Rolling with my Homies!

                 

  

Nothing beats California weather and the friendship of a seven year old. Pictured above is my buddy Parker and I taking advantage of some good ol climbing trees. I think we must have sat in those trees for at least and hour. We chatted about the view, our mutual love of trees and all the birds and the bees (actual birds and bees not the act of pollination:)) from his tree top perch to mine.   

When we finally climbed down from our perch , we became scavengers  and pirates of some one else's rubbish, we made out well! Parker came away with a bag full of money and jewels and I stepped away in a pair of Christian Louboutins, granted they were well loved before my feet ever hit them, but hey who's counting the steps in a four hundred dollar pair of shoes?

Rolling into the evening with my other homie, which so happens to be Parkers mamacita. Dinner then a show ensued. 

"Have we melted yet" was a show put on by one of my Pilates teachers Aura Fischbeck. This was a first for me seeing a modern dance "raw" performance. I can now say i am addicted.  This show to me was about the many layers of "us" of "you". We are all constantly growing and evolving into the  different  layers of our  selves. A quote that was used a few times in the show and one of my favorite books " Wherever you go there you are" brought that home for me. Aura danced a piece in the beginning shedding all her layers to us but in the end whatever layer was being showed at the time in the end it was still Aura. It had me thinking today, now even, about the many layers of my soul. How often I have evolved into different aspects of my already self, and thank goodness for it eh.  In the end though modern dance is like a Picasso painting, everyones going to get something different out of it, and thats the magical beauty of it all.

I believe in change. I believe that giving up something say for instance...can you think of something that you do, that you "think" is just who you are but it affects other people in a negative way? Instead of trying to change that behavior you find yourself saying "but thats just who I am". When does that not become okay? Why would you not want to evolve into a different version, unwrap a new layer of someone that you already are but haven't given the time/energy to know yet. In my opinion  its the unawareness of self and fear of losing self.  Knowing that you can change the patterned behavior into something that works better for you and those around you, a healthier, positively, better balanced existence calls on a pretty hefty belief system, but its there for the taking. If you find yourself saying "its just who i am" or maybe this one "I'm old, I'm not going to change", i challenge you to go against that step out on the ledge and continue to unravel the many layers of self,your never to old or to young. "Wherever you go there you are" you can give up as many of the bad habits as you want but you can never give up you. 

Its amazing what your body can do if you allow it to change and give it the chance. Imagine what your mind can achieve...

Alrighty ,thats enough for deep talk on a sunday morning:) Im heading out into the sunshine!

                      

The Green Room

 When I get on the Ellen show I am going to take her through the green room! AH HA you want to know don't cha? Well good, because I'm going to let you in on a little secret , the GREEN ROOM is the best place to go if you are one of those people who have a hard time bending your spine. Upper or lower or middle for that matter you don't bend there. Well you do but it takes work, trust me.

Cathy Grant a student and protege' of Joseph Pilates, Grant taught the Pilates method for more than fifty years. She as I understand it was a teacher of magnitude that was so enraptured by the rhythm of her students in her classes she could make a dozen people change their body with one image, so she didn't have to talk as much, smart lady. Grant quite smartly came up with the "green room" and if your not familiar with the proper term it is a place where dancers or performers go to prep for the open curtain call. In Grant's "green room" it is the stuck or weak spot in your body, mostly we refer to it while doing roll downs, rolling like a ball, or any exercises really, that can create spinal flexion.  Try it now!!  My teacher for a whole hour pretty much, had me do this working through my three green rooms, yeah there are three rooms in my spine 3,5, and 7. So how about you get down on the floor in this position

 okay great so your here, now take a few deep breaths inhaling letting the ribs fill lifting the cage off 

your waistline, exhale keep the ribs lifted pull the organs in and up "scoop" allowing for space for the 

spine to bend and decompress. Thinking about your tailbone being one and the crown of the head 

being ten start slowly rolling down to your mat. Keep your head in the roll ...when you come to a tight 

spot that doesn't feel like bending stop . roll back up from there. continue again, slowly working down 

and back up stopping at each "green room". When you finish you will feel like gumby and on your 

way to a healthier, flexible spine, like me!

on a side note, Super Excited to go see my friend Auras show tomorrow night check it out here!!

http://www.aurafischbeck.com/Aura_Fischbeck_Dance/Welcome.html  

copy and paste into your url.

 yay AURA!

