I just made a difficult decision - I chose to let go of my weekly class to make more space in my life, and to commit to healing my back. Don't worry - my workshop and retreat schedule will remain the same for fall - I just won't be performing or teaching weekly. As I was driving to the studio last night, I was feeling sad and uncertain about giving up this valued and long standing part of my routine - I'm attached to the space, and to the dancers. But I asked myself the question I have been asking often lately when I need to choose how to best spend my time: "Is this activity moving me towards my most important goals and dreams?" Two of my major goals for the fall are healing my body, and growing my business. My weekly class, as much as I love it - and I do - was actually moving me away from both of these goals! It is easy to see how activities and obligations we don't enjoy can scatter our energies. It is more difficult to admit when a fun, familiar activity is causing us to lose our focus. A carefully built fire, well-dampered, will burn long and very hot. The wider you open the damper, the faster and brighter the fire will burn - it will provide immediate warmth, but it won't make your house cozy for the night. Well, figuratively speaking, I want my house to be cozy for the night. I want to build and retain my energies by being judicious. So today, take some time to consider: are you in a place in your life when it makes sense to burn bright and fast by being fully open to all the energies around you? Or are you in a place where you need to draw inwards to build long-lasting power and energy in your centre? Honour where you are with the choices you make today, and have a wonderful day.

You're a Goddess - Kali

All the pilgrimage centres exist in woman's body. - Uttara Tantra

The Hindu goddess Kali is probably best known in the West in her awesome dark form of Dakshinakali, swift and terrible dweller in the cremation grounds, destroyer of illusion. This is but one emanation or aspect of the cosmic power Kali personifies. In the beautiful book "Kali: The Feminine Force", Ajit Mookerjee describes her thus:

Kali, one of the most intoxicating personifications of primal energy in the cosmic drama... is the object of fervent devotion in tantric forms of worship... she is a power symbol embodying the unity of the transcendental... sometimes she assumes a frightening form and sometimes a benevolent form.

Here is a beautiful dance honouring Mother Kali and the goddess Durga, the great Mother Goddess from whose brow Kali sprang. To learn more about the dancer just click on the Youtube icon to link to the original source:

Daily Intention: Candles and Flowers

This is a really simple way to celebrate every day and acknowledge the sacredness of daily activities: candles and flowers. Every day. Candles and flowers are universally used in ritual and celebration, from the most somber traditional Mass to the most joyful celebratory Puja. Candles and flowers are present at our personal & social rituals as well; weddings, funerals, birthdays, even special dinners. Lighting a candle often marks the entry into sacred space, or the beginning of the ritual. (When I was nine I took my first real feminist action and became the very first female altar boy in our rather progressive Anglican church. One of my main jobs was lighting the candles on the altar, huge white tapers with nifty brass caps. I really didn't like most things about church, but being able to participate in the ritual in this way was wonderful.) So often we forget to honour ourselves and the importance of our work, whatever it is. Taking a few seconds to light a candle when you begin your work for the day is a way to remind yourself to stay mindful in your actions, and a way to honour yourself by saying "Even my most mundane actions are part of the sacred. I know this." By the same token, bringing fresh flowers into your home or workspace brings beauty and aliveness, and acts as a reminder that all space is sacred space. So today, light a candle, and bring in some flowers. Have a wonderful day.

What allows you to have a sense of freedom and joy in your body? If you were blessed with fine parents (as is my friend Ondine here), you may remember the joy of being alive in your body and immersed in play as a child. Or perhaps this sense of deep play was something you found for the first time as an adult, through dance, or sport, or lovemaking, or being in nature. Perhaps this sense of freedom remains an unfulfilled yearning. How can you touch that sense of freedom today? Is there something you can do to experience being richly present in your body? Can you dance alone for 15 minutes? Put your feet in the ocean? Go for a run? Sing? Or maybe just allow yourself to experience the yearning and ask what would fulfill it. Take a few minute today to be in touch with this part of yourself, and have a wonderful day.

