Very hot and humid these past two weeks and today at last a little breeze but the temperatures are still in late 80’s/90’s. This is what Muffin does to stay cool....
I am very pleased with photographs I just took of the humming bird moth. The creature is very blurred because it moves so fast it’s the best I can do with my little Canon Ixus 70 (which i highly recommend by the way). But you will notice how enormously long its proboscis is to suck out the nectar from my Lantana flowers . Again! If you look earlier on my blog this summer you will see the pix I took of this bush with the butterflies all over it.
It has been a still busy month on the island despite the economics. The Aug 14th festival here, Panagia day when the Virgin Mary is assumed into heaven and also the day 15 islanders were shot by the Germans in 1944, was a little quieter than usual. However the band were really loud and I know some didn’t stay longer than 10 minutes. Too loud to talk to people. I love watching the line dances, and had a little go myself. Always a bit tricky when the foreigners join in as we don’t understand the 5 beat imperative, and as usual I found myself stretched between two people in different rhythms and pace.
I have also taken a trip further up the island to Monturo, where my good friend Waultraud lives. She is herbalist and there was a gathering on account of her birthday one evening. Delicious pasta with pesto made from Alonnisos pine nuts, which her companion Martin had hand peeled and mashed! And the home-made bread I took home with me, herby and fresh and wholesome. We ate and drank wine in their pretty garden, full of useful plants, overlooking the sea and Peristera. The heat has been making me very sleepy and in good quiet company speaking German or French, the muttering of voices and tinkling of laughter, I managed to doze off as I sat in a deck chair, looking up at the shooting stars...zzzzzzzz. How perfect. Uschi, another magic person who lives in the forest near the village gave me a lift home (my little motor bike got taken away to the knackers yard earlier this year). Uschi teaches yoga in Bavaria, as well as vision training and gives cranio-sacral therapy.
I have always found CST powerful work, first coming across it during my training in AT. Our co-director Margaret Edis was training up in this at the time and wanted guinea pigs. It is not uncommon for teachers of AT to further train in this work as it is very non-doing, and is affecting the cranial rhythms, the spinal fluids and deep connective tissue. My vertebrae T 9 10 11 get stuck sometimes twisted from my right SI joint and my neck vertebrae. Without AT I would be in a very poor state, but occasionally I need outside help to untangle these old patterns. (If osteopaths are the car mechanics, we are the driving instructors....) I recognise I have also been emotionally affected by the loss of some hours teaching at ArtsEd – my course has been hacked apart! - so it was no surprise that my back has been saying hello again in a big way. I also have osteoporosis in my L4 and took some heavy medication for this in February which I found really unpleasant. With discomfort in that area too, I decided to ask Uschi for help.
We have often swapped work in the past, and she gladly came over to my bower, my glorious teaching den, shaded with bourganvillea, vine, ivy , Virginia creeper and honeysuckle....It is fairly cool for this steamy weather, but connecting quietly in an Alexander way with such lovely people here year after year, the place has a really peaceful atmosphere. I lay down on the back on my table and my journey began, Uschi’s hands immediately hot with energy. And almost immediately I was drifting into ‘yugen’ as the Japanese call it, ‘half-concealed beauty’ half wake, half sleep, dream time. All sorts of thoughts and visions came up, none memorable except some understanding of pulling away from having fun, and this was the word that Uschi suggested I remember and use. When at the end she placed a finger on my forehead and another on my chin, my whole face/skull/jaw released opened and reshaped itself.....when she finished I floated off the table and felt refreshed and new and still in a state of wonder at the subtle energies and connections .....
Since then I have been singing to myself as I walk down to Mikros, or singing on the quay if no-one is there, singing myself into a present state, singing my bones into density and health, affirmations in song. Singing my surroundings in opera recitative is a wonderful way of halting the chattering mind and thinking only of what I see and hear and experience right now. And my back has been so much easier and freer, needless to say.
