think about the body’s weight and gravity. It’s something we can all play with more.

I’m really digging this dancer who is currently in residency at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in NYC.

Pilates is notoriously NOT body inclusive. (And yes, there are exceptions…I’m about to talk to one…) THIS instructor on Instagram is working to change that (and here’s another with whom I’ve actually taken classes here in Columbus).

If you love earrings and art and artful earrings, please go and check out and support my friend Brandy Morris. She’s an amazing human doing beautiful work.

What has been bringing you joy? I’d love to hear! Please send me clips, links, whatever as you come across them. I love collecting all these shiny bits.