M'Illumino

I heart ATS - Tribal Bellydance Intensive

2012-02-01T12:43:00.000-08:00

begins Sunday, February 5, 6:30pm – 8:30pm

February is the month when we focus on love, love, and more love. So if you love ATS/Tribal Group Improv (or want to learn to love it), join us for

I *heart* ATS Month: A Tribal Intensive

two hour workshops every Sunday evening during the month of February, focusing on ATS-based group improvisational bellydance and its fusion offshoots. The workshop intensive is open to all levels and is an ideal supplement to tribal bellydance classes of all styles.

Topics of study will draw from the entire Deep Roots Dance repertoire, which is firmly rooted in FatChance ATS, with Gypsy Caravan influences, and a few twists of our own; as well as related topics in history, costuming, and more.

Full details at http://www.deeprootsdance.com/p/workshops.html

Snow days at m'illumino

2012-01-17T14:15:00.000-08:00

Classes in the Studio are cancelled tonight Tuesday 17, tomorrow Wednesday 18 and also on Thursday 19 morning (the Joy of Being make-up sessions)..

PLAYSHOP with Fred Donaldson

2012-01-12T11:35:00.000-08:00

Original Play connects us all and reminds us that we belong.

Universally understood, true play is transformative,

and teaches kindness.

We're all born ready to play cooperatively with one another, but cultural conditioning reshapes our interactions to competitive contests of winners and losers.

Come re-learn Original Play

and reconnect with your innate sense of loving playfulness.

Original Play is spontaneous, joyful, instinctive play

that helps us feel safe and connected.

O. Fred Donaldson, Ph.D., is the author of Playing by Heart: the Vision and Practice of Belonging. For more than 30 years, Fred has studied the deep patterns of play, pioneering play as an alternative to competition and aggression. Recognized internationally for his research and play with children, adults, at-risk youth and wild animals, Fred's work is featured in the videos The Power of Play (Animal Planet) and The Intelligence of Play (Touch the Future).

Original Playshop $195

Friday, February 3, 6.30 - 8.30 pm

Saturday, February 4, 9.30 - 4.30

(brown bag lunch)

Sunday, February 5, 9.30 - 12.00 noon

Children ages 5-12 welcome to join us Sunday morning for play

*Advanced Original Playshop $85

Sunday, February 5, 1.30 - 5.30 pm

*PRE-REQUISITE ORIGINAL PLAYSHOP

Both Original & Advanced Playshops $245

Questions? Contact Ruth Lorenz (206) 361-1069

or RuthOPlay@gmail.com

FREE New Year Feldenkrais(R) classes Monday 2nd January

2011-12-31T13:53:00.000-08:00

FREE New Year Morning and Evening Feldenkrais classes

Monday 2 January 2012

with LeeAnn Starovasnik, GCFP.

It's the first Monday of the New Year!

How will you move in the direction of this year's intentions, goals or resolutions?

Move into the New Year

with Awareness, Ease, Balance, Power and Grace

Beginning early, LeeAnn will teach 30 minute FREE

Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement(R) classes.

Move into your new year in a new way.

Come on the half hour and stay as long as you like.

7:30 - 8:00am

8:00 - 8:30am

8:30 - 9:00am

9:00 - 9:30am

For those of you who are busy in the morning, come to one of the FREE EVENING Classes

5:30 - 6:00pm

6:00 - 6:30pm

6:30 - 7:00pm

7:00 - 7:30pm

LeeAnn is also offering private sessions ($100 value) on a love offering basis during the day from 11:30 - 5pm on a first come, first serve basis

call to schedule a 30 or 60 minute session - 206-372-8822.

ALL FRIENDS ARE WELCOME!

Reaching Your Life's Potential

2011-12-05T13:02:00.000-08:00

How do we become our true selves and what does it take to get there?

Is there a secret formula for success?

How do you know if you are there already?

In this class these questions will be addressed as we explore the possibilities.

Please join Nicole for an evening of spiritual exploration as she uses her abilities as an intuitive healer to help guide you. Nicole will be giving live intuitive readings.

Nicole Wane, Intuitive and Acupuncturist

Friday December 9 2011

7 - 9 pm

$25

The Three Elements to Healing

2011-11-10T15:43:00.000-08:00

with Nicole Wane, Intuitive and Acupuncturist

Changing your ability to nourish yourself results in understanding the three elements to healing. This class will guide you to understanding just what this means and help you

to connect to your inner wisdom.

