Notes

August 2010

And then suddenly there is fall in the air: the nights are cooler, though still lit up by the moon, and the girls wearing long sleeve shirts in the morning on the way to school. And it was only 2 weeks ago that the tomatoes appeared on the farmers market!

Heading into the fall, I am getting my yoga CD ready, and enjoy my new office space for the Alexander Technique sessions, I am giving. www.healingforalignment.com

Emotions: yes, we all have them. Fall seems to bring out more fluctuations in many of us. There is the growing awareness of life as a cycle that includes death, when we watch nature turning the corner from the abundance of summer blooming to the first signs of retrieving the energy to direct it inward in preparation for the cold seasons ahead. The temptation to feel restrained by circumstances rather then embracing the opportunity to bring more care and nurturing back inside, inside our soul, our body, our house, our garden: a good time to literally clean out corners in the house that we have overlooked for a while. To drink in the sunlight more deeply and then bring that warmth to our tasks, to bring creativity and inner wisdom to our work and our home life. And have a good cup of hot tea!

I do 12 sun salutations in the early morning, slowly and with leisure at first, consciously creating feelings of appreciation and gratitude for this or that, ordinary things: my fern in the window. my cup of tea. the sunrise. my dog lying on my yoga mat. my children still asleep. And, of course: my body, that it will perform these movements and I can soften into those places that may ache or feel stiff. My mind wants to go all over the place, the way minds like to wander. Even that, I appreciate. It almost feels as if I am mothering myself. It helps me: coming down to make breakfast for the family, I feel better equipped to be a mother to my children, one they might like to have breakfast with... one day at a time!

July 2010

This year our summer is marvelous: a long, cool spring with lots of rain and storms brought us more vegetation then we had in the past couple of years, and now that it�s summer the town looks green and the roses are big and bushy everywhere. A real treat for us mountain/desert dwellers.

�songs to the earth� is soon going to have a quiet version with changed vocals that will provide the musical space for your yoga or relaxation practice, whatever that is. It has a marvelously lazy rhythm which I found to be perfect for my practice of meditation in movement. The 2 pieces are designed for a �morning practice� and an �evening practice�, each about 25 to 30 minutes long, which is so lovely because it keeps me on the mat for the duration of the time without me having to check the clock - 30 minutes is an ideal amount of time for me to commit to when I have a busy daily schedule.

So stay tuned! I am planning to release the new CD in the early fall, or send me an e-mail if you would like for me to notify you as soon as I have the CD�s out.

I have taken back up my practice of �healing through alignment� again, sharing the wonderful healing I have received now with students who want to work on their physical wellbeing or on their voice. That means: healing sessions through movement and on the massage table. Often we play my music to support the deep relaxation, which occurs, and which I think is the path to healing: relaxing, ever much deeper then we think we can, into ourselves, into our lives, into our connection with the Devine. Into that place where we create our lives, so it seems, where we are at home with ourselves. Where we are the Devine. Those are precious moments which bring grace to my days.

I also had a couple of teenagers I have been singing with, 14 year olds who are discovering their voices. Their ability to focus has grown so much and their will to move beyond themselves and express, share themselves intimately through this art form is so refreshing to experience. What sweet and open voices. What a great age! I am letting myself be inspired by those young people, they have a playfulness underneath that teenage attitude which comes out in those singing lessons, something I delight in.

Bees � a new addition to the family: a beehive in the backyard. I initially got them because I�ve always loved bees and always felt somewhat frightened. I thought that having a hive will help me overcome that � well, I am working on it. I love them! They are so docile and busy, the girls, so that I can really drop my fear bit by bit each time I go and check on them or sit with them or sing with them. And, of course, they also provided me with a challenge right away, building their hive in my top bar set- up exactly not the way they were supposed to. In the course of handling that situation I also met Voyce sensei, a wonderful woman who works with bee-sting therapy, called Hoshindo. A sacred healing art, working wonders with the help of the bees. Hoshindo Healing Arts Institut, Wingtouch Healing Arts* (505) 984-1900

Favorite summer activities: riding my bicycle to the farmers market � or riding it around town. Going up into the mountains for walks. Sitting on the terrace in the evening with family members or friends for a relaxed dinner. Lying on my yoga mat in �restorative� yoga poses!!! Writing 3 �morning pages� into a journal. Singing at sunset. Always.

