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October 18, 2004
Mondays, mondays, everywhere
This morning's experimental question: "Which is more important, yoga or showering?" My hypothesis was that yoga is more important than showering. I tested it by, after waking to find it was too late to do both, skipping the shower and heading to The Barn. Midway into the class, I had gathered sufficient research data to support the hypothesis, leading to the conclusion that: Yes, indeed, yoga IS more important than showering.
I'm thinking that 10pm for bed isn't going to cut it... next up is 9:30.
Breakfast was yummy today, and I had toasted almonds and a quarter of a pomegranate with it.
Monday is nutrition lecture day! We talked about sugars, glyconutrients, wild blue-green algae, and fats & oils. Sounds like good fats are an even harder proposition than good carbs, mostly because it's harder for consumers to know what to look for.
Anyway, I've been thinking on the reality that food can be such a touchy subject for people. I mean, really, we are talking about the ways in which we survive, take care of ourselves, love and nourish ourselves and our families... the choice of what we put into our bodies is a very intimate one.
If you ever view my words as trying to make that choice for others, you can rest assured that was not my intention. Rather, my intention is to make information about such choices available.
Of course, nothing you'll read here about nutrition isn't already available. You can just buy Paul's book if you're really interested. As much as it's about the information, it's more about my learning process, aspects of lecture that were highlights for me, etc.
Anyway, funny thing about oils. I've heard people say things regarding massage oil like, "If you're going to rub it on your body it should be good enough to eat." But what's good enough to eat, considering that most of us consume horrible oils? "Food grade" is pretty meaningless... have you noticed what we let the companies get away with calling "food"?
I got Silas' permission to share his heart circle check-in with you. Today was three words only, and he said:
Present, needing fat
I really liked it, so there it is.
Lots of stuff in Shiatsu over chair massage. I was thinking really negatively about my experience, as seen in yesterday's entry. I shared some of that during our roundtable discussion, and the responses I got from folks really helped me clarify a lot.
First is attitude: 10-15 minutes of touch can allow one a whole new perspective on the day. Sacred space can be created, with intention. "Feng shui", in a colloquial sense, is important.
I now see some of my previous thoughts as giving my power away. By owning these issues, I can transform them.
Second was the modality issue or, rather, what it was covering. Although it would seem I'm really confused on what even constitutes Swedish (as I was told today that one can't do "Swedish" on a chair, receiver clothed), and unclear on what kind of boundary delimits Shiatsu from other modalities, I don't actually have a problem with "maintaining the integrity of my giving Shiatsu as Shiatsu" so much as a problem improvising.
I'm not comfortable with improvisation, exploration, or experimentation with other people's bodies. How can I be; I'm not often comfortable doing those things with my own.
Movement Magic has facilitated such behavior with the most comfort I can remember feeling, but that's a very specific set and setting, a very safe container. It's not chair massage outside a store on a stranger.
I suspect that as long as that discomfort is there, it will affect my sessions with clients. Unfortunate, but it leaves me with a productive question: What would help/allow me to be more comfortable?
Posted by Josh A. at October 18, 2004 08:24 PM
Comments
sorry, but no, it's Tuesday here.
Posted by: Ramsey at October 19, 2004 01:50 AM
That's a bloody lie!
:)
Posted by: Josh A. at October 19, 2004 08:57 PM