I believe that I am, perhaps, the most fortunate person that ever got to occupy a body. I got the studio yesterday and there were a whole group of students/friends who came to dance, for my first time back teaching. It wasn’t perfect — right and left are still kind of elusive to me, and then it gets more confusing when teaching and doing “mirroring” when I’m doing things on the left side, but it’s right side for the students . . . and it’s even more confusing, because in Nia, the teacher doesn’t do mirroring, only in yoga. So, you can only imagine the patience of this wonderful group as they hung in there with me, trying to understand what I wanted them to do! And then, there are the words that sometimes just won’t come at all. Like yesterday, I was trying to find the word “swim.” I could find the movement I was looking for, but it was a bit like a group game of charades as they had to come up with the word that described the movement. The bottom line for me was that it was very therapeutic to teach — I can’t tell all of you how much it meant to me just to have you there. It also made me think again about having “A village” to make it through almost anything significant, and I feel surrounded by the love of my village. So thanks for the therapeutic dance yesterday. I’m already excited about the next opportunity!
-
Follow
Following
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Seize Joy 
Sounds wonderfully healing, Kristine. What’s interesting to me, is that your writing is as fluid, cogent, & introspective as always…different part of the brain at work?
Sooo glad to hear your doing well as you heal and recover. Gratitude abounds!
We love you Kristine. It was a no brainer to be there.
Yvonne
I just caught up on the earlier posts that I hadn’t read yet. Beth I loved the “Big Ben” you brought to class. Didn’t realize at the time it was yours. Amazing… Kristine’s internal clock matched it exactly!!
Kristine, you have been one of my heroines for years…and this is one more reason why. Your compassion for self and other and well as your authenticity is amazing. Love you my friend.
I have never known right from left and when my dad came to watch me teach a special ed class in which we were doing a dance similar to the Hokey Pokey – he thought it would be a disaster, but I had practiced -so I could actually do it! And in my college classes, the students are great about helping me find the “missing noun” – you know – “the big white thing you put food in to keep it cold” – I think of it as a way to keep them engaged – just trying to figure out what word I’m looking for 🙂 _ Oh did I mention, I haven’t had brain surgery????
You are amazing!
lots of love
Sheila, I love this story! I am already wondering, when I finally attempt to preach again, how that process of “help Kristine find the missing noun” will go. Given the types of topics we often tackle at church, it could make for some fantastic theologizing — I can just hear it — Does she mean God? Dance? Nature? A refrigerator? And perhaps the point is that the word you put in doesn’t really matter at all, does it? Hmmm . . . . I may have just written my first post-surgery sermon! I’m not surprised that it was a group project with you — We’ve often done our best work as a team, around the church!