A Good New Year

When my friends say "L'shanah tova" to me, it strikes me that they are saying "A good year," not "Happy New Year." I am thinking today about what a good year might be. What is the good life? What goodness do I want to bring to my work, my play, my home? What goodness do I want to surround myself with? Good thoughts, good health, good food, good music, good fun, good service. To all who read this, I wish for you a year filled with goodness and health.

High School Hamstrings

My work in assisting high school yoga classes is showing me how tight teenage hamstrings are. Teens feel stress from the outside and the inside and that is reflected in their flexibility. The short hamstring issue is more intense for the young men and for the more athletic in the group. The challenge is to accept your body wherever it is right now today and receive the many benefits yoga movements can bring you. If touching the floor in a forward bend is not happening for you today, hold your opposite elbows in your hands and let the weight of your upper body and gravity provide the gentle stretch you need to elongate your spine and hamstrings. Exhale in a big sigh. Release the weight of your head. Enjoy your yoga.

Breathe Move Dance

The name of my new web site is a mantra for me and my students, reminding me to keep on breathing, moving, and dancing, no matter what. I just picked up the new issue of Boom Magazine, a section of a free weekly here in the Berkshires, featuring people over 50 who sing and dance. It's exciting to see one of my pictures taken by my Yoga Ed colleague Scott Kaplan featured. We all have a responsibility to sing and dance every day -- no excuses.

My new web site

I first started thinking about this web site years ago to help me keep track of all the things I do. I have been a teacher for my whole adult life, and now that I'm retired, I'm still teaching. I teach kids, teens, adults, and other teachers. It's always a cyclical process of participating, observing, experimenting, refining, reviewing, reflecting. The next time you begin again to participate, you are acting and observing from a different place.

my first blog entry

Howdy,

Welcome to the blog section on my new website: www.breathemovedance.com and thanks for visiting. This is my first entry as I'm still learning the ropes! Check back soon for some really engaging info!