Yes, more books! Today’s book recommendation is Move your DNA by Katy Bowman. I stumbled (ha!) upon Katy’s work in 2015. It was a true eye-opener for me to learn how much of our (mental as well as physical) health depends on the daily movements of our body. You can eat the perfect diet, sleep eight… Read More Move your DNA – Katy Bowman
A great resource on flexibility in general, including a wealth of dynamic and active stretching techniques, with clear pictures and descriptions illustrating each exercise. The book is geared mostly to martial artists, but the flexibility work included can be used for dance (and life!) as well. Ultimate Flexibility – Sang H. Kim Note: I already… Read More Ultimate Flexibility – Sang H. Kim
The mystical grey Heron, said to be messenger of the Gods. A symbol of grace, patience, dignity, precision, independence, self-knowlegdge, wisdom, discipline, light, and rebirth. This image (taken this weekend behind our home, during the 2-day fog) reminded me of the saying that our senses are only designed to perceive a fraction of reality. Good… Read More Perception
Spooky, yet unexpectedly colourful impressions from our latest forest walk.
A quote I heard on a great podcast interview today: The Music lies in between the notes. How apt this is in a world that seems to be moving ever faster.. Just as the silence between notes is where the music is truly found, it‘s in the pauses between movements that a dance comes to… Read More Stillness in Motion
Jong-I Begi, or paper cutting, is one of the main testing (and competition) disciplines of Haidong Gumdo (Korean Sword Art). It may seem simple, but it takes skill, mental discipline and practise to achieve a clean, even and precise cut across the full width of the paper at each attempt. Paper cutting is used to measure… Read More Meet Paper Cut
This post is an ode to the Kettlebell, the portable iron gym. As posted yesterday, for the past year Pavel Tsatsouline’s excellent ‘Simple & Sinister’ Kettlebell workout book has been my go-to functional strength (and cardio!) workout method, combined with rope skipping. I was inspired to educate myself on Kettlebells after completing Monika Volkmars Dance Stronger program… Read More The Mighty Kettlebell
Today’s book is a digital one, ‘Simple & Sinister by Pavel Pavel Tsatsouline. It has been my go-to resource for strength work for the past year. It covers a simple, but extremely effective (and fun – to me!) program/routine using kettlebells, about which I will write more tomorrow. PS: Check out this fascinating podcast interview with… Read More Simple & Sinister
Water, or as Mr. E and I call it, Mountain Juice(tm), is one of the most precious elements on earth. Without it, life as we know it would not exist. We need it to live. Incidentally, being sufficiently hydrated is one of the most simple (and often overlooked!) way to enhance/support our (mental as well… Read More Drink Water, My Friend
Experiences are stored in our long-term memory the moment we try to retrieve them. Next to that, visualising ourselves performing complex (or simple!) movements with great focus will activate the very same parts of our brain that light up when we DO execute that movement. I have found that creating notes AFTER I’ve taken a… Read More Retaining the Work