Doesn't it look like this dried flower head is dancing in the late summer sun? Can you see the spider webs caught between her dried tendrils? This time of year is bittersweet. The temperate rainforest we live in begins to shed her summer lushness, as the vegetation starts its long journey to winter. Leaves fall, blossoms retreat, the expansive, reaching growth begins to pull back towards the earth. Sometimes we forget that this isn't a time of dying, but a time of turning inward for deep, quiet, regenerating growth. How can you align yourself with the energy of the season? Is there anything you need to let go of in the outer world (an activity that doesn't move you towards your dreams; extra possessions that don't add to the beauty or functionality of your home; relationships that don't nurture your spirit) in order to create space and energy for deep self-nurturing? Today can you think of one small thing that you can let go of to open up the time for self reflection? Can you trade an hour of television for an hour of reading or journaling? Replace your time on the treadmill with a walk outside in the late summer sun? Replace an hour-long meeting with an efficient phone call, and use the found time to clear the decks and make your workspace more peaceful? Let me know what ways you found today to release and turn inward. Have a wonderful day!

This gorgeous picture is of Carolena Nericcio of FatChanceBellyDance. I was lucky enough to study with her in San Francisco years ago, when ATS was very new. Her presence, attitude, and style were a profound influence on me as a novice dancer. She has incredible class, elegance, and intelligence. It has been so interesting to watch the explosion in popularity of American Tribal Style over the last eight years or so, to see the rising stars like Rachel Brice, who learned so much from FCBD then took it in her own direction, and to observe, sometimes with amusement, the many new permutations and fusions of ATS, from Urban Tribal to Gothic Bellydance. I still admire the uncompromising technique and pure style of FCBD. Here is a beautiful video.

More today on my theme of being gentle with ourselves. This time of year most of us are getting back into a routine after the easier days of summer - scheduling new activities, and getting busier. Are you scheduling in self-care? Often this is one of the most difficult things for us to make time for. Have you considered the simple daily practice of napping? Perhaps it seems like an indulgence - but in many cultures an afternoon siesta is the norm... and studies have shown that a bit of sleep late in the day is actually something our biology requires. The optimal length of a nap is 40 minutes - enough time to refresh, but not enough time to get into a really deep phase of your sleep cycle. My grandmother, who was, and still is, one of the most elegant and organized women I've ever known, made a daily practice of napping. Sometime between two and five, she would take an hour for herself. She would brew some coffee and put it in a thermos, and head off to bed with her note pad, a warm wash cloth, and an alarm clock. She would strip down to her (always dainty and elegant) slip, and tuck in without mussing the bed too much, usually just under the bedspread. She would lie very still with the warm cloth over her eyes for about a half an hour, then spend twenty minutes or so sipping her coffee (fresh from the thermos) and making notes on her steno pad - dinner menus, shopping lists, concerns about life and family. It was lovely to come into her peaceful, orderly and fragrant bedroom and share some of that post-nap time with her, sitting quietly on the bed and discussing the items on her list. I have naturally brought some elements of this routine into my own life - most mornings I sit up in bed with my journal and make lists and plans while sipping tea. But I would love to master, as she did, the art of the dainty and guilt-free nap! My own naps tend to be unplanned, messy, and slightly sweaty and guilt-ridden. But no matter how or when we do it during the day, that hour of rest, self-reflection, and planning can be a life-saver. I would love to hear about how you make time out for yourselves - napping, walking, bathing -- when is your special time out? Let me know. And, just for today, can you plan to take an actual nap? It's Sunday -- it should be OK.

I hope wherever you are today it is a sunny, soft, bright day. Today is a special day for me, the birthday of my daughter, AND the birthday of one of my closest friends. So Happy Birthday, Cassandra and Katarina!!!!!! This amazing image is of the Harvest Goddess at our island's fall fair. She's there every year, and I take her as a reminder of the richness and beauty of the feminine. A woman made of flowers! So please hold the intention today to celebrate your abundant self. Imagine yourself as a woman made of flowers. What flowers would there be? What colours? What stage of bloom? Count all the riches of your own self and spirit. Name them. Celebrate them. And have a wonderful day.