Nicole is an Intuitive Healer specializing in helping clients to understand, through spiritual guidance, what it means to heal mind, body and soul,

by aligning with your inner wisdom and your truth.

Friday November 11th

7 - 9 pm $25

Joy of Being (2) - Feldenkrais and the Inner Body

2011-10-26T15:21:00.000-07:00

This is the second in the Joy of Being workshop series which began last July. We'll discover how we see ourselves, others, how we approach the world and how our thoughts about all of that determine our experiences. You are not a collection of bad habits and tendencies that you have to fight with every day of your life! You can access the presence within that gives you peace.

Friday 28 October: Introductions and Feldenkrais: Anatomy of Grace 6.00-9.00 pm

Saturday 29 October: Feldenkrais, Dance, Yoga 9.00 am-12.00 pm

and Water Sense in the therapy pool 2.00-5.00 pm

Sunday 30 October: Aikido: the art of peace, the power of love 9.00 am-12.00 pm

Our themes will be Presence - what does it mean to be present? biography - how does our 'story'

relate to our identity? and Connection - the imperative to stay connected!

with Bridget Thompson

pre-registration required: $200-$250 call Bridget 206 525 0363

Dances of Universal Peace and the Enneagram

2011-10-11T14:04:00.000-07:00

Igniting the Flame of the Heart

Experiencing the Enneagram of the Virtues through the Dances of Universal Peace

with Alia Calendar, Kibriya Renie Hope, N'shama Stirling

The Enneagram provides a map of consciousness to help us better understand ourselves and others. We will focus in depth on the Enneagram of the Virtues. The Virtues are the dynamic expression of truth in the world. Work with the Virtues can create a shift from realization to actualization – the capacity to embody and live the Virtues. This work can open the way for the descent of grace and the conversion of

our hearts.

Through the medium of the Dances of Universal Peace, we move out

of the mode of thinking about the Enneagram into the direct

experience of spiritual presence and intelligence. These dances

are a form of meditation-in-motion, combining simple circle

dances with singing of sacred phrases, honoring the unifying

core of the world’s spiritual traditions.

Friday, October 14, 2011 &

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Friday Evening

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Evening Session

Saturday

9:00 am -5:00 pm

Morning & Afternoon Sessions

$140 regular

$125 early registration

(postmarked by 9/30/2011)

Alia Calendar 206.363.4454

LifeMuse@comcast.net

Run towards optimum movement and joy!

2011-08-02T08:49:00.000-07:00

It's August and the going is good....

This Friday 5th August - and next Friday 12th August!

7.00 - 8.30 pm

An Introductory class with marathon runner Bernhard Schalk, GCFP

Harmonious Running(TM)

Whether you are a longtime runner, never thought you could be a runner, or a 'wanna be' safe runner after injury, come and discover how to

*improve biomechanics that you see (on video) and feel

*reduce stress and risk of injury

*improve ease and enjoyment of running

This introduction to Harmonious Running provides an opportunity to experience its benefits in a group setting - you will learn how to move toward fun, effective, easy running.

Bernhard is teaching a weekend workshop too later in the month. This Introductory event is $15 registration, and free with a workshop registration.

m'illumino, 206 525 0363 or info@m-illumino.com - we'd love to see you!

The Joy of Being, Feldenkrais and the Inner Body

2011-07-19T15:47:00.000-07:00

Bridget Thompson's workshop is coming up at the end of July - early bird rate extended -

A workshop dedicated to discovering what Eckhart Tolle calls the inner body (The Power of Now, 1999) - a state of quiet receptivity, spaciousness, and presence that reveals your unwavering capacity for connection to Self and environment. It is this connectedness, the continuous and permanent awareness of your inner body that not only deepens but transforms your life.

Friday July 29th

6 - 9 pm

Introductions and Feldenkrais: Anatomy of Grace

Saturday July 30th

9am - 12pm CenterWork (organizing the core for strength, vitality and clear expression) and Feldenkrais and Yoga

2 - 5 pm

Water Sense (floating the inner body in the therapy pool at m'illumino)

Sunday July 31st

9am - 12pm

Aikido: the Art of Peace, the Power of Love

Dancing the Anatomy of Grace in Community

email info@m-illumino.com or call 206 525 0363 for information or to register

New Pool Page

2011-06-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

If you haven't stopped by for a session in the water yet, do! And also check out our new pool page--with photos!

