Anatomy Class
July 22
Denman Island
Stormy muted colours have given way to brilliance, layers have been shed and this morning's yoga had a cheerier tone thanks to the grace of morning sun streaming into the studio. We enjoy regular visits from the tiny deer who relish the many fruit trees on the property. This morning Gaert had a few in rapt attention as she sang to them -- their huge ears perked. I wish I could shoot off a cyber blast of the wonderful cedar aroma that constantly infuses my days. Besides the living trees of the forest, they have milled their own wood from the property for use in building for the school and there are stacks of freshly cut cedar outside the studio. The forest path to my tent is covered in cedar chips and moss. Add to that the ubiquitous sweetgrass, pine and general lushness from the long rainy season and the potpourri is simply exquisite. My lungs and skin are drinking it up. The redness and puffiness around my left eye from the spider bite of a week or so ago is finally fading.
Classes with Fiona have been grounding and meditative as we delve inwardly to sense what our bodies are feeling and how they respond to various movements and kinds of touch. This attention is also similarly given to sensing the needs of the person we are working on. I am also appreciating the formal opportunities to focus on my emotional state from moment to moment. Fiona stresses the importance of being present first with ourselves and then with the receiver of our bodywork. She encourages us to set an intention of highest good prior to giving a treatment and tells how she likes to make a prayer of protection both for herself and her client prior to beginning. We trade giving and receiving roles typically twice in the day, so I am veritably soaking in a bodywork spa, enjoying the attentions of both other students and Fiona's experienced touch for long periods of each day. I try to maintain a student's awareness of what I'm feeling as receiver but sometimes I just drift right out of consciousness. It's a nice break in the midst of all this focussed attentiveness. This whole experience really feels like such a gift to myself.
I partnered today with a quiet, seemingly emotionally vulnerable woman with large, kind blue eyes. She has confessed her difficulty in being touched and explained that her senses sometimes seem to shut off when she is doing the touching. I've enjoyed the tender experience of trying to invite her into trust with my hands and my energy. Brave of her to be here at all. Despite her wateriness, she is one of the many Sagittarians that we've discovered make up this veritable Sag convention!
I'm loving how there is such a blend of these somewhat esoteric, spiritual aspects of the work with the more empirical elements of anatomy, kinesiology and, to some extent, psychology. It is a very holistic approach. Willo's anatomy class is kept entertaining with imaginative storytelling and a variety of teaching methods and resources.
Kelly in the greenhouse which attaches to the studio (that's a nectarine tree at back left)
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