New Classes at Karuna

Here's a sort of Victorian glam pic of a slightly younger, slightly skinnier moi. Have you noticed the trendiness of stuff with a sort of dark, edgy take on Victoriana? I'm just waiting for steampunk bellydance -- or maybe it's already out there? Let me know what you see. But that's not really what this post is about. I just wanted to let you know that I have a new session of classes starting next week at Karuna Yoga and Dance. I am teaching Ongoing Bellydance, which is an intermediate level class for anyone who has completed a beginner's session, with me, or with any other teacher. We will be exploring the elegant intricacies of Classical Egyptian dance, and balancing intense technique with fun, playful choreography. The theme for my fall's classes and workshops is "Finding Grace." Join me for the eight week session at Karuna, on Wednesday evenings from 7:30 to 8:45. For further information about the studio, and to register on line, check out Karuna's website.

I encourage beginning dancers to sign up for my friend Gillian's wonderful, gentle beginners class on Thursdays, also at Karuna.

Hello beautiful dancers; I had a bit of a hiatus this summer, but I'll be here often now that we are moving into fall, sharing daily intentions, dance news, reflections, and lots of ideas for self-care. I'd like to start today with this idea of being gentle with ourselves. What does this mean? Most of us experience what it is to be gentle (soft, kind, patient, wise) when we are with our babies, our pets, our girl-friends when they are down. Perhaps we are less gentle with our older kids, our partners, and ... ourselves. Is gentleness a response to vulnerability, perceived fragility, maybe powerlessness? And are these perhaps qualities we don't like to see or acknowledge in the partners we depend on, our kids as they go out into the (scary) world, and... ourselves? I think it is hard for us to hold the idea that strength and vulnerability can co-exist; we deny vulnerability because it frightens us. We are not gentle with ourselves because we don't like to admit that there are parts of us that are fragile, vulnerable, and frightened. Yet these qualities are part of being alive in the world, just as our strength, competence, and courage are. And all these qualities mingle, all the time, in a whole human being. And remember, we are not just gentle with what is vulnerable -- we are gentle with things of great value. We are gentle with our treasures. So please, as you go out into the world today, remember that you are strong AND vulnerable, that you can be frightened AND have courage, and, above all, that you are of great value, and deserve to treasure yourself. Be gentle. (And as a final encouragement, here is a pic of my role model in gentleness.)

It's really, truly summer, which is one reason I haven't sat down at the computer for awhile. I hope that wherever you are, it is as divine as it is here: sun, light breeze, perfect temperatures, cool nights, clear ocean water, warm rocks, crazy beautiful flowers like this fabulous poppy I shot in my friend LeeAndra's garden. I love to watch women adorn themselves like flowers for these summer days. Where we are on the rural "Wet" Coast, most of our clothing choices throughout the year are dictated by the need to stay warm and dry. In these couple of summer months we finally get to relax and sink into our skins, and dress for beauty and flair and fun. We can be lily-elegant (like the woman I saw on the restaurant patio the other night in a simple white linen sheath, big silver artsy cuff bracelet, sleek silver mule sandals with a little wedge heel, and of course a pristine pedicure) or poppy-artsy (like my friend Cathy on her way to the beach in a styley red polka dot sundress, black polka dot head band, red hoop earrings and red framed Jackie O sunglasses) or daisy-fresh (like me heading to the farm market in soft faded-to-chambray rolled-up jeans, bright yellow organic cotton tank, and a big daisy in my hair.) What flower are you this summer? Let me know! Dressing for dance in the summer months is sometimes a challenge. A heavy bedla plus satin, or a tight choli with piles of Afghani jewelery are both beautiful, but, as I'm sure you know, either can quickly turn into a sweaty itchy nightmare in warmer temperatures. And don't even think about stretch velvet. Yuck! It's hard to feel beautiful when you're scratchy, damp and hot. It's time to get out your lightest cotton gypsy skirts with matching organic cotton panties, slip on an airy tie-front cotton top, and let body bronzer and flowers be your jewelry. Send me a picture and I'll post it. Happy sunshine, beautiful dancers!

