Rainy Day

Here I am at the end of my day watching Jesse call the 24 hour Veterinarian to come and pick up an old dog that has wandered onto the Villa grounds. We think it was hit by a car... sad sad day.


Today was a rainy colder day. We started on voice with Kevin. We began in partners, one laying on your front on the ground, the other rubbing up from the heels to the head three times, then sweeping down while the one on the ground lets out an 's' during the out breath. Next the one on the floor turns on their back and their partner takes their leg, moving it about unpredictably but softly, so they can be sure they have the whole weight of the leg. We continued this leg manipulation until we put both legs up, holding the ankle, and swinging the pelvis gently above the ground while the one on the floor finds a deep hum. Then the partner slowly pulls and lowers the legs, stopping everytime the person on the floor takes a breath, then the partner holding the heels right above the floor gives their partner a little side to side wiggle. To finish this series the partner puts the other person's feet on the ground and does some acupressure against the balls of their feet.

We worked on what we like to call the rolly spine stretch. This is very nice for a body awakening tool. We went straight into a pilates like move Bob calls the rising sun sternum. We begin by sitting with our feet planted on the floor leaning back on our hands on the floor behind us. The motion starts with the tipping of the pelvis, then the lower ribs, to the sternum, to the chin and reverse down. This is a great stretchy massage for your spine and promotes awareness of your torso.

Next we started on straw work. This is something I did quite frequently with my voice teacher and find very helpful when looking to float my sound on the air (which should be always). From this we moved back into Ro Ro Ro going lower we began singing Holiness then into I Am The King while strutting about the room into I am the Giant of this Land and picking someone up. To finish our class today we did some Vocal Stir Fry. This is a great little massage for your vocal chords.

In movement today we began working on the Feldenkrais starting on the floor and then moving into walking. The different discoveries I find in my body using this technique are very interesting for me and I look forward to working with it more. Remember, who's the driver?!

Next we did a short piece of Yoga before we started on partner side rolls. Then we kept our partner as a bench and bent over our partner while bringing one knee up then going back into a tripod headstand and then over. With both of these exercises you want to make sure to give your weight to your partner and use the opening of the legs to help control your balance. To finish our day we did our stretching routine.

I know I promised a headstand picture, but it just wasn't possible today. I will have one tomorrow for you.