Water Sense at m'illumino

2011-06-15T11:15:00.000-07:00

Water Sense: Anatomy of Grace in the Pool at m'illumino
with Bridget Thompson

Touch the elemental waters!

Supported in the water by the practitioner you are guided through fluent movement combinations to restore your joints for balance, alignment and coordination--for grace and presence.

Group Class
Thursday 6:30-7:30pm--space is limited, registration required
6 weeks for $120, June 16 to July 21

Private Session available by appointment, $90

"You are like Rilke's swan in his awkward waddling across the ground. The swan doesn't cure his awkwardness by beating himself on the back, by moving faster, or by trying to organize himself better. He does it by moving toward the elemental
water where he belongs. It is the simple contact with the water that gives him
grace and presence. You only have to touch the elemental waters in your own
life, and it will transform everything." -- David Whyte "Crossing the Unknown Sea"

The Pool at m'illumino: Re-Opening June 6th!

2011-06-03T20:47:00.000-07:00

Have you missed your sessions in the water? Never tried a session in the water?

Well now is your chance because the Pool at m'illumino is re-opening on June 6th and will remain open through the summer.

Our practitioners include:
Laura Srygley
Sharon MacTavish
Bridget Thompson

Click here to read more about our practitioners. More information about the pool coming soon!

Open House! May 21st 10am-2pm

2011-05-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

Saturday, May 21 - 10:00am-2:00pm -- free!

Please join us for free classes and mini-sessions (complete schedule below)--teachers and practitioners will be on hand to answer questions, schedule appointments and tell you all about the place!

10:40-11am Nicole Wane: Acupuncture, Reiki, Energy Intuition

11:10-11:30am Jason Rumohr: Walking from Structural Integration Perspective

11:40am-12pm Bridget Thompson: Slide show from Italy, April 2011

12:10-12:30pm Sharie Bowman: Intro to InterPlay

12:40-1pm LeeAnn Starovasnik: Everyday Ease in Gardening™.

1:40-2pm Bridget Thompson: Feldenkrais®: Anatomy of Grace

Individual Mini-Sessions:
10am-11am Bridget Thompson
12pm-1:30pm Jason Rumohr
...and more!

Ever wanted to see inside the retreat cottage? Tours of the cottage will be happening throughout the day.

Read more about our teachers here.
Read more about our practitioners here.

Free Friday--May 13th!

2011-05-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

Free Friday, May 13th 2011 7-8:30pm

Intro to Bellydance with Shay Moore

Bellydancers... Perhaps you have seen them at festivals or in restaurants, or have been intrigued by some videos on YouTube. Maybe you have even played with some videos at home. But whenever or wherever you see them, there is some part of you that thinks "That would be fun to try someday." Well that day is Friday, May 13th, and the place is at m'illumino in Roosevelt. And the cost is nada, zilch, zero. In short: free!

One of Seattle's most beloved bellydance instructors is teaching a completely free workshop in beginning bellydance. Come and learn some of the basic skills which are the foundation of those bellydance performances you have enjoyed watching all this time. It's time to get in there and shimmy. Join us!

Shay will also be leading 2 workshops in May and another in June. To read about those, click here.

To read more about our teachers and classes, click here.

Pictures from Italy

2011-04-20T14:07:00.000-07:00

Some gorgeous photos from Italy where Bridget is teaching!

More Photos!

2011-04-20T14:00:00.002-07:00

New Class Times!

2011-04-11T13:29:00.000-07:00

We hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful sun we've been having here and there! It seems Spring is starting to emerge.

We have a couple of class time changes:
Tuesday's Tribal Bellydance with Shay Moore is now 7:00-8:00pm
Thursday's Awareness Through Movment(R) with LeeAnn Starovasnik is now 5:30-6:30pm

Keep your eye out for new classes in May!

Thank You!

2011-03-30T12:38:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who attended Bridget's workshop last weekend! Thanks to you, we were able to make a donation to the American Red Cross for disaster relief following the earthquake in Japan and the Pacific Tsunami. More information about the American Red Cross can be found here.

Bridget's classes will resume in May, but in the meantime, check out some of our other fantastic classes here.

An Intensive and Benefit for Japan

2011-03-22T11:26:00.000-07:00

As most of you know Bridget will be away for a whole month beginning early April – her classes and individual sessions will start up again on Monday May 9^th and she will be teaching through the summer this year, adding some evening classes and periodic workshops!

The first of these workshops is coming up on Saturday 26^th March. A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross and/or Doctors Without Borders to benefit Japan.