The last week or so has been pretty challenging. I've been involved in an awkward and uncomfortable situation and feeling alot of tension and resistance towards the situation and towards life in general. My shoulders spend alot of time up around my ears and I have to remind myself to take nice DEEP yogic breaths, because my breathing has been shallow, my eyes have been squinched up, and I feel like I'm inwardly flinching and saying "no-no-no-no-no-" to the challenge and discomfort. So I'm sharing with you some wisdom that I am trying to incorporate into my life -- and that is to say YES to every situation that comes along. Now I don't mean you should start saying YES to demands or people that are too much. By all means set good boundaries and learn to say NO to outward demands when you should. I talked about that in the last post! I mean we could start to say YES inwardly, to accept and remain open to the next thing that life is bringing us, whether it is beautiful or uncomfortable or both.
Here is a passage from Pema Chodron's wonderful book "Start Where You Are" which says it better than I could: " ... if you're going to grow up fully ... you begin to connect with the intelligence that you already have....If you're going to be fully mature, you will no longer be imprisoned in the childhood feeling that you always need to protect yourself or shield yourself because things are too harsh. If you're going to be grown up -- which I would define as being completely at home in your world no matter how difficult the situation -- it's because you will allow something that's already in you to be nurtured. You allow it to grow, you allow it to come out, instead of all the time shielding it and protecting it and keeping it buried."
This week, see if you can, when faced with discomfort, take a deep breath and say "YES -- this is my life and I embrace it."

By the way, this beautiful white rose is an antique ( bred in the 1750's) Bourbon rambler which grows gracefully over the door and roof of my old studio. I wish you could stick your nose in it right now -- it is densely fragrant: not too sweet; rich, lemony, a little bit sharp, but also green and soft. Easy to say YES to this rose!

Do you know how to take care of yourself? Really take care of yourself? I think this is a huge challenge for us as women. It is only now, in my 44th year, that I am finally beginning to understand the concept. I think most of us, in one way or another, habitually bounce between the poles of self-sacrifice and self-indulgence, perhaps mistaking self-indulgence for self-care. We work hard, we give so much to others, often putting them before ourselves, and we push ourselves hard to achieve. Stress, tiredness, and perhaps twinges of resentment build up, then we over-indulge; in food, shopping, wine, strenuous working out, or whatever our thing is, thinking (rightly but wrongly) "I deserve this!!" This doesn't necessarily make us feel good in the long run, especially when it leads to struggles with weight, debt, and other hangovers. Real self-care, I think, involves a combination of kind self-discipline with true self-nurturing. This week, try to see what happens if you are extra mindful with the use of your precious energy, and if you really listen to that inner voice that says "I need to eat now... rest now... say no to this person... take some private time... not eat this donut..." Try this and let me know what happens!

This flower is one of the wild sweet peas -- we call them beach peas -- that grow near the beach and bloom this time of year. Their blossoms are tiny and brilliant purple. I caught this one against a warm blue mid-day sky on my walk the other day. The sun was strong on my shoulders and the air was full of the warm smell of dry grass and the cool smell of ocean. It really feels like the beginning of summer.

Happy Endings

Last night was the last class of the season at Karuna Yoga and Dance, and here are the beautiful dancers from that little class .(Clockwise from 6:00: me, Robyn, Molly, Fern, Evelyn, and Kristi.)

Hafiz

I'm a bit late with our weekly intention due to our busy weekend! I want to share with you this poem by Hafiz, translated by Daniel Ladinsky. Click on the title of this post to get the beautiful book this is excerpted from.

TODAY

I
Do not
Want to step so quickly
Over a beautiful line on God's palm
As I move through the earth's
Marketplace
Today.

I do not want to touch any object in this world
Without my eyes testifying to the truth
That everything is
My Beloved.

Something has happened
To my understanding of existence
That now makes my heart always full of wonder
And kindness.

I do not want to step so quickly
Over this sacred place on God's body
That is right beneath your
Own foot

As I
Dance with
Precious life
Today.

Upcoming Workshop with Srimati Shyamala

Following is a press release about an upcoming workshop on Denman Island. It sounds wonderful.

~ "These dances possess the unique ability to stir the spirit, excite the mind, reveal truth and celebrate the divine." ~

This ancient temple dance is transcendental in nature, with the ability to send the dancer beyond his/her own body. Bharatanatyam is aerobic physical exercise, increasing blood circulation. The dancer's whole endocrine system is activated with stimulation of acupressure points in the feet, also improving the physical health. In addition, bharatanatyam will give you more concentration, due to the coordination taught.