Full Expression

 I do apologize for the space that has been happening between my posts, sorry I will try to be more on top my writing game here. A little run down on my last two weeks quick and light...boyfriend came into town, house sat for some good friends, took some much needed down time(pros and cons), auditioned with my sister for the amazing race, lost job because of it ( a blessing i am no ones ass shiner butt my own, if ya know what i mean) , interviewed for better job feeling good about it, and now until i know have more time for what i really want PILATES. I cannot wait for the day when that is all i get to do for a money maker something I love, something I really believe in, something that helps you and me.

   Coming into weekend three after knowing how hard weekend two was for me was really daunting. My fellow classmates and i have been able to spend more time together recently in classes, skills workshops, and now lectures. Having their support and being able to see them move and talk about the challenges we come across in learning, practice, and teaching is so great to helping better understand the work and better yet the full expression of what Pilates can really mean for every individual.

I am so excited to be moving into level four work although some of my body still needs to be at a lower level its very satisfactory when you ask your body to do something it responds with readiness and a hopeful willingness. There is always the battle of the wits happening "i feel"anyway with your self or some of you might relate better to good guy, bad guy image, I urge you to put aside both and just listen to your teacher, and then talk to him/her and then listen some more.

Thats it for tonight ya'll Im feeling good, I am feeling light and blessed I hope my message finds you much the same. goodnight!

My heart!

Happenings

Today is I have no idea and when i think about it have no idea how i got here. Things are happening fast and at a speed i have a hard time keeping up with , which is surprising even to myself for I have always been a full throttle kind of a girl. I guess the pace of life has finally caught up to me or I to it?

I have officially started to practice teach a few close friends and will be adding to the list next week. Even though it has been friends the task at hand is daunting. There are many things happening in the human body in one single movement, so many things I could point out, that I want to address and then there is the whole" okay stop talking i just got to get them through this " moment.

It is fascinating working so closely with another humans body. To examine it as it moves and be so close to the sometimes pain it can create, then a little cue is given or changes in the angle of the foot are made and I watch how everything changes in the body at work, watch as the blood is circulated adding color and heat, the pain or tightness melts away, ITS AWESOME!

My friend and co -worker has agreed to be one of my practice clients. After meeting with her for the first time today i could not be happier to her teacher.We are embarking on a great journey together and it will be fascinating for both of us to see the changes that occur, I believe I can provide good guidance and practice to give life back to her feet and hands this is my goal.They say that scars are the road map to the soul... in life and in Pilate's the feet are the atlas to the body. What we do to and how we use our feet has a direct correlation to what happens in our bodies, often times and Ive said it before buts its the things that need the extra special attention that hardly get any attention. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR FEET.

On another more personal note the man in my life came back into my life four days ago. Oh there is so much to say but like the feet its hard to find the time, the strength, the energy, to just put in that extra oomph to make it a little bit better for yourself. Where is the balance in this chaotic life ? Where do we let go? What do we hold on to ? How do we make another mind understand? My friend said to me tonight and I loved it . She said that just like Pilate's you have to be gentle , time is a must, and some days your body is not going to do or move as you wish but you focus ,you let go of the desire to force the control , you let go and breathe knowing tomorrow is another day. 

HUH?

Totally how i felt after just finishing up my second round of lectures for my Pilates Teacher Training program.

I am surrounded by all these amazing people who ask these pro-found questions, speak this magical anatomical language and whose bodies move in this beautiful arrangement of bones and muscles under skin, and then some where over in the corner wrapped up in her frustrated tight lil body is me. Now I know this sounds very self deprecating but hey truth is truth and feelings are feelings , right? I have been practicing Pilate's for what? four months now and at first because my body was so new to me it was like an exciting ball of wonder opening up every time i had a session. Four months in, that's exactly what i am IN. In my body to the point where every move i make consumes me. Where are my bones here? when i walk what are my toes doing? where is my head? how am i breathing? should i be doing this? could this make this better? etc.. you get the picture. I have never felt so completely self involved as i do right now.Self Involved. Good thing? Bad thing? or is it a thing at all? Perhaps i should  change my words "self involved" to awareness, or mindfulness... after all the mind is powerful how we perceive something makes a huge impact on how we react to that something, oh bother.