An Intensive and Benefit for Japan

Saturday 26^th March 2011

9.30 am – 12.30 pm

at m’illumino

Feldenkrais: Anatomy of Grace – effortlessness and awareness

Feldenkrais: CenterWork and Yoga – conditioning, organizing the core

Renaissance dance – artistry, expression and form in community

Embodiment of language – words matter

register by Wednesday 23^rd March $55

at the door $65

No experience necessary

There will be handouts….

Please come! You, our world, our Earth will benefit.

To register, email info@m-illumino.com or call (206) 525-0363.

No Awareness Through Movement(R) Class This Evening

2011-03-21T12:54:00.001-07:00

This evening's Awareness Through Movement class taught by LeeAnn Starovasnik is canceled. Class will resume next week on March 28th. This won't affect Thursday's Awareness Through Movement class which is indeed happening. Happy Spring!

Spirituality and the Body: An Embodied Vision of Unfolding Humanity

2011-03-14T12:09:00.001-07:00

As a part of Russell Delman's The Embodied Life--Movement, Meditation and Guided Inquiry workshop this weekend, he is giving at talk at m'illumino.

The Friday evening talk is Spirituality and the Body: An Embodied Vision of Unfolding Humanity ". In this talk, Russell will address:

New ways of imagining the body (the body is much more than the stuff inside your skin)
How embodiment is connected to BEING
The connection between effortless presence, here and now, and bodily awareness
Understanding how the experience of unconditional Love is connected to living an Embodied Life.

For those not attending the weekend workshop there is a suggested $10 donation for the Friday evening talk.

Introductory Evening - Friday, March 18, 7-8:30 pm
Location - M'illumino
6921 Roosevelt Way NE
Seattle, WA 98115

For more information, contact LeeAnn Starovasnik LeeAnn@NextStepConsultingInc.com or 206-372-8822.

Last Chance for Bridget's Classes and Sessions Before Italy!

2011-03-09T12:46:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, Bridget is leading an amazing program in Italy next month--to read more about it, please visit the Anatomy of Grace Blog. In the meantime, she is teaching through the end of March:

Feldenkrais(R) and Yoga, Monday 9:30-10:45am
Feldenkrais: Anatomy of Grace, Tuesday 9:-15-10:30am
Bold Ballet, Tuesday 10:45am-12pm
CenterWork, Wednesday 10-11:15am

Bridget is taking appointments for individual sessions too. Call or email for more information or to book a convenient time!

To read more about Bridget and her classes, click here.

Bridget will be gone for the month of April and will resume teaching in May. Please call or email if you have questions!

Balance In Action™ -- Part One of the Free Friday Series

2011-02-21T15:12:00.000-08:00

Announcing our Free Fridays Series!

Once a month, we ask our one of our teachers to present the work they do to the community. The first in our series is this Friday, February 25th, 7-9pm in the studio at m'illumino.

LeeAnn Starovasnik will be teaching Balance In Action(TM), an introduction to somatic education and the Feldenkrais(R) method. Through this experiential workshop, you will learn to embody more balance, ease, and freedom in movement--join us!

Please call or email to save your place!

To read more about LeeAnn and her classes, click here.

Purcell's Indian Queen

2011-02-20T12:15:00.000-08:00

Our very own Bridget Thompson is dancing in a special performance presented by the Early Music Guild of Purcell's Indian Queen. Click here for complete details!

Thursday, February 24, Friday February 25, Saturday February 26, 2011
7:30 at The Chapel at the Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Avenue North.
Tickets: $25 general, $20 senior, $10 student

Tickets are available through the Early Music Guild website. Hope to see you there!

Successful Open House

2011-02-16T13:17:00.000-08:00

The Open House on Saturday was a success! We had lots of new people through our doors, as well as those who have been coming here for some time.

If you didn't get a chance to stop by, now is the perfect time to try out one of our classes or individual sessions. Our teachers and practitioners are here for you!

