Ever since a dear friend introduced Acro Yoga to me a few years ago, I have yet to find something that makes me feel more open and relaxed and connected to myself and the other person.

I'm excited to be receiving a 90-minute Thai & Fly session from local Great Barrington practitioner Johanna Wise next week!! Her website is www.wisetouch.net. 

In the mean time, we play!  

Music cred to Tracy Chapman via Itunes. ​

I just finished watching Thomas Myers being interviewed by Naudi Aguilar of Functional Patterns and there were some terrific take-aways. I was first introduced to Myers in 2010 when I was working at Equinox. He has always been a supporter of movement practitioners (trainers, yoga instructors, group fitness instructors, etc.) as he views body awareness and "self-remembering" as an essential part of health maintenance. He also mentioned something at the end of the interview that really resonated with  me, especially as I've been able to spend more and more time outside and think about the environment more.

​He said: "Conservation of our own energy will help with conservation of the environment." Preach, Tom!

If we all have a better understanding of how our bodies work, how energy moves through our bodies, how our digestive system works, then our appreciation for the Earth has to grow. We're all made of the same stuff, it's our patterns that distinguish us. 

He has a fantastic message for movement practitioners at  24:32.

And if you don't have time to watch it...a quick summary of his message: movement practitioners are educators, and it is our shared responsibility to figure out what "children need to know to make it on this planet in terms of their physical movement." He refers to this as "kinesthetic literacy" and two of the big ideas to consider are:

- Reflexes: computers/tech aren't going anywhere, and are only going to become more and more in tune with our brains and how they work. Having quick reflexes and improving processing will help us keep up. 

- Original movement: I think what he's saying here is that the good old Presidential Physical Fitness test of sit-ups, pull-ups, push ups, and the sit-and-reach doesn't really prove that you're fit. Did it ever? So what if I can do 15 push ups one week, and 20 push ups the next? What about doing a minute of 10 different push ups one week, and come up with 10 different ones the next? We have to get out of these linear, segmented models of accomplishment when it comes to fitness. 

Myers also gives us a nice reminder that the world of biomechanics and research is in a very exciting but every-changing place. We should hold what we think we know lightly, because everything could change in five years! If we are grounded in our principles with our clients and students, then they too will be comfortable going along for the ride. 

When we were younger my brother and I would play catch anywhere, any time, with anything...baseball, frisbee, rocks in the driveway...you name it, we tossed it, and we would challenge ourselves to get 100 complete catches in a row before going inside.

I'm writing in the past tense, but, we still do it. 

This video shows variations on the "common lunge matrix", a key component of the Gray Institute movement wheelhouse, which asks people to train basic, fundamental movement patterns in a more functional, multi-dimensional manner.

Here, we've taken three lunges (forward, side, rotational), and turned them into leaps, which are simply plyometric lunges. Tom is super active - he plays in ice hockey AND soccer leagues up in Portland, ME, he runs, and practices yoga - so we increase the intensity of the exercise to meet him at his movement threshold. We also added in a good old game of catch with a ball we found on our walk earlier that morning to light up some coordination and balance areas in his brain. 

*Note: I started videotaping Tom after only 1 practice, so if he looks a little shaky it's because he's learning! There's that cognitive learning stage right in front of your eyes. By the third time around he was steady as an ox.  

There are many ways to continue to progress this matrix...grab a partner and get creative! 

Make yourself more supple and resilient by establishing a balanced routine of working in and working out. 

Both "Work In" and "Work Out" sessions are available.

• Shiatsu and Relaxation massage - great for stress reduction and re-balancing energy  
• Movement and Massage - for specific injuries or conditions, working on and off the table during the session 
• Restorative Training Session - for improving mobility and elasticity in the tissue, includes manual soft tissue work, foam rolling, and body weight exercise routines that you can do at home 

​All sessions are $95 for a 60-minutes or $135 for 90-minutes. ​

Give me a ring or send an email if you'd like to give someone a session for the holidays!
860.921.7196 or kadencePT@gmail.com

We have insane energy, my twin brother and I. We love to run, leap, push, roughhouse...Tom's not keen on climbing, but I'm crazy about it. Also any time we can throw or kick something, we're good to go for a couple hours. 

