September brings birthdays and travels

At the beginning of September there's a string of manly birthdays in our family. Sept 2nd is Eder's, the 4th is my dad's (he would have been 78 this year), and Courtney's is the 6th. On the 2nd we had a family birthday party for Eder in their backyard. Eder's dad Arnoldo barbecued meats and we all brought yummy stuff and it was a good time. We made it Courtney's party too because I was going to be in CA on the 6th.

What!?! you say. Didn't you just get back from CA?!? Well, yes, but it wasn't my fault that I had to take two vacations, one right after another. My Rosen teacher made me do it!

Jane Malek, who travels the world teaching people how to teach Rosen Movement classes (my post from Feb 24th explains everything, if you've forgot what Rosen is all about), opened a Rosen Center in PG this year. In order to become a certified Rosen Movement teacher I have to take five intensives, and so I went for my second of five. It just happened to be scheduled right after we'd already made a trip to CA and started right on Courtney's birthday.

Oh well, I love traveling so much that it worked fine for me to hop on that shuttle, then the plane, then another shuttle and voila!! I was back in my old "hometown" of Pacific Grove! And where I get to stay plays a big part of why I'm so willing to do these intensives: one of my favorite places on the planet is my friends Margot and Allen's house.

There's something so cozy and yummy and wonderful about being in their home. And part of it is that our friend Kerry lives in the studio apartment attached to their house. So there's always a bit of a slumber party feeling to being there. Plus Margot is the one who got me started on Rosen, and we take the intensives together, which makes them doubly fun.




The photo above shows our fearless leader Jane on the left of "our class guest" and Kate to the right. Kate is a Rosen Movement teacher and physical therapist in a small town just south of the Bay Area.

And below are our classmates and dance partners minus Robin from Watsonville and myself.

The intensives are taught in a beautiful, as you can see, dance studio called "Shall We Dance" in downtown PG. It's upstairs, has high ceilings, tall windows looking out to the Monterey Bay, rich colors on the walls, elegant but comfortable. It's a pretty fabulous place to spend five days, stretching and dancing and learning.




Have you ever seen a cuter bunch?!? Over our five days together I grew to love these women and really value my time with them. And after five days of doing Rosen my body felt very different, in a way that made me want to be consistent with my Rosen practice. I also felt reassured that I want to teach Rosen Movement and thought of new and exciting venues for my classes.



Besides all the amazing things I learned about the body and how it moves and responds, all kinds of little miracles accompanied our classes. Just one I'll share. The first day Jane announced that she'd met this very gifted woman who plays over a hundred different kinds of flutes from all over the world--many made and used by indigenous people, and especially healers. She's an intuitive and plays what she feels people are unconsciously inviting in or asking for. Her name is Maria and Jane invited her to play for us and we could move to her music or just relax and listen.

After Maria finished playing I suddenly realized that I had heard her music before. I asked if she had put flowers at a gazebo last Memorial Day weekend for a man whose ashes were scattered there. (It was my sister's idea to ask a friend to do that.) Maria was of course stunned, but replied yes, that she was at a gathering with her friend Kerry that evening. Kerry had mentioned that she needed to get to the gazebo to put flowers there for a friend in memory of her father before it got dark. Maria had volunteered to take the flowers for her. Maria asked "You're Kerry's friend?!" Yep. It's that small world thing.

So then Maria told us all how she had swung by her house on the way to the gazebo and picked up a flute and her recorder. She recorded the words she said in Dad's honor--that what she knew of him was that he was loved by his family and remembered--and then played her hauntingly beautiful flute music and left flowers from Kerry's garden. She then emailed the recording to Kerry who forwarded it to me.

That's how my Rosen Intensive began.


Meanwhile, when class would end each day, Margot and I would head home, rest, then pop that beer, start dinner and launch into intense discussion about, not Rosen, but...Sarah Palin! Everyone in the household was so traumatized by what she stands for that and the sensation she had become, try as we may, we couldn't stray far from the topic. She had us by the throat!

But Margot and Allen turned me on to Jon Stewart, and humor heals. No matter how much of a twitter we worked ourselves into, Jon made us laugh, and then off we went to sleep. Hooray for TV (did I really say that!?!) and especially for Jon Stewart.


In these treacherous election campaigning times, when emotions are running high and fear and loathing of "the other" has too many of us engaged, the poetry of Hafiz, the great Sufi master, is grounding and very helpful. (I'm saying this more to myself than anyone else. My emotions can get maxed out these days and I'm often having to calm and re-focus myself.)

Hafiz, the great Sufi master, says:

If God invited you to a party and said,
"Everyone in the ballroom tonight will be my special guest,"
How would you then treat them when you arrived?
Indeed! indeed!
And Hafiz knows there is no one in this world
Who is not upon His jeweled dance floor.


With that in mind--thank you, Hafiz--goodnight and blessings to you all,

Valori