Check back for information about our Free Fridays Program--the first one is February 25th!--and information coming about our next Open House!

m'illumino Open House -- Saturday February 12th

2011-02-07T15:28:00.000-08:00

10am-2pm

Join us for free sample classes, short sessions and refreshments! Stop by, meet our teachers and practitioners, try a class, have some tea!

classes in the studio:

10:10-10:30am Body Mind Centering with Doug McKenzie

10:40-11:00am Nia with Susan Blair

11:10-11:30am Tribal Bellydance with Shay Moore

11:40-12:00pm CenterWork with Bridget Thompson and Vaula Torkkola

12:10-12:30pm Awareness Through Movement™ with LeeAnn Starovasnik

12:40-1:00pm Bold Ballet with Bridget Thompson

1:10-1:30pm InterPlay, with Sharie Bowman

1:40-2:00pm Anatomy of Grace with Bridget Thompson

sessions Rooms 1 and 3:

10:00am-12:00pm Feldenkrais® Functional Integration with LeeAnn Starovasnik

12:00-2:00pm Hellerwork Structural Integration with Jason Rumohr

10:00am-12:00pm Reiki and Source Connection Therapy with Diane Ho

Classes Update

2011-01-24T14:46:00.000-08:00

Have you checked out our classes yet?

Awareness Through Movement(TM) with LeeAnn Starovasnik
7:00-8:00pm Mondays--5 classes for $75

Nia with Susan Blair
6:00-7:00 Tuesdays--$15/class

Tribal Bellydance with Shay Moore
7:30-8:30 Tuesdays

Moving Meditation with Bridget Thompson
9:30-9:50am Wednesdays--Free!

CenterWork with Vaula Torkkola and Bridget Thompson
10:00-11:15am Wednesdays--5 classes for $75

See our full class list here.

Open House Reminder

2011-01-06T18:51:00.001-08:00

Hello All,

I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to the New Year!

I just wanted to send out a quick reminder that Bridget is having an open house for her classes on Saturday January 8^th from 10am-12:30pm. It will be a perfect opportunity to try out Bridget’s classes and get a feel for the direction we are heading here at m’illumino.

It would be wonderful if you can make it (and bring your friends—the classes are free and we will have tea!).

Warmly,

Bryony

Open House - Jan 8th

2011-01-04T10:00:00.000-08:00

Life is so short, we should all move slowly Thich Nhat Han, Zen monk

Please come and join me for a wonderful morning of beautiful movement – m’illumino, Saturday 8^th January 10.00 – 12.30

I’ll be teaching a sampler of my classes: movement meditation, Anatomy of Grace, and Bold Ballet:Begin it Now

Bring your friends and everyone interested. Tea and treats and time for questions, discussion and commentary. No cost.

Experience grace, beauty, poise, and balance!

wishing you joy, comfort and ease in 2011 –

Bridget

umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu
'I am because we are'

The Power of Presence

2008-05-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

by Bridget Thompson
What makes you feel present?
Are you ever aware of not being present?

I had a dance teacher who as he watched me dance told me every time I ‘disappeared’. It was a complete mystery to me what he meant. I felt the same from one moment to the next. I was there, wasn’t I? Executing the steps, moving across that floor in that room – how could I disappear? He also told me that I was a beautiful dancer with fluid movement and gorgeous line – but he didn’t choose me to be in his performing company. He did ask me to help distribute flyers, drive him to the airport, bounce ideas around, collect props and fabric for costumes and deliver press releases.

Since then I’ve learned something about appearing and disappearing. When I saw him again a year ago, I drove him to the airport (our special ritual). He gave me a hug and said something like ‘It’s so good to have something to wrap my arms around – you’re still the same and yet feel much more substantial. I used to hug a fragile, elusive Bridget. I was always afraid that, ghost-like, you’d pass right through me, and I’d lose you.’
There are still occasions when I feel invisible. I speak and nobody responds, or I make some comment to contribute to the discussion and after a split second pause, somebody changes the subject. But I can tell when I am doing my old disappearing act. I find that when I need to, I can hide but still be present to myself.

When I am present I feel: substantial, strong, resilient, responsive, caring, open, ready, vibrant, active, in relationship, connected, heart-centered, immune to criticism, the Life shines through me.

When I disappear it’s sometimes subtle, other times not so subtle, but I feel: the need for your approval, defensive, faintly confused and vague. At worst I feel weak, hurt, breathless, small, withdrawn, pale, retreating way back inside my head, scared and vulnerable.

One of the most valuable tools for discovering presence has been my exploration of natural law. The primary natural law is one we all have to experience at the moment of birth. After approximately 9 months of perfect paradise, where we float in warm ocean, ever nourished and protected, the sound of love reverberating through our developing self, we emerge head first into a whole new world. We have no choice but to orient ourselves in gravity and very soon after that, the second natural law draws us to orient ourselves in space as we turn towards love and nourishment in the form of mother.

The environment outside the womb is utterly different and yet, if all goes well we continue to experience love.