He helped me out with some videos over the holiday that help illustrate my approach to movement training. I do my best to keep the movements that I ask clients to perform relevant to their goals and lives (i.e. functional), appropriately challenging, relatively creative, and (almost) always FUN! 

The video below combines push ups and side planks with a little hand-eye coordination. What would I do without my wombmate??

​

We gave our hands some serious love on Sunday at the Sweethaven Farm Pop Up Shop. In the first workshop of the Herbal Wellness Series we made our own thick and luscious lavender salve. It's really easy to do...these are the instructions I gave to the ladies:​

After doing a bunch of research and making it home a few times, I found that this was the easiest combination to get some great results. *I will say that if you want it to be a bit creamier/softer, add more olive oil or sweet olive oil. 

While our concoctions cooled I taught them a little bit about the anatomy of the hand (27 bones in the hand and wrist!) as well as some of my favorite Shiatsu points. Then we worked through the following sequence on one another. It's easy to practice on yourself.

The Shiatsu points we worked on were:

Pericardium 6: "The Inner Gate" - good for nausea 
Heart 7: "Spirit Gate" - relieves pain in your upper side ribs and helps with insomnia 
Large Intestine 4: "The Great Eliminator" - helps with constipation and will induce labor. 
*Side note: if you really learn how to work this point you will be the most popular girl at a destination bachelorette party FOR SURE. Or with any group that is very dehydrated...don't do it on a pregnant friend unless she's ready to give birth! 
Pericardium 8: "Palace of Anxiety" - calms the spirit (and apparently helps relieve mouth sores...)
​

Thank you to everyone who came!!

Essential Oil Body Scrubs - Sunday, December 6, 1pm  $15
Create your own scrubs that feature easy to find ingredients and unique combinations of essential oils that suit you, a friend, or a loved one perfectly. Special guest from Young Living Essential Oils will be available for consult! Includes table discussion on other holistic ways to maintain healthy skin, including yoga, nutrition, strength training, foam rolling and meditation. ​

15-minute “Tune Up” Chair Massage - Sunday, December 6, ongoing throughout the day
Already stressed with holiday shopping and planning? Chronic tension in the neck, shoulders, and back that won’t go away? Stop in for a “Tune Up” chair massage and stretch after you run your Sunday errands. $10 for 10 minutes or $15 for 15 minutes. ​

This blog has been a long time comin'.

​I think it's best to start here:

And here:

​(And perhaps with the disclaimer that I originally wanted to call it it:

​"Big Hair, Big Butt, Big Dreams: A Country Girl's Life in the Big City." ​

But I had to go with the Body Electric because one of my very best friends whom I affectionately refer to as "Buddy" marked this passage in her copy of Leaves of Grass for me and told me I would like it. And I did. And even though not all of it makes sense to me, singing and electricity and the body DO, so it has nudged its way into the foundation of my practice. 

Which brings us to today, and the title of this post: Mind, Body, Soil. 

It's taken some time, but I've found a place where I can combine my passions in a way that also positively influence my clients. I split my time between gardening and crafting, and body work and movement coaching. The two spheres influence each other, most notably, in my experience, in the expression of Five Element Theory:​

Which posits that we are inherently born into a world of dark and light, masculine and feminine, Yin and Yang, and our energy ebbs and flows back and forth between the contrasting energies, influencing how our internal and external environments interact.

​The force that drives the exchange is referred to as Qi or "life force energy", and it is responsible for giving us form and movement and potential. The symbol for Qi looks like this: 

And it is a combination of two characters: vapor and rice. The pictogram represents the essence of Qi, which is the coming together of the material and the energetic, the tangible and the ephemeral.
Qi comes from your parents and the universe at the time of conception, as well as in the form of
food, air, and relationships.   

In studying Shiatsu and Five-Element Theory, as well as Western physical and social sciences, I've come to understand that there are a few underlying principles that have been guiding me somewhat under the radar as I continue to evolve as a practitioner, and just as a human.

Those are: 
​
Nature
Community
Legacy 

And at some point I will have a cool graphic that breaks down how each of those principles influence my actual work with individuals and groups, but for now it feels good just to throw it out there.

If you've read through the rest of the site then you've seen my tag line : 

and this is the most articulate, clear way I can describe Kadence. 

Looking forward to writing more soon.