When I was was looking for office space, my friend Jeremi Dilworth recommended that I speak with Dr. Wendy Warner at Medicine in Balance. This was about the 10th time in 6 or 7 years that Jeremi had suggested I get in touch with her, so I figured it was high time I did.
Medicine is Balance is a wonderful practice that focuses on holsitic care, and several healing modalities are offered there. Dr. Warner is experienced, warm, intelligent, funny and caring. My "brief" meet and greet session, to see the space and introduce myself, turned into a 2+ hour conversation, which I found highly enjoyable. Although the parameters for using the available space didn't meet my needs, I feel like I have been blessed to meet several new colleagues in the area. I plan to return as a client, if not a practitioner.
If you live in Bucks County, Northeast Philadelphia, or even the Princeton/Lawrenceville area, you might want to check it out. Try not to take as long as I did. . .
9.17.2010
9.16.2010
The Teacher of My Teacher
I never had the chance to work with Marjorie Barstow, but many of the best lessons I've had were with teachers who studied with her. They all have a lightness and power that I have learned to recognize. Here's a short video that shows what the Alexander Technique is aiming for, what a teacher does with guiding touch, and the amazing Marj in action. Enjoy.
9.15.2010
Back to School
As you may notice (but probably not, since I have 4, count 'em 4, people reading this), I have renamed this blog. That is because Way does indeed open, and today I decided on a new home for my practice.
As of October 1, Way Opens Center will be located at 22 State St. in Newtown. My "studio" is a small but charming room on the second floor, sharing space with a psychotherapy group. The energy there is quiet and serene, yet it is in the heart of town, right next to Allegheny Art, one of my favorite shops ever.
So the center is quite tiny right now, but it is a beginning, and it feels good. This time of year is always a fresh start to me. It always feels like a good time to initiate something (which is odd, given that as autumn progresses, nature begins to pull in, dry up, and disappear). Anyway, I have a designer working on a logo and image brand, and soon I will have fun helping to create business cards, flyers, and a website. Fonts! Lots of fun with fonts.
I am continuing half-time at Friends Council on Education as Director of Outreach and Development, so it's just fine if I start off with only a handful of students. I believe I will have just as many students as I can imagine (and handle).
I am also going back to school a bit myself right now (but of course giving lessons is a form of learning). I recently began taking AT lessons again, this time with Ariel Weiss, one of Philadelphia's premier teachers. Only the best for me. The experience of taking lessons again after 8 or 9 years without any hands-on at all is worthy of its own post, so I'll describe that another time. Ariel is very good and I can feel our work together is refreshing and re-toning my skills. It's definitely helping me get my chops back.
In two weeks I embark on an 8-week course in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at Jefferson's Center for Integrative Medicine, the first step in what I hope will be eventual teacher certification. This is the program founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn, one of my all-time favorite teachers and communicators. He and his wife Myla wrote the best book on parenting I have ever read, Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting. But of course Jon is best known for this amazing MBSR program, and the way he and his colleagues legitimized it within the medical establishment, and mainstream society as a whole.
Plus, in late October I'll be doing a 3-day training with Alaine Duncan, Director of Crossings and Crossings Healing Works. The workshop, called Touching Trauma, is about learning to regulate the system -- specifically the autonomic nervous system -- in the aftermath of trauma. Alaine is one of my absolute heroes, which might make her cringe, but it is true. She's a woman of great faith and courage who followed a calling to help veterans heal and reintegrate, both within and without. A talented acupuncturist, bright light, and fun Quaker woman, I aspire to be like Alaine. There, I said it.
Don't we all need positive examples in life? Maybe we each are that to someone else. I think what energizes me about the coming of Fall is that it is back to school time, and I love learning. I don't always love the way I learn, I often learn the hard way, but I remain curious and captivated as my life path continues to unfold. As way opens.
As of October 1, Way Opens Center will be located at 22 State St. in Newtown. My "studio" is a small but charming room on the second floor, sharing space with a psychotherapy group. The energy there is quiet and serene, yet it is in the heart of town, right next to Allegheny Art, one of my favorite shops ever.
So the center is quite tiny right now, but it is a beginning, and it feels good. This time of year is always a fresh start to me. It always feels like a good time to initiate something (which is odd, given that as autumn progresses, nature begins to pull in, dry up, and disappear). Anyway, I have a designer working on a logo and image brand, and soon I will have fun helping to create business cards, flyers, and a website. Fonts! Lots of fun with fonts.
I am continuing half-time at Friends Council on Education as Director of Outreach and Development, so it's just fine if I start off with only a handful of students. I believe I will have just as many students as I can imagine (and handle).
I am also going back to school a bit myself right now (but of course giving lessons is a form of learning). I recently began taking AT lessons again, this time with Ariel Weiss, one of Philadelphia's premier teachers. Only the best for me. The experience of taking lessons again after 8 or 9 years without any hands-on at all is worthy of its own post, so I'll describe that another time. Ariel is very good and I can feel our work together is refreshing and re-toning my skills. It's definitely helping me get my chops back.
In two weeks I embark on an 8-week course in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at Jefferson's Center for Integrative Medicine, the first step in what I hope will be eventual teacher certification. This is the program founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn, one of my all-time favorite teachers and communicators. He and his wife Myla wrote the best book on parenting I have ever read, Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting. But of course Jon is best known for this amazing MBSR program, and the way he and his colleagues legitimized it within the medical establishment, and mainstream society as a whole.
Plus, in late October I'll be doing a 3-day training with Alaine Duncan, Director of Crossings and Crossings Healing Works. The workshop, called Touching Trauma, is about learning to regulate the system -- specifically the autonomic nervous system -- in the aftermath of trauma. Alaine is one of my absolute heroes, which might make her cringe, but it is true. She's a woman of great faith and courage who followed a calling to help veterans heal and reintegrate, both within and without. A talented acupuncturist, bright light, and fun Quaker woman, I aspire to be like Alaine. There, I said it.
Don't we all need positive examples in life? Maybe we each are that to someone else. I think what energizes me about the coming of Fall is that it is back to school time, and I love learning. I don't always love the way I learn, I often learn the hard way, but I remain curious and captivated as my life path continues to unfold. As way opens.
9.06.2010
What Was I Thinking?
I decided to launch this blog at Christmastime, just a week or so before taking on a second part-time job. Not the smartest move of my life. Two part-time jobs add up to more than one full-time job, as any reasonable person might have known. Consequently, this blog has never been very active, and has been lying dormant -- until now.
I am currently in the process of reviving my Alexander Technique practice, as well as offering private and semi-private birth and parenting classes, and Somatic Release sessions. This blog will be reinvented, too, most likely renamed Way Opens, the new name of my business -- Way Opens Studio.
From time to time I may blog about the adventure of building this business, but hopefully I'll be too busy actually doing that, and won't have time. Continuing Revelation will have to fall silent once again, but by Thanksgiving Way Opens will be well on its way.
I am currently in the process of reviving my Alexander Technique practice, as well as offering private and semi-private birth and parenting classes, and Somatic Release sessions. This blog will be reinvented, too, most likely renamed Way Opens, the new name of my business -- Way Opens Studio.
From time to time I may blog about the adventure of building this business, but hopefully I'll be too busy actually doing that, and won't have time. Continuing Revelation will have to fall silent once again, but by Thanksgiving Way Opens will be well on its way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
