Change is Good

Yeah, those are my feet.  That's my pale MN skin.  Those are my toes, slightly arthritic from too many years of dancing in high heels.  Not to mention living in cowboy boots for most of my 20s.  What is it I'm doing here?  I'm trying to restore movement to my feet, walking on a sandbag, and then going up on my toes while adjusting to the sand shifting under my feet.  Can this really make a difference? Um ... yes, it can.  We spend so much of our time in shoes that restrict movement in our feet, walking on artificially flat surfaces, our bodies have lost some of their natural ability to function. (See arthritic toes.)  Much of what we consider normal physical responses to aging (tighter joints, loss of height, loss of mobility) isn't actually natural.  These losses have more to do with how we use (or don't use) our bodies daily. 

[Abrupt segue here. Stay with me.]

You might have noticed that the name on my website, FaceBook page, and Instagram account have all changed to Healing and Balance.  No longer Yoga for Healing and Balance.  I spent much time deliberating about this.  I'm not going to stop teaching yoga by any means.  But I am currently studying the body and gaining a new, deeper understanding of how important other kinds of movement are for our overall health. I am finding myself happily encouraged as the teachings I have shared for two decades are affirmed by folks who know more waaaay more than I do about biomechanics and natural movement.  I am also discovering that what I have been teaching is so much more than simply bones and muscles and joints, oh my.  Healing and Balance feels all-encompassing and more appropriate for where my current studies are taking me.

I'm doing a good bit of educating myself in this new arena and I cannot wait to be able to share it widely. For now, I am trying to practice what I'm learning, understand it both physically and intellectually.  I am watching my own body change and, in turn, watching my ideas about what I need for my health change as well.

In the meantime, while my brain is happily exploding, go fold up a blanket if you don't have a sandbag.  Walk on it in your bare feet.  Move your toes.  Try balancing there.  Move around for a few minutes up there. You could even follow along on this low-quality video of mine. Then stand on the floor and notice how your feet feel. 

Change is good.

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