Bharatanatyam (also known as Devadasi Sadir) is the Sacred Temple Dance of South India. It is an embodied expression of love and devotion for the divine. For 2,000 years these dances have been given as worship (puja) by women called Devadasis (Servants of the Divine). This dance incorporates yoga in its ancient movements and deep prayer. The stomping foot movements are designed to stimulate pressure points in the dancer's feet. Bharatanatyam's embodied prayer is a shared communion between the dancer, the witness and the Divine. It is a powerful, deep and beautifully balanced celebration of body, mind and spirit.

Instructor: Our special guest is Srimati Shyamala, from Chennai, India. Her particular dance style uses yogic patterns, with movements all in opening lines. During Shyamala's unique dance instruction students will gain an overall deeper understanding of themselves - body and soul.

Date/Times: Friday June 27th and Saturday June 28th
- Friday June 27th at 10:00 am - 12:00 and 2:00 - 4:00 pm and
- Saturday June 28 at 9:00 - 11:00 am and 1:00-3:00 pm with a performance by Srimati Shyamala on the Saturday night at 7 pm.

Location: At a quiet studio at the south end of Denman Island Studio. For further information about Denman Island including accommodation ideas go to www.denmanisland.com.

Costs: Fees for 4 x 2 hour workshops = $150. The cost of the performance is $25 for students and $30 for others.How to Register: The registration fee for the workshop is $150. A $75 non-refundable deposit is required by June 22nd to register with remaining fees due on June 27. Space is limited, so register soon if you are interested! Please contact Josey at yogastream@uniserve.com for more information and for registration. You can also contact Gillian at yogadance@telus.net if you have any questions.

Northern Women Rock

I just got back from a fantastic weekend teaching experience in Quesnel, B.C. For those of you who may not know, Quesnel is a little city in the Central Interior of British Columbia, a wild and beautiful place and an old gold-rush town. Getting there was an adventure involving flying over ice-fields in an 18 seat prop plane... wheee!! I've heard that Northern women are a breed apart, and this weekend proved it. I had the privilege of sharing the weekend with women who were brave, wise, bawdy, tender, strong, outspoken, authentic, audacious, vulnerable, loving, and powerful. I'm sure I learned as much as I taught. I love working with groups of women and being able to see into their lives. It never ceases to amaze and impress me when I witness all that we negotiate in our lives, and with what grace. We had a weekend packed with dancing, learning, and performing -- fun but tiring. I'm sure we all would have enjoyed the luxury of a bubble bath or a little nap between workshops or before the show. For a few who, like me, were away from home, this was a possibility. Mostly what I saw were women squeezing these few hours of play and self-care into demanding lives of service and hard work. Mind you, nobody was complaining. Or if they were, it was with large doses of humour. Women were running out to feed horses and milk goats, drive their healthy children around or nurse their sick ones, care for ailing relatives, cook, tend businesses, and so on, and so on.... then running back and joyfully donning their glamour gear and throwing themselves with enthusiasm and humour into all our activities. I have to admit I think we are pretty fabulous creatures, and not just for our beauty!!! Here are a few random highlights from a weekend full of highlights: (above is the group from Sunday's Burlesque workshop)A couple of hours, a few sets of hands, a pile of yardage, transform the Legion Hall into a glamourous Souk/Dance Studio/Nightclub.

Just a few of the many beautiful performers at the Saturday night 'Burlesque Meets Bellydance' show : Suzon, a mysterious tribal dancer, and Manuela.

Shopping, dancing, journalling, eating!

The beautiful dancers in Saturday's 'Golden Age of Egyptian Dance' workshop. Second from the left is Brenda, the intrepid organizer of the weekend. Third from the left is yours truly.

Small actions can have profound results, and small positive changes in our lives can bring profound rewards over time. Conventional wisdom tells us that it takes 21 days to establish a new habit. 21 days from today is the Summer Solstice, the centre of the year. What small change are you willing to commit to, to begin to see positive results by June 21st? I have been promising myself to renew my practice of mindfulness meditation. So I will begin with five minutes a day, every day. What can you do for five minutes a day to begin to bring the change you wish to see in your life? Let me know.