Because of the heat, I have been sleeping outdoors at night – sleeping under the stars on our balcony. I make sure I cover myself with anti-mosquito fluid, and lay looking up Jupiter who is shining brightly at the moment, till I fall asleep. When I wake at 5, Orion has risen, and today I slept more until the sun had woken properly and made myself a cup of tea, munching toast looking at the sea and the Two Brothers from my nest, faithful dog at my side, before the sun’s heat fiercely came round the wall. Sleeping out a night means I don’t feel I’ve been to bed! I’ve not done the usual ritual of climbing onto an inside platform and snuggled up to the pillow (and my partner!). Clearly I have had a night’s sleep, but it feels more intimate with the night, conscious of the movement of the earth, turning in space, changing the canopy of stars..... and I feel rested. Very glad dog is at my side and Muffin our cat came and found me this morning too. All helps to keep any other night creatures at bay!
I have been teaching now and then, but mostly resting and reading and swimming and walking. Teaching in this heat reminds me of Haifa, in Israel. In the 90’s I had a student teaching at the Technion there, a mathematician who was working on neural networks and had RSI. She had been working successfully with me in London so when she returned to Israel invited me out there several times to continue her lessons. Rivka Cohen had an Alexander training there too, so I would also take the opportunity to visit her school. One August I went, it was 40 degrees and no air conditioning. We were slippery with sweat as we put hands on and Rivka called to us ‘Up! Up!’ . Rivka is a great teacher and full of kindness to me at the beginning of my practice and very green. She was very open and wanted to find out what David Gorman’s work was all about. I also remember her lying on the table for me to work with her, her eyes closed and resting. They opened a slit and she said, ‘Penny, you have healing hands...’ This is separate to any ability I might have in getting the Primary Control going - which is her big thing. A very dynamic teacher, full of direction.
In two weeks I start the last workshop, possibly depleted by 2 as they had booked with a UK travel company Kiss airlines that have gone bust. One of them has had this happen for the second time, as they had booked with Gold Trail . When Gold Trail went into liquidation in July, three of my teachers had probably been on their last flight to Skiathos. Luckily one had phoned to confirm their return flight and discovered what had happened. A quick call to Dimitri at Skiathos meant they all managed to secure a flight back home – but they did all have to pay again. There are still flights available in September but all horribly expensive – over £400. I suggested they wait till the last moment and see if they can get a cheaper deal.
It has been a still busy month on the island despite the economics. The Aug 14th festival here, Panagia day when the Virgin Mary is assumed into heaven and also the day 15 islanders were shot by the Germans in 1944, was a little quieter than usual. However the band were really loud and I know some didn’t stay longer than 10 minutes. Too loud to talk to people. I love watching the line dances, and had a little go myself. Always a bit tricky when the foreigners join in as we don’t understand the 5 beat imperative, and as usual I found myself stretched between two people in different rhythms and pace.
I have also taken a trip further up the island to Monturo, where my good friend Waultraud lives. She is herbalist and there was a gathering on account of her birthday one evening. Delicious pasta with pesto made from Alonnisos pine nuts, which her companion Martin had hand peeled and mashed! And the home-made bread I took home with me, herby and fresh and wholesome. We ate and drank wine in their pretty garden, full of useful plants, overlooking the sea and Peristera. The heat has been making me very sleepy and in good quiet company speaking German or French, the muttering of voices and tinkling of laughter, I managed to doze off as I sat in a deck chair, looking up at the shooting stars...zzzzzzzz. How perfect. Uschi, another magic person who lives in the forest near the village gave me a lift home (my little motor bike got taken away to the knackers yard earlier this year). Uschi teaches yoga in Bavaria, as well as vision training and gives cranio-sacral therapy.
I have always found CST powerful work, first coming across it during my training in AT. Our co-director Margaret Edis was training up in this at the time and wanted guinea pigs. It is not uncommon for teachers of AT to further train in this work as it is very non-doing, and is affecting the cranial rhythms, the spinal fluids and deep connective tissue. My vertebrae T 9 10 11 get stuck sometimes twisted from my right SI joint and my neck vertebrae. Without AT I would be in a very poor state, but occasionally I need outside help to untangle these old patterns. (If osteopaths are the car mechanics, we are the driving instructors....) I recognise I have also been emotionally affected by the loss of some hours teaching at ArtsEd – my course has been hacked apart! - so it was no surprise that my back has been saying hello again in a big way. I also have osteoporosis in my L4 and took some heavy medication for this in February which I found really unpleasant. With discomfort in that area too, I decided to ask Uschi for help.