As babies our work is exploring our relationship to gravity and space. Curiosity, playfulness, and sensory awareness lead us to experiment and persevere until one day we stand, walk and eventually, in a very non-linear way, we become more or less independent. Along the way for a variety of reasons we rely on others for support, to make us feel better, to show us, rescue us, heal us, to give our lives meaning, to make us feel loved. We begin to live outside the law and as a result, believe we are disconnected from ourselves, others and our world. This leads to stress, distress, tension, discord, disease – and disappearance.

Remembering, re-discovering and experiencing our weight on the earth, our weight supported through our bones, literally evokes the feeling of love, just as we felt it enfolded in our mother’s arms. We experience a kind of awakening, a re-emergence of self, a strengthening presence.

Awareness through Movement® gives you, time and again, the opportunity to experience yourself present and connected through movement explorations in the field of gravity, which increases your capacity for learning about yourself. Over and over again, as you sense the life-giving experience of your place in the world, your self emerges, whole and vibrant.

Enhance and enrich your explorations by paying attention to the following aspects of living in gravity:

* the law of least effort
As you do any of the movements reduce the effort until it’s almost a thought or a product of your imagination. The less you do, the more you discover about your holding patterns and your habitual actions and behaviors. Doing less implies fewer distractions and noticing more, which leads to ease, grace and effective being.

* the law of attention
Whatever you pay attention to is energized and expands in your awareness. You can focus your attention on one thing, for example, the movement of your head, and you can have an open attention where you watch what arises moment by moment; you can also observe how your attention moves.

* the law of intention
observe that the intention to move in any given way is enough to engage your muscles for the movement. It’s almost as if the intention is the movement. Have the intention and observe the result. Effortlessness again.

* the law of non-judgment
We are very good at controlling, analyzing, defining, deciding and believing. All of these mental gymnastics limit our experience. I like to remind myself to have ‘no comment’. The result is that I notice so much more and am not pulled into one perspective. Related to my ‘no comment’ outlook is my favorite aphorism: ‘Notice everything, believe nothing.’

* the law of detachment
As I observe my movement, noticing everything without comment, I also find myself looking for security and familiarity. This indicates to me how attached I might be to certainty and a particular outcome. It is necessary for my evolution and transformation to let go of attachment to outcomes and revel in the unknown. Anything and everything then becomes possible.

These laws are not in any order of importance. Of necessity they have to be described in some kind of order but you can see how they are inter-related – which actually leads to another law – the law of inter-connection, inter-relatedness, inter-correlation and integration.

We have all thought about these ideas, written about them perhaps, certainly talked about them. But the magic is in experiencing them so that our whole being blossoms. It becomes clear in the experience that these natural laws are spiritual laws:

* the law of least effort:
Accept that this moment is as it should be. Struggling against this moment is struggling against the whole universe.

* the law of attention and intention:
Attention energizes (and whatever you withdraw your attention from withers, disintegrates and disappears). Intention transforms and intention without attachment leads to life-centered, present moment awareness.
* the law of non-judgment:
Ego thrives on approval, the need to control and the need for external power. When we live to our potential we are free of limitations, resist always trying to please others or to be well thought of. We live in a state of grace, silence, stillness and non-judgment.

* the law of detachment:
We learn to let go of anxiety about outcomes, relinquish the need for results and find ourselves in the field of all possibilities where we have an infinity of choices.

Clearly, as we experience clearer presence we also experience grace, ease, potential, freedom and choice. The presence we experience is the Presence of God.

Living in accordance with these natural laws is practicing the Presence, where simply rolling your head is an experience of timelessness and grace.

Every time we practice we learn more of what it is to be human. We also learn about our essential nature as an expression of Life.

Self Reflections

2007-10-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

by Bridget Thompson

I'm fascinated by the asymmetry of our faces. When I look at people in photographs or ads, I sometimes cover one half of their face, and then the other - it's extraordinary how the left side has a certain personality, attitude, feeling about it that is quite different to the right side.

I had an interesting experience at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle recently. I visited a booth where your asymmetry is revealed. First you sit in front of the mirror and line up your reflection so that a dotted line goes through your nose, hopefully down the center of your face. Well, my nose isn't straight. It curves right, and actually my head is turned slightly left, and I should also mention that my right ear is closer to my right shoulder than my left ear is to my left shoulder...However, once the dotted line ran down the approximate midline of my face, I pressed a big yellow button. My image stared back at me in a familiar way. There were 4 smaller buttons to press:
#1 showed me my mirror image. Yes, that's who I see every morning. I don't even notice the crookedness of my nose anymore.