This is the amazing chrysanthemum-like centre of the clematis that clings to the wall outside my front door. The HUGE white blooms are spectacular.

Shiva Nataraja

I attended a workshop today taught by my friend Cathy Stoyko. She was teaching a dance to honour the hindu deity Shiva, which she learned on a recent trip to India. She learned this dance from it's creator, Hemund, of the Saraswati Music School in Pushkar, Rajasthan. The choreography is a Bharat Natyam fusion, not strictly classical, although it incorporates many traditional movement combinations and mudras. We were dancing in a big gymnasium with a not-so-clean floor, but the atmosphere created by Cathy's serene, focused teaching, and by the devotional quality of the dance was meditative, tranquil, and beautiful. It was a refreshment for both spirit and body. A few notes on Shiva from Cathy's hand-out: "One of the most complex gods of India, Shiva has many forms. He is the destroyer and the restorer, the great ascetic and the symbol of sensuality, the benevolent herdsman of souls and the wrathful avenger. He is the Great God or divine male energy. (His counterpart) Shakti is the divine female energy. As Shiva Nataraja, he is the Lord of the Dance, the moving force of the Universe. The entire cosmos is his theatre." My own contemplation of Shiva has led me to revere his energy as the beauty of impermanence. Recognizing the impermanent nature of all things truly allows us to surrender with joy, and to relax into the dance of life.

Open Heart

This delicious pink peony is blooming right outside my door. After five years, these peonies are coming into their own -- this year they are big and vibrant and full of blooms and buds. Pink peonies bring good luck and prosperity. I love them so much I have one tattooed on my shoulder! They remind me of our tender hearts when they open to the world. I am reading a really fun book right now, 'The Life Organizer' by Jennifer Louden. It's not really about organizing, it's more about emerging into our true selves and lives, and is full of tools and insights for women who want to live more creatively, authentically and from-the-heart. I want to share a quote from this book, about our hearts: "...there is strong evidence that by connecting with your heart...you affect others around you. Your heart produces 2 1/2 watts of electrical energy each time it beats, creating an electromagnetic field identical the the electromagnetic field around the earth. This field takes on a torus, an egglike donut that extends beyond our body from three to twenty-five feet...we may be able to link our hearts with those of others...using the nature of the torus ...to promote well-being..." Isn't that a marvellous image? When we feel our heart going out to somebody, imagine, it actually is! Jennifer recommends the practice, during moments of stress or uncertainty, of taking a moment to place your hand on your heart and ask what wisdom or comfort is there. This week it my intention to use this practice often.

You're A Goddess - Kuanyin

During the Sacred Dance Retreat last weekend we did some powerful work with Goddesses. Each dancer recieved an image of a goddess when she arrived at the retreat, and worked with and researched that goddess over the course of the weekend. Dancers were heard discussing their goddesses over lunch, and seen pouring over goddess books during breaks. Many reported dreams with their goddesses. Some had powerful healing breakthroughs, and all learned something new. My sweetie commented that we don't get much of a chance in our culture to work with archetypes, or "communicate with the gods," so people find it powerful, useful, and FUN when they have a chance. My goddess (drawn at random) was Kwanyin, pictured above. She is a bodhisattva, a Chinese relation of the Tibetan White Tara (long my patroness). She embodies mercy and compassion, and combines clear sightedness and discrimination with universal love and acceptance. No wonder she is so greatly loved! Loving acceptance combined with clear boundaries, discriminating wisdom & loving self-care: a tall order, but exactly what I seek to bring in to my life now. I am glad to welcome in the energy of this exquisite goddess.

TAHIA CARIOCA

Classic elegance. What more is there to say?

We Did It!!!!!

