a month of learning

What an incredible month, so much learning in so many different realms. I'm right now in Trinidad Beach, northern California and hope to make it home by tomorrow night, weather permitting, it's cold here too!



A poem to close a great month:



Resonance
The movement of hand on body, in gesture of kindness and calm.
Elaborate, seeking, knowing, glorious.
Seeing beyond skin to the life beneath.
Pulling up sweetness, tightness cast off.
Body askew, formed in wonder.
Suddenly the circles of knowing turn together, beauty comes into line, the body sighs and lets go.

Mom joined me in San Fran, this is a picture of us at the tree of hope at city hall in San Fran that my friend Jeff is responsible for making happen. http://www.rainbowfund.org/ and a pic of chip looking back to the city and the golden gate bridge and checking out alcatraz.

see you all soon!

The last week at Esalen

Well, just finished my first evaluation massage on one of the massage crew here at Esalen and i got totally good feedback: "i was transported to a sense of timelessness" "great pressure, deep presense, i totally relaxed and felt the whole body was addressed"....this is good news, i can massage!

I still have 2 more to do, one of which is on our teacher, yikes. I've been working on doing one other practice massage sometime during the day. My knee is doing great, my shoulder is aching and sore, i've been going to a chiropractor to get some help for it, he's from sasktoon, came here 8 years ago for a month and never went home! He says it's basically exhaustion of the muscles around the anterior deltoid (yes i even know exactly where that is now) :) He suggests a month of rest, exercise, strengthening, and doing heat and cold compresses on the shoulder to heal it completely. I'm up for it, anyone got any leads on a beach front home that needs to be housesat for the month of January or February? :)

It is going so well here, i'm learning tons, learning how to work with peoples bodies, learning how to find the healer within myself. The place is stunning and it's hard to imagine not being here after sinking so deeply into being here. I'd like to come back and do the work study programme.

This place runs so well, given that 60 % of the "staff" are work study students who come for a month and work 32 hours a week, have programme in the evening focussed on a topic: thai massage, writing, yoga etc, and build their own community. sounds cool. check out the website if you interested.

This place is magic. I've learned thai chi while i've been here with the master:

Al Chung Liang Huang. Every morning for the past 2 weeks he's offered a morning class which we've been able to take. He is amazing! 72 years old and so full of chi! He makes it so accessible, beautiful and necessary for life. Let's just say he's a world famous tai chi master, written many books and teaches with grace and deep reverance. You never know who will be at esalen. http://www.livingtao.org/

It's a windy day, it's gotten a bit cooler, but so beautiful!

much love from big sur, Doris

early morning tai chi practice.....