For at least 3 years. I first taught some when I was in an intensive mentoring exchange in Somatics almost 8 years ago, but then took a few years' break, and only returned to it in 2020.

Long story, but in brief, a personal exploration for my Masters thesis around the importance of both paying closer attention to our surroundings through our senses, and incorporating more natural and local materials into our living and working spaces in order to create a "living economy". While writing my thesis, I explored how we have "conversations" with our surroundings all the time, and of course it is our senses that facilitate that. I wrote about how such "conversations" had impacted me in my personal life.

I had already had interesting exchanges with my soon-to-be mentor about the importance of touch. And soon I started to make time to explore the power of all of my senses with her, including what was happening on the inside of me - physically and also emotionally and spiritually. This was all happening at a very hard time in my life, and the Somatics practices I learned supported me immensely in that time.

I should add that movement is key to being able to sense anything. If we don't move, we cannot sense. It is also key to nourishing the body and keeping it youthful and alive. Essentrics, which I was introduced to by my chiropractor years ago, was movement that brought me joy, and it complements my Somatic practices beautifully, because - to me- it is all about noticing what feels good in your body, and the stretching and strengthening, i.e. eccentric, movements in Essentrics facilitate that.

I have to say that cooking and baking delicious food and then sharing it all with others is a favorite thing for me. But I do have many favorite pastimes, so it is hard to choose.

Deep turquoise - picture crystal clear tropical water...

The same advice I would give myself now. Don't take everything in life so seriously! Try to have fun in everything you do!

I hope this wasn't the last kind thing I did for someone, as it was about 2 weeks ago, but it sticks out in my mind: Offering a fellow grocery store customer who was disabled to take her empty shopping cart back to the coralle, on a cold, dark evening in a parking lot that would have been hard for her to walk across. It was such a small thing, but she said I had brought her joy that day. So, of course she brought me joy by saying that and by allowing me to help her.

LOL, ok being really honest here: Magic - Food - Games