Honor Your Path

Today I celebrate seven years of consciously choosing to be alcohol-free. There are many things about this for which I am grateful. Waking up every morning with a clear head. Remembering phone conversations, movies, whether or not I blew out candles. No need for the hangover breakfast of champions - Coca-Cola and a Breakfast Jack. No empty negotiations with that beckoning wine bottle.

Whatever your path, I invite you to honor it with conscious steps. Celebrate the gifts that choice gives to each of us. Find peace through presence and joy through sensation.

Seven-year itch? Not in this body!

Wiggle Time

I'm embarking on a new chapter in my career as a public school educator. Titled "Fine Arts Teacher", this chapter opens up a world into which I previously had glimpses rather than extended stays. I held admiration for those who chose to be elementary educators not considering myself to be a likely candidate for the role myself. Having spent the first week in my new environment taking in the sights and sounds, I get why people choose to spend their careers with this age group. Wiggle Time.

One of the classes I observed was filled with pre-k students and taught by a woman who's attended my Nia class. I listened to the students go through the days of the week and dates of the month with  resounding NOOOOOOOOOOs when the teacher showed them the wrong day and shrill cries of YEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS when she pointed to Tuesday, the 26th. Then she announced, "IT'S WIGGLE TIME!" and those little bodies jumped up and wiggled like gummy worms. They occasionally glanced with curiosity at the stranger who got up and wiggled with them until the teacher pointed to me and explained that Mrs. Ross-Moore was the one who taught her all her moves. We made rainbows (their favorite) and wagged our tails like puppy dogs and roared like lions. In that moment, a playfully present click vibrated through my body and I received yet another systemic confirmation of Nia's gifts.

Somewhere along the road to adulthood and beyond, play gets a bad rap. "Too playful in class" carries a negative connotation on a progress report. "If you'd quit playing around and get some work done. . ." is uttered with disdain for someone's lack of "productivity". What would happen if teachers were thrilled to write too playful in class or a boss/colleague/parent offered, Look at the amazingly imaginative work that comes forth from you when you play around. Just think of the magic that occurs in the space of play. Sand becomes castles. Arms become wings. Toes touch the stars and heads peek through clouds. Countless solutions can appear when we open our bodies to juicy imagination.

I invite you to explore spontaneous Wiggle Time, particularly if you are feeling blocked, bored, or frustrated. Of course, WT for the fun of it is highly recommended. My personal favorite for extended play - Nia, where sensation sparks imagination.

Craig Ross and Spoon rock Austin City Limits

very proud to call Craig my brother! His portion is approximately 28 minutes into the show.
Enjoy!
Austin City Limits - Spoon

Driving a new vehicle

Letting go of the following vehicle:  roomy, automatic, safe, great resale value, low mileage, under warranty, other title.

FAQs:
Why are you getting rid of this one?
A:      It's safe. roomy. consumes more fuel. automatic. someone else has the title. I get in, put it in drive and go. There's no need to sense when to shift gears. I can fill it with loads of crap that I don't need "just in case".

What are you diving now?
A.     older model, smaller, manual, higher mileage, clear title

Why?
A.     Its high mileage demonstrates resilience. consumes less fuel. runs efficiently. I'm learning to hug curves and shift with ease. It's clearly mine. I feel free when I move around in it.

off for a drive. . .

On the road to find out

One of the many aspects of Nia that I have loved is the concept of natural time. Tuning in to the body, tuning out distractions, and listening with highly attuned "ears" for movement cues. Getting a sense of when to remain still, when to move, when to speak, when to listen. I am enchanted by this magic of Nia particularly as I witness its potency whenever I do my best to engage my "ears" and listen for the silence that clues me in on an upcoming change in movement.
Recently, the silence has been whispering simplify and clarify
My body's response tell me more. . .
Start from the beginning. Pay close attention. Reclaim. Release should. Embrace the unknown. 
I thought you said to simplify. That sounds like quite a bit to do. And, if you're silence, why are you whispering?
Don't be a smart ass.


And so, I am on the road to find out, holding my Nia practice as my compass and trusting the course of my natural time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU-1v2R-2fY
 

RAW

For the past 15 years, I've spent the week before returning to school blown about in gale-force winds of activity.  My summer to-do checklist of monumental accomplishments designed to create ease would stare me in the face, checkless. Brewing underneath was usually a storm of dread showered with smatterings of excitement. Assemble that in one 5' package and watch out for ensuing carnage.

My last day of duty on June 24th turned out to be quite more than an ordinary last duty day. It was the day that my dear friend who happened to be my great boss was informed that she would not be returning to the school the following year. It was the day that I called upon that which I receive from Nia,  RAW - relaxed, alert, and waiting for the sound and silence to cue my moves. This summer spent in a heightened state of RAW has been filled with harmony. Even in times when I dipped into fear's discord, the stay was shortened by RAW's gentle encouragement back to sensation.

RAW is where I sense a shift from "thinking" I "need" to "do" something to sensing when action is warranted. I invite rather than direct or command. For me, it's about trusting that whatever I need will be revealed in natural time and be filled with wondrous possibilities. This has been my experience and continues to be so.

The light has returned to my friend's eyes. Sensing this gift has been well worth the wait.

Stop, sense, and listen

I was carrying out another load of clutter when "Stop, Look, and Listen before you cross the street" popped into my head. Then, I sensed the message in my body - it's really all about making conscious choices before taking steps so that when we do "step" across any street, we do so in a state of awareness. Profound for 60's elementary school lesson.

I have no segue into the next part except to say that there was some connection at the moment but the clutter got me distracted :-).

Click. Surrounding myself with more stuff limits my choices. I used to think that it was a great thing but surrounding myself with stuff keeps me in my head and limits my range of motion. More means I scatter my energy sifting through distractions and "trying" to make decisions rather than tapping into my sensation which is the clearest frequency when tuning in to what I want. Shifting to sensation opens endless possibilities from which I can concisely choose relying on feedback from my body rather than chatter from my mind. As my relationship with my Nia practice evolves, I deepen my appreciation for the freedom and grace in clarity. I'm learning to release distractions that complicate and clog channels of energy. I can now sense if I really want to cross that street in the first place or if where I am is right where I need to be.