We have often swapped work in the past, and she gladly came over to my bower, my glorious teaching den, shaded with bourganvillea, vine, ivy , Virginia creeper and honeysuckle....It is fairly cool for this steamy weather, but connecting quietly in an Alexander way with such lovely people here year after year, the place has a really peaceful atmosphere. I lay down on the back on my table and my journey began, Uschi’s hands immediately hot with energy. And almost immediately I was drifting into ‘yugen’ as the Japanese call it, ‘half-concealed beauty’ half wake, half sleep, dream time. All sorts of thoughts and visions came up, none memorable except some understanding of pulling away from having fun, and this was the word that Uschi suggested I remember and use. When at the end she placed a finger on my forehead and another on my chin, my whole face/skull/jaw released opened and reshaped itself.....when she finished I floated off the table and felt refreshed and new and still in a state of wonder at the subtle energies and connections .....Since then I have been singing to myself as I walk down to Mikros, or singing on the quay if no-one is there, singing myself into a present state, singing my bones into density and health, affirmations in song. Singing my surroundings in opera recitative is a wonderful way of halting the chattering mind and thinking only of what I see and hear and experience right now. And my back has been so much easier and freer, needless to say.
Because of the heat, I have been sleeping outdoors at night – sleeping under the stars on our balcony. I make sure I cover myself with anti-mosquito fluid, and lay looking up Jupiter who is shining brightly at the moment, till I fall asleep. When I wake at 5, Orion has risen, and today I slept more until the sun had woken properly and made myself a cup of tea, munching toast looking at the sea and the Two Brothers from my nest, faithful dog at my side, before the sun’s heat fiercely came round the wall. Sleeping out a night means I don’t feel I’ve been to bed! I’ve not done the usual ritual of climbing onto an inside platform and snuggled up to the pillow (and my partner!). Clearly I have had a night’s sleep, but it feels more intimate with the night, conscious of the movement of the earth, turning in space, changing the canopy of stars..... and I feel rested. Very glad dog is at my side and Muffin our cat came and found me this morning too. All helps to keep any other night creatures at bay!
I have been teaching now and then, but mostly resting and reading and swimming and walking. Teaching in this heat reminds me of Haifa, in Israel. In the 90’s I had a student teaching at the Technion there, a mathematician who was working on neural networks and had RSI. She had been working successfully with me in London so when she returned to Israel invited me out there several times to continue her lessons. Rivka Cohen had an Alexander training there too, so I would also take the opportunity to visit her school. One August I went, it was 40 degrees and no air conditioning. We were slippery with sweat as we put hands on and Rivka called to us ‘Up! Up!’ . Rivka is a great teacher and full of kindness to me at the beginning of my practice and very green. She was very open and wanted to find out what David Gorman’s work was all about. I also remember her lying on the table for me to work with her, her eyes closed and resting. They opened a slit and she said, ‘Penny, you have healing hands...’ This is separate to any ability I might have in getting the Primary Control going - which is her big thing. A very dynamic teacher, full of direction.
In two weeks I start the last workshop, possibly depleted by 2 as they had booked with a UK travel company Kiss airlines that have gone bust. One of them has had this happen for the second time, as they had booked with Gold Trail . When Gold Trail went into liquidation in July, three of my teachers had probably been on their last flight to Skiathos. Luckily one had phoned to confirm their return flight and discovered what had happened. A quick call to Dimitri at Skiathos meant they all managed to secure a flight back home – but they did all have to pay again. There are still flights available in September but all horribly expensive – over £400. I suggested they wait till the last moment and see if they can get a cheaper deal.
Heat, flights, dreams and stars, all part of the rich tapestry of Alonnisos in August....
