Two weeks ago I delivered my last donation of shoes for The Mountain Peace Shoe Drive. After two months of collecting shoes and offering discounts to my students for donating shoes, the final tally was 302 pairs of shoes! Mountain Peace is a domestic violence shelter and counseling center in Bailey, Colorado. Once the shoes were collected, they were to be sent to third world countries to help families get out of poverty and start their own businesses. Wow. Wanting to contribute as much as I possibly could, and in an effort to spread the word, I offered $1 off the cost of my Feldenkrais classes for each pair of shoes a student donated. I expected a fairly good response, but nothing like the one I got. Everyone dug deep into their closets, and I gave a lot of deep discounts for Feldenkrais...

My husband and I both love old movies, and there are some that we never get tired of watching. My husband especially likes watching old Westerns, which I do get tired of watching. Some of them make me silently groan and roll my eyes. Well, maybe I groan out loud while I roll my eyes. Last week my husband was channel surfing when he came upon one of his favorite movies of all time, “The Outlaw Josie Wales.” He almost squealed with delight as he settled back to watch it. I groaned silently and rolled my eyes. Okay, maybe I groaned out loud. I asked him why did we have to watch it again? He replied, “Because it has some great lines in it.” He would know, because he recited every single line out loud, in perfect harmony with the actors. Who knew his memory was that good?...

After being in the same office for eight years, I moved into a new space last Friday. In five short action-packed weeks, I found a new suite, negotiated a contract, designed the space, and supervised the construction. It was moving day, and I found myself overwhelmed by a myriad of mixed emotions. I was cool and detached as I packed my things before the movers got there. But, when I collected my assortment of butterfly pictures, I was surprised by the emotional tidal wave that threatened to sweep me away. The events of the past five weeks, and the memories of the past eight years caught up with me all at the same moment. Looking back, there was a lot of fun, joy, love, laughter and learning over those eight years. There was also a lot of pain, heartache and disappointment as well.    I gathered...

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”   -Dr. Leo Buscaglia I recently came across this quote from Dr. Leo Buscaglia, and it deeply touched me. It reminded me of so many wonderful and unexpected experiences that resulted in powerful and lasting friendships. Sometimes you just need to put yourself out there. The rest will come, as long as you begin from a position of respect, honesty, sincerity and kindness. It’s amazing what comes forth.

I was invited to join a networking group two years ago. It sounded like a great idea, until I found out that the group meets once a week at seven o’clock in the morning. Which meant I had to get up at five o’clock. It took two full years to wrap my head around the thought of being fully dressed and socially functional at that time of day. I finally decided to go, but I needed reinforcements for moral support, so I recruited my chiropractor to come with me. After all, there is safety in numbers, and at least there would be one person there that the other one knew, just in case we didn’t fit in with the group. As painful as it was to get up at five AM, I was doing pretty well until the featured speaker was introduced. He jumped up on the stage to blaring music, waving his...

When I heard that The Mountain Peace Shelter in Bailey was sponsoring a Shoe Drive, I felt that just cleaning out my closet and donating my unwanted shoes wasn’t enough. After all, not only will the donated shoes support PeaceWorks, Inc. and The Mountain Peace Shelter, the shoes are going to be sent to will help impoverished families in developing nations. How incredible is that?  So, I am running a special for my June Feldenkrais class, as well as my Delicate Dojo classes. For each pair of shoes that you donate, you will get $1 off of the class fee. If you bring one pair of shoes, you get $1 off; five pair of shoes, $5 off; twenty-five pair of shoes, you get a free class, and I have to rent a U-Haul to deliver the shoes to their destination. It’s what I consider a champagne...

Last week my acupuncturist informed me that 2014 was “The Year of the Horse.” When I asked him what that meant, he explained that it represented a lot of movement. Not just movement, but fast movement, abrupt movement, as well as sudden and unexpected changes in directions. Well, that certainly explains a lot. I swear I could hear the sound of hooves pounding behind me, getting ready to run me over. As if my acupuncturist could read my mind, he said, “At least you haven’t been caught in a stampede.” Well, not yet, anyway. But, it did get me thinking. Some of my most profound experiences and powerful lessons came from interactions with horses. But, the truth is, I have very little experience with horses. I have never engaged in horse-related activities, and I...

The morning after the first week of my Feldenkrais training I woke up with a sense of relief. “Ahhhh,” I thought to myself, “There’s no school today!” We had been advised to get a lot of rest over the weekend, but I was certain that didn’t apply to me. I was going to go to ballet class. After all, I hadn’t taken a class all week, and that was simply unacceptable. However, I did feel a bit odd in the morning. Two of my Italian Greyhounds jumped on top of me to greet me, but when I reached out to touch them, I suddenly stopped. Why had I never noticed how clear, deep and expressive their eyes were? I began to pet them and was startled by how soft and rich their coats felt to my touch. It was as if I had never touched them before. I could not keep my...

Last week I had the most amazing and rewarding experience when I was invited to speak to a small group of women and girls regarding safety tips for women at Mountain Peace, in Bailey, Colorado. Bailey is a great little mountain town, known more for its laid back attitude and spectacular scenery than it’s reputation for elegant evening wear. Mountain Peace has a charming and delightful second-hand shop called the Mountain Peace Boutique. As I made my way through the shop to the classroom, a bit of black lace stopped me in my tracks. Right in front of me was a  stunning, floor length black dress. Oooooo, pretty! I tried to focus on the task at hand. After all, I was there to teach a class, but the consummate shopper in me kept hearing the dress calling my name. I walked past it again,...