#2 showed me as others see me. This was confusing. I look like that? It's somehow opposite to what I expected. My mirror image is what I believe to be true. Because I see me facing myself that way, it's peculiar to see myself, life size, in what looks like a mirror, but isn't. In the mirror my nose is turning right, but actually it's turning left. Oh no - it's just a different perspective! If it were truly me I was seeing facing me (which #2 indeed was), then my right side would be on MY left.

#3 put my face together so that the right side matched the left side. In other words, it made my face symmetrical to the left side. Not only was this weird in that Leftie had a narrow face, pinched nose, turned down mouth and a scary wide-eyed direct gaze, but, because I'm used to seeing my mirror image, I assumed that the side of my face which was the 'true' left, was on my left opposite me in the image. Get it? Actually, my true left was on the right from my perspective.

#4 made my face symmetrical to the right side. I looked like my KhoiKhoi ancestors: wide, high cheekbones, broad nose, mouth uplifted in a soft smile, eyes dreamy and inward looking, (need to go into the dark, cool shade - too much sun in the Kalahari desert). Actually, I wouldn't have survived looking like this. I need my left eye to see clearly, focus, direct me.

#5 put all four images next to each other on the same screen. The same person and yet so different. Four different images out of the same moment in time, when I was looking in one direction, thinking the same thought ('that dotted line is NOT straight'), and feeling the same sense of myself. It's all a question of perspective.

And how does it relate to my brain and the right and left hemispheres? Ok - that's just too complicated. But there is something profound and astounding about knowing my own mirror image so well, and yet being deceived in it.

When I think about it, I would say that the left side of my face is much more open, (not 'true'), my left eye dominant and wide ('true' according to #2). But on a subliminal level, I think my left side is on my right - because when I look at you the left side of your face is on my right. Because my head turns slightly left, that dotted line going down the 'middle' of my face is actually much closer to my left ear than my right. My midline is not equidistant from my ears. Therefore the image of me symmetrical to my left side is narrow and piercing, pinched and down-turned. But that doesn't mean it's True. It's just a perspective.

So what is true? If I were symmetrical there'd be no choice. I would be one thing or the other. Leftie would burn herself out, squeeze herself dry, be bitter and twisted, shrivel and die in a matter of months. Righteous would dream her life away, never drawn into her surroundings outside her skin. Because the space inside is so vast, she'd lose her way, wander the globe, unseeing, unresponsive, unexpressed. She'd be eaten alive in a few days.
Symmetry (perfection) is non-functional. We need asymmetry to survive - it's that fundamental. Poetry, beauty, deliciousness, sensuousness, curiosity, creativity, all overlay survival, like an inverse onion. And of course there would be other aspects to both Leftie and Righteous. Leftie would also see clearly, have intention, be creative and receptive, imaginative and concerned. (This is me we're talking about after all). And Righteous would dream great dreams - but what use would they be without Leftie's impetus and drive? The fact is they need each other. They can't live without each other and though different from each other, they've lived so long together that they've merged and blurred their boundaries, re-shaped themselves into a whole that I call myself. They even swapped names - or is it sides? -so now I can't tell my right from my left. I can look at myself from many different perspectives, not just right and left. Think mirror balls, curved mirrors, fractals and holograms.

When you look at yourself from different perspectives, you learn about yourself in relationship to others and the environment. This is what working in the Feldenkrais Method® is about. More and more of yourself is seen, felt, and sensed, and your experience changes. Your self-image is filled out, clarified and richly colored. Your perspective changes, reality can be many different things. Your survival is less of an issue, and you have the opportunity to expand your consciousness and become fully human.

Integration, or searching for yourself

2007-10-17T11:28:00.000-07:00

by Bridget Thompson

Integration is a fancy word but what does it actually mean? Primarily integration provides a sense of connection within and without; connection to self, other, the world and God. We all yearn for connection – to recapture what we once had and believe that we have lost. Integration is the jewel revealed when we peel away the layers of misunderstanding, mistreatment, misalignment, judgment, denial, tension, expectation and perspective - layers inflicted on us by parents, siblings, teachers and ourselves.

