In the spirit of this week’s theme of incorporating the senses more deeply into all aspects of life, here’s a look of how it connects with flexibility. First of all, I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to my flexibility mentor Stacey Nemour for very generously sending me a newer version of her stretching straps… Read More Stretching the Senses
An inspiration for this week‘s posts, and very much fitting the apparent theme, has been Mr. Russell Brand‘s fantastic ‘Under the Skin’ podcast. I deeply enjoyed listening to episode nr 42(!) with Prof. Barry Smith. It touches on the multitudes of human senses (ie many more than the 5 that get all the attention), and their fascinating… Read More Under the Skin
Have you ever noticed how our senses start shifting more to subtleties when we‘re out in nature for a while? From sights (the ranges of different colours, the textures of soil and bark, the plays of light, a bird) to sounds (rainfall, rustling leaves, the crackling of branches – or snow, mud, or sand –… Read More The Subtlety of the Forest
Seems like this week’s blog posts are going to be all about the senses 🙂 I’m adding this incredibly beautiful book today, as a reminder to myself (or rather a jolt into action) to finally pick it up again – I will read it in full, and take my time to work with the exercises… Read More Dance Imagery for Technique and Performance
Practising with a blindfold. During a weekend seminar for Haidong Gumdo this November, a few of the exercises we did were executed with our eyes closed/blindfolded, to help sharpen our senses. It was an interesting and enriching experience. Removing sight from the equation tells you exactly where you are ‘at’, training-wise. It slows you right… Read More Sharpening the Senses
I learned today – while skipping ropes – how much our state of mind really influences how we move. For the past few weeks I had noticed that I wasn’t able to keep my rope-skip rhythm as steady as I used to. During summer, after just a few weeks of practise, I was able to… Read More Untangling the Ropes
…They rise and fall like vaporous civilizations. Today’s book recommendation – the book I mentioned this week in my ode to the clouds – and one of the books I am currently reading, is The Invention of Clouds by Richard Hamblyn. It’s about the life and work of Luke Howard – or – as Goethe himself used to call him… Read More The Invention of Clouds
For this week’s Flexibility Friday, check out the links below for a series of free(!) follow-along stretching videos by the fantastic Stacey Nemour. These videos are great to work with throughout the day. Note: Use code ‘D4C’ on checkout for 10% off all Stacey’s paid online flexibility courses, course packages and stretching/posture support props/straps Lower… Read More Free Flexibility Videos
Clouds are moving poetry. They’ve inspired countless artists in the course of history (and – I’d bet – beyond!) I remember being an avid cloudspotter as a youngster. It gave me immense peace and inspiration just to lie down in the grass for a while and watch the sky-cotton shift shapes and float by. As… Read More Cloud Poetry
Mr. E and I were lucky enough to visit this magnificent ancient chestnut tree in Ryedale (in Cumbria/the UK’s Lake District) in early fall. It is estimated to be about 500-600 years old. Age is but a number. In the early 1800‘s, when the tree was about 300-400 years old, romantic poet William Wordsworth lived very… Read More The Sweet Chestnut of Ryedale