Do you love to sing in the shower? You’re not alone. One of the reasons so many of us sing there is the reverberation tiled spaces offer, and the invitation […] The post Does the Phrase “Harmonic Presence” Entice You? appeared first on Roots of Strength ..read more

Sometimes I learn something life-changing that I must share. This is one of those times. As a Feldenkrais® teacher, I’ve studied and taught numerous ways of breathing. And breath has been a focus of several meditation practices I follow. I felt like an expert. A series of ten therapeutic cathartic breathwork sessions showed me more. Breathing in a specific rhythm and manner led me into an altered state of consciousness where deep emotional healing was facilitated. Then last fall my sister Gwen came to visit. A friend had recommended that she read Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art. That fri ..read more

I was lucky enough to do a day-long workshop with Elinor Silverstein at the 2018 Feldenkrais® conference. The subject was working with internal organs: “No Guts, No Glory.” Feldenkrais training focuses on skeletal movement, so the idea of relating directly to our viscera intrigued me. During the demo, Elinor’s fingers danced lightly across her client’s abdomen as she described the path. Then she led us through self-examination, recommending we use the pressure of “half a grape.” Throughout, Elinor was bubbling over with infectious delight. 3D rendering of a male skeleton torso Elinor pointed ..read more

The fall caught me off guard. How about you? The first time I really became aware of the seasonal shift was a few days ago when I noticed an familiar bird singing: a chickadee. I realized that I’d actually not heard a chickadee since I moved to Malden. So I unfurled my Merlin Bird ID app, wondering who else was in town, and discovered that many of the birds I was listening to were quite different than the ones I’d heard last spring. House sparrows were still there, and Northern Cardinals and American Robins (English ones are different, y’all!) but now joined to the chorus were Blue Jays, Tuft ..read more

So this year I’ve already fallen twice. Which has actually delighted me. What I learned, again, is that I can trust myself. That the years of work, time, and attention I’ve devoted to practicing and teaching the Feldenkrais Method® have given me skills I can draw on instantly. The first time I fell, I slipped on the ice and fell backward. I caught myself on my hands. My hat flew one way, the dog poo bag another. A little boy walking to school asked if I was alright, and brought me the poo bag, holding it with two fingers. The position I landed in was actually a transition position from a speci ..read more

The theme which emerged for March classes is self-love. Not an easy subject for many of us to look at, certainly not for me. Which is exactly why I chose it. Sometimes I become aware of to the language I use to correct myself. I wonder why I’m so much harsher to myself than I would ever be to anyone else. Inner Voices Witch hazel blooms in March. One of the first trees to flower in the spring in Portland, ME. My business coach Allison Rapp says, those voices we hear inside when we slow down and become quiet enough to listen are parts of ourselves we created as protection, often a long time a ..read more

Would you like to cultivate equanimity? That’s the theme which I’ve chosen for class in January 2022. Actually, the theme chose me. It simply presented itself last week. It feels right for so many reasons. The world continues to feel chaotic for most of us. Erratic weather. The spread of COVID, with new variants, and our continual need to adjust—my heart goes out to school teachers, parents, and children. And to those staffing our hospitals. The folks who keep our buses and trains running. And the other essential workers—our grocery staff, garbage collectors, and here in the Northeast, the fol ..read more

I woke up to the dark this morning. My first Nor’easter’s blowing in, bringing rain and wind. It’s loosening leaves still left on the trees. On our walk this morning, Finn and I met another dog swathed in a billowing brand-new, yellow rain slicker, still with its store tag on. His human wore a matching slicker. I’m finding myself strategizing about the best times to walk with him. Listening to the weather report—when will rain be lightest? Preparing the pile of old towels for drying him—it takes a lot to dry a Tibetan Terrier!—and wiping his feet. It’s our wet weather system. And I’ve returned ..read more

We’re living in extraordinarily unsettled times, no matter where we are. It seems there’s little that we can control right now, except the way that we choose to respond to this chaotic world. Yet it can feel as if we don’t have choices, as if circumstances trap us. Moshe Feldenkrais suggested that believing we have no choice creates anxiety. Feldenkrais also lived in unsettled times. He lived through pogroms in the Ukraine. He fled the Nazi invasion of France. The method he developed is his response: to cultivate self-knowledge through movement. In the Elusive Obvious, Feldenkrais writes: “Whe ..read more

We’re all in uncharted territory. Our daily habits are useless. What do we do? Maybe the first step is to become calm. I’m reading Atomic Habits right now. It’s an odd book to be reading at this particular time, from one point of view. The coronavirus has forced most of us out of our daily routines. Habits have dropped by the wayside. We’re working from home—if we’re lucky enough to have jobs. Or maybe supplies considered essential to doing our jobs safely aren’t available, and we have to jury-rig alternatives. On the other hand, it’s actually the perfect time to be reading this book. Becaus ..read more