Integration means that I experience a spreading sense of harmony throughout myself. Each part of me sings its part in relationship. I am well-orchestrated. This provides me the opportunity to drop my preoccupations, obsessions and fixations. I am now able to respond from my whole self, my heart if you like, because I am not spending all my time and energy maintaining my balance, or uprightness, or holding in my outbursts, or suppressing my grief. Being integrated doesn’t mean that I will always be happy, or move like a superb athlete. It means that I become more myself, understanding what it means to be free, being in a state of listening and anticipation with the ability to respond to whatever comes my way. I am ready but not wary and watchful – except when I need to be. It is an open awareness that is comfortable and easy. My life is graceful. When there is stagnation, I recognize it and find a way to move through it. My periods of being stuck last minutes rather than years. I have more and more experiences of congruence, connection, harmony, effective thought and action. I am free to think, act, sense and feel, to express my humanity.

m'illumino (www.m-illumino.com) provides an ideal environment where you can find ease, grace, freedom, and the conditions and opportunities that naturally direct you to discover yourself. Where you can let go of the relentless holding on that is exhausting and weakening. Where you can practice the discipline needed to focus inwardly, reach for yourself, expand into yourself. Discover connections within yourself, with others and in the world. That's integration.

'You cannot transcend what you do not know. To go beyond yourself, you must know yourself.'
Sri Nisargadatta Mahahraj

Relaxing your eyes and seeing more

2007-09-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

by Bridget Thompson

This morning I woke up with the remnants of a dream flitting through my mind. My waking was slow and gentle. I felt good – rested and content.

But I wanted to remember the elusive details of my dream which were flitting and fluttering away. I was aware of frowning a little and tightening my mouth. My eyes felt dry and tired, and then, the familiar tension in my shoulder started up again. I could feel myself becoming more and more anxious and on the verge of irritability. What was the matter with me? I tossed over onto my side and curled up to keep warm for the last few seconds before dragging myself out of bed. What was the dream though? It certainly hadn’t done me any good – at least trying to remember it hadn’t done me any good! I found myself clutching my hands together and clenching my teeth.

Later on when I was at my studio, I still felt out of sorts. My client has pain on her right side as if a rib is poking into her; she feels contracted on her left side and her left leg feels longer than her right. She lay on her back on the table and we began to work. I was drawn to her head and face and began to gently touch her skull and neck. As I turned her head one way and then the other I talked about the 14 bones in her skull. I began with the hyoid bone, horseshoe shaped and non-articulating, resting on the thyroid cartilage, fairly deep in her throat but accessible. I talked about her tongue resting on the hyoid. Her jaw relaxed and then I noticed that mine did too. The discomfort in my shoulder was lessening, my breathing becoming freer.

I put my hand on her forehead and began to roll her head gently. I felt her smooth skin, and bone underneath it. An image of the sphenoid bone flashed into my mind and then I could see it under my hand: the beautiful and mysterious mask-like bone that sits above the cheekbones, behind the eyes and underneath the temporal bones. Beautiful because it’s shaped like a butterfly and mysterious because of the two slits in the front where nerves and channels and sinews pass through to the brain. My attention was open; I was observing myself as much as I was observing my client. My eyes softened and I was aware of seeing forward, what I was looking at, and also all around the periphery of my eye sockets. I could also sense myself filling out the space behind me. I could feel myself in three dimensions. As I suggested to my client to imagine her eyes like deep lakes, expanding up into her eyebrows, down into her cheekbones, out to her temples and in towards her nose, I did the same. We imagined the lakes of our eyes deepening backwards to the sea bed of our skull, and then forwards, as if taking in the sky.

We completed our session. My client sat on the edge of the table. Her eyes were clear and wide and her face soft and glowing. When she stood she felt stable and evenly balanced on both her feet. There was no compression on her left side and the pain on her right had gone. She commented that she felt more alive and was looking forward to her walk around Green Lake. ‘I feel light and free,’ she said, ‘I feel I could float out of here like a bubble…or a butterfly leaving streams of light behind me.’

After she left I walked out into the courtyard. It was a murky morning, fairly cold and wet, but I noticed sprinkles of light on the plants and sparkles playing on the water in the fountain. The colors were bright and deep at the same time and the range of shades and hues seemed infinite. I couldn’t stop seeing and looking for more. I sat down on the little stone wall in the front of the plant bed. Again the image of my sphenoid bone flashed through my mind. It turned into a gorgeous butterfly hovering behind my eyes.

And then I remembered my dream. It had been a brief shimmer of a moth gliding through the midnight dark, flashes of color on its wings in the faint moonlight, and a long sinuous tail floating behind it.