The Women's Sacred Dance Retreat was wonderful! Twenty beautiful dancers came from far and wide for a dancey dreamy transformative weekend. We were blessed with amazing warm gentle sunny weather and with many moments of true magic. And if you missed it this time, it's decided: we're doing it again on the full moon in July! (July 18th, 19th, & 20th) E-mail Gillian at yogadance@telus.net if you'd like more info or a registration package. In the meantime, here is a little sampling of the magic we created this weekend:

Gillian leads the participants in her Temple Dance Flow "Offering" which was the stunning closing of the Sacred Dance Show on Saturday night:


Everyone brought offerings to create this group altar:


A steamy moment during the Celebrating our Sensuality workshop:


An ecstatic dance moment!


There were a few spare moments for relaxing in nature...



Colourful gypsies!

Creating from the Heart

I bought these gorgeous pink stargazers yesterday to adorn our household altar for this week which holds my birthday, the full moon, and the dance retreat!!! As the date of the retreat approaches, my lists are getting longer and my heart is starting to pitter-pat! Even though I have hosted many retreats in the past, taught dozens of workshops and hundreds of classes, I still feel nervous and excited when a new event approaches. When I sat down at the Vernal Equinox to set my goals and intentions for the coming three months, I included both "Make the Sacred Dance Retreat wonderful in every way," and "Make my classes as fresh and good as they can be by teaching from my heart." (and yes, I do know that I set really high standards for myself!) On March 21st, this sounded great, and very do-able. Now, at one week and counting, my perfectionism could start to trip me up. (Do you ever do this to yourself?) But I'm not going to let it! I want to create an experience that is wonderful & fulfilling for the participants, and also wonderful and fulfilling for me as a teacher and organizer. It helps to have Gillian as a collaborator - she keeps her dance-work grounded in her heart, and reminds me to do the same. We remind each other to work for ease, pleasure, and generosity of heart. We remind each other that if we are sharing our from our true selves with authenticity and ardour, all good things will follow. I recently read somewhere that the thing you can't help but do is usually your greatest talent. The things we take for granted in ourselves are often our greatest gifts to others. So my intention for this coming week is threefold: to enjoy thoroughly this process of preparation, to do, to share, and to value the things that come most naturally to me, and to take the time to check in with my heart/feeling/instinct at every step of the way. Will you join me?

Sacred Dance Show!

Here's Cathy doing some special promotion for the upcoming Sacred Dance Show. The show is happening in conjunction with the Sacred Dance Retreat next weekend. Below is the press release about the show:
Enjoy an inspiring evening of sacred dance from around the world, and from many traditions. Experience dances that explore the theme of sacred dance on May 17 at the Denman Island Community Hall. Local and visiting dancers will perform a variety of sacred dance including: Indian classical dance, yoga dance, Middle Eastern dance, African, contemporary, improvisational, and modern dance. Performances by Bronwyn Simons, Jade de Trey, Kathy Coats, Dances of Universal Peace, Cathy Stoyko, Gillian Saxby, Lynette Harper, particpants in the Sacred Dance retreat, Sheelagh MacKenzie, Taiya Curle, and many more! Also, live Shakuhachi flute and refreshments for you enjoyment. Come, be inspired, and support the Hermitage! The Dharma Fellowship of His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa maintains a Hermitage meditation and spiritual practice on Denman Island. Founded in 2005, the Hermitage provides simple facilities for those seeking spiritual renewal, for inner peace and self-realization, within a serene Buddhist setting. Still very new, and with no funding other than what comes from dedicated members, the property is very much in an early stage of development; nevertheless events, meditation retreats, and teaching sessions, the participation of Lamas and meditators, and the growth of a definite spiritual presence, has already begun to emerge.The Hermitage is made up of 60 acres of extremely beautiful gently rolling farm land, consisting of four open grassy meadows bounded by thick forest, and a number of buildings including a 30 foot Yurt used as our temple. For more info about the hermitage on Denman Island, click on the title of this post. For more information about the show, please contact Cathy at cdstoyko@uniserve.com. Tickets are $16 and will be available at the Denman Island General Store and Abraxas Books on Denman, and in Courtenay at Pure Land Market on Cliff Ave. Admission by donation will also be accepted at the door, space permitting. As this is a fundraiser for the Denman Island Hermitage Centre, additional donations are welcome. Doors will open at 6:30, show at 7PM. Park and ride, the show is timed for off islanders to connect with ferries and the Denman hall is located within walking distance to the ferry.