Have a lovely summer!

December weather:Powdery white mountaintops against soft pink sky in the early morning, one white cloud in the sky, and the trees, the rooftops, the fences and the mailboxes covered in a thick layer of snow. Dogs leaping like dear to make headway, kids thankfully out of school for a day�.

Breast Cancer Diagnosis

This last year has been a period of healing for me: After receiving a breast cancer diagnosis last fall, I've moved through chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, many, many healing sessions and acupuncture and good nutrition and, and, and... love! Maybe the most healing force in this process, the practice of "loving what is" and meeting the world with gratitude has carried me through these months feeling more grounded and happy in my life than ever. The encounters with the many people who accompanied me on this journey were absolutely enlightening: from the care and attention I got from the doctors and nurses in the Santa Fe Cancer Center, which was extraordinary, to the heart warming encounters I had in grocery stores or the bank with complete strangers, willing to give me a smile or an encouraging remark. And then, my dear family and friends, who showed up with soups and stews and love and essential oils.... Maybe we should not have to wait for a crisis to find each other to create a love feast to begin with - a love feast, no less will do.

The Sacredness of each moment

The inner healing experiences were so profound as the sacredness of each moment of my life became more apparent then ever, and I used all spiritual tools I've ever learned on a daily basis with success beyond measure. Yes, it is worth it, all those workshops you have ever taken, they can make a difference in your life! And my financial advice at this time: invest in your loving others and the world actively. It pays off!

Riding my bicycle

Now, I ride my bike again to get to yoga and voice classes, which I teach once a week, enjoying the movement of pushing myself forward on those 2 wheels. I feel in control - very reassuring, and I gratefully indulge in the illusion. I love riding also because it allows me to notice the splendid colors in the gardens I pass by, even the chamiso is wearing it's yellow robe with glamour, and the scent of the fallen leaves in those spots where we have something other the juniper trees, is intoxicating. I notice the care some people give to their little plots of land, the love they put in, which might result in a wild jungle of huge sunflowers, or patches of growth in different shades of grey green, from wild grasses to weeds. Or those gardens kept as tidy and neat as a picture book display. Most apples have fallen off the trees by now; some people still have some tomatoes on the vines which did not yet get zapped by the first snowfall we had last week. I love the fresh scent of the earth, and the song lines and the melodies of my new production �songs to the earth� keep moving through my mind like a gentle breath of air. I love that new CD. It has carried me through the healing. It carries the wonder of the journey I have been on.

�Being� or �doing� and loving it all

At some point we have to commit to �being� alive, and isn't that the moment when it shifts into "doing": manifesting in your actions what we desire and yearn for and love to see around us? I am practicing doing the being, being the doer, and having fun with it all. Like tumbling down a hill in the high grass as a way of moving. The challenge is to maintain that deep connection sculpted by the experiences of the recent past as I dive back into the world and all of its excitements, and producing more music � a new yoga CD is on its way � being a mother of teenagers, teaching classes again and expanding my bodywork practice. In the meantime I celebrate the earth at any opportunity, every day in some small way. I continue the practice of relaxing into healing, generating gratitude, admiring the way nature shifts as the days grow shorter, and the cold finds its way under the skin � learning to love even that experience, for its novelty, perhaps.

And, for the fun of it, here is an exercise:

Instead of waiting for magic to happen in your life, notice wherever it has occurred already: Take some time one day/evening to write about those magical moments you have experienced since you entered this lifetime. Begin your essay with: �I�ve always created magic in my life. I was only 7 years old when�� Remember something magical you experienced or created around the ages of 7, 15, 28, 35, 42, 56, 66, 74, 89, 95�..or any other time of your life. What a harvest! The more you write, the easier it gets to recall this or that seemingly fleeting moment. Take however much time you�d like to take, but be sure to finish it. Finish it by concluding how much magic there has been in your life, and feel into the sense of gratitude and excitement which comes when you note such richness! From that place, reach out to others�. .