I believe in this practice so much. I have seen the meaning behind the exercises that Joseph Pilates created to help us all lead healthier , happier, more fulfilled lives and I want it, ewww I want it bad, but it is the hardest thing I have taken on since , well since ever. Even all the tears I shed on the beach while learning to surf, just getting myself out past the break doesn't even cut into this cake. Surfing happened for me after a year of crying , getting back out there, getting broken down, and swimming out again, it came to me and changed my life, pilates is now my surfing.

They say the things that are worth it never come easy, or something like that, well darn if it isn't true. I have finally come to place where I have allowed myself to love again, after re finding the self love i needed to move on from a painful past. Now is where all the love unfolds accepting of love, imperfections and finding the strength to carry it on, in every aspect of my life and in yours. Walking away is easy but what do you get? Emptiness. Patience and persistence are harder but what is gained? Everything!

At the end of the day though, really and truly all you have to do is BREATHE. My very good friend reminded me of this after a very hard last day. My bitch hiccup was lasting way to long so we hopped on the reformer and after breathing through the first five exercises i was able to stand up and be me, and just be with acceptance that this is where i am right now, and its okay. So ill say it again because its important. At the end of the day, JUST BREATHE.

so many quotes come to mind, but there is only one word I need PERSEVERANCE.

Hannah Lioness in Training

BELLY

I stopped to observe a squirrel on my walk home today, oh how badly I wanted to be that squirrel. Observing it at a fairly close distance, I could tell it was happy bouncing around the tree squatting in a sunny bark patch checking me out as I checked it out. I cant tell you for sure maybe it was the rough lesson i had just gone through, or the fact that I feel like a mole these days, but I felt jealousy for that nut chaser.

Ah yes, the rough lesson. I have been practicing on the regular since the end of October, Pilates I mean. I came in with a body strong and smart but not very connected. One of my weakest findings or connections I will better state is my abdominals. Looking at my abdominals I dont think you would think i am weak in that area but its all superficial strength the real strength comes from deep within.  I have a hard time getting there and its mostly because my breathing habits have been how shall i say it...productive to the utilization of reaching deep.

The motion inhale draw the rib cage up and out fill the cavity with air, exhale keep the ribs in place squeeze the air from the lungs every drop as if your wringing out a sponge, naturally the ribs will be pulled down, not in down and the organs will be squeezed like the end of the toothpaste tube up underneath the ribs. While this breathing pattern is going on you are moving in and out of the exercises Joseph Pilates formulated for us to begin our transformation into a uniformly developed body, ITS FLIPPING HARD!  Funny enough too the simpler the move the harder the inner body works and finding connections is some of the hardest brain work i have done to date.

My teacher and I worked on my belly and breathing allot today and what I discovered in myself is that I feel allot above and below my belly but when it comes to feeling my mid section its hard, its a hard numb platform. So my amazing teacher gave me some homework from this day forward I am my belly. My thoughts will be formulated from my belly not my brain, my vision is from my belly, not my eyes, i feel, move,and breathe my belly. 

Irony

Funny enough the day after my last post about control, i was tried by the universal court.

The next morning i was feeling run down, pre-menstraul, and my nose was itching. Everything went astray. My bike tires were flat, people honked at me, the bart was crowded and sneezing, the bus was complicated and late, and I actually shed tears on the bus, nothing was in my control and I just wanted it all to be perfect. After, shedding my tears, I exited the bus, hopped on my bike and started laughing as I pedaled towards to my class. After all what am I to do?

When feeling trapped and unmoving in your daily life, try this. Turn your face to the sun and breath deeply, then relax your shoulders and ground your feet.
We are like the flowers, delicate and proud all we have to do is let go and there will be new ground to be opened.