Technology@#$#@$%

All of a sudden I can't get to other people's blogs. A while ago I was able to click on the person's name when she left a comment and I'd get to her blog(s). Now I'm told it's not available. So how do I become a follower?

It used to be we'd visit, write a letter or call on a telephone to communicate. Now we have Facebook, YouTube, Twitter etc. etc. etc. Oh sure, we can still use the old fashioned ways - I guess.

I'm really aware of when the ego is running the show, opening and closing the curtain.

So today we (Valerie and I) had a meeting with my producer, Areanne. I've written the script for the interview Steve will be conducting to introduce me and The Gentle Way to Fitness. Then I will be demonstrating a bit of it.

Is it Nia? Yes. Is it yoga? Yes. Is it dance? Yes. Is it theater? Yes. Is it qigong? Yes. It's all of these and more and none of these. It's energy manifesting as matter.

So here's the interview:


Introduction:
Steve introduces himself, me and the Subject:The Gentle Way to Fitness©

S: What is it?
The Gentle Way to Fitness© is a journey of the body from loving where you are to getting to where you want to be and loving that. We use movement and music.

S: Is it dance?
In that life is dance – yes. In that the purpose is to perform – no. The purpose of
The Gentle Way to Fitness© is very individual, very personal.

S: Is it exercise?
You could call it that. I hesitate to call it that, because the word “exercise” brings to mind jumping jacks and lifting weights. The Gentle Way to Fitness© focuses on movement that is natural, that could be part of life.

S: Well, I guess the best way to find out about The Gentle Way to Fitness© is to do it.
Yes, it’s like the difference between reading the menu and eating the food.

S: Is The Gentle Way to Fitness© for everyone?
It could be, but I must admit that it started out to be particularly designed to meet the needs of an older population as well as people who have some physical concerns such as obesity and/or other conditions that require a careful use of their bodies.

I understand you teach classes in The Gentle Way to Fitness© and that you are in the process of creating a DVD. How did it come about?
My students asked me to provide a DVD for them that they could watch and work with at home. I recommended some existing DVD’s which they purchased. Although they enjoyed them, they felt that the DVD’s were somewhat challenging for them and requested that I make one that was similar to the classes I teach.

S: What is the philosophy you bring to your classes and that you would bring to a DVD?
In all my teaching, I wish to impart the love and respect for the truly miraculous beings we are – matter created from energy; and that matter is complex, efficient, and absolutely beautiful. We have the capacity to create and recreate our bodies, even our destinies, through our thoughts leading to action. My desire is that I and my students take the miracles we discover in class into every aspect of our lives.

S: What background and training do you bring to this program?
I have always loved to move. As a child and teenager I was heavily involved in sports and took dance lessons and music lessons. In college, I studied dance with one of the original members of the Martha Graham Dance Company. I went on to study many forms of dance and soon found myself teaching, performing and doing choreography. One evening, I was riding to a rehearsal on the back of a motorcycle. We got hit by a car and the tendons and ligaments of my left knee and below were torn. It took a couple of years to heal well enough to walk normally and many more before I could dance almost as easily as I had before the accident. I took up Yoga and once again, found myself teaching it. It seems that whatever I study, I teach. Somehow, whenever I learn something, I can hardly wait to share whatever it is. Nineteen years ago I discovered Nia, a magnificent form of fusion fitness embodying elements from dance arts, martial arts and healing arts. I took all the Nia Trainings including White, Blue, Brown and Black Belts and the 5 Stages of Development. I have been teaching Nia to a wide variety of students for over seven years.

S: Anything else you can think of that is part of The Gentle Way to Fitness©?
Philosophically, I have studied and participated in a variety of spiritual and ethical teachings which I am certain influence my approach. I’ve explored the work of Moshe Feldenkrais and the Alexander Technique. I’ve been practicing qi gong, a Chinese practice that works with energy.

S: Sounds like you have a lot of ingredients in this soup! I won’t even ask you to define all of them!
We can do that another time. Before I forget, I want to say that one of the major trainings of my life is KelmanWorks.

S: What’s that?
In 1980 I met Scott Kelman who was in the process of teaching theater exercises based on mindfulness and body awareness. I studied and performed with Scott in Los Angeles while I lived there and when he moved to Portland, I studied with him here. Scott has passed on and Melanya Helene, a gifted teacher, is continuing the work and adding her own technique. I am also a trained and experienced actress. I’m sure my acting career is helpful in teaching fitness.

S: Please elaborate on how your acting career has contributed to your teaching.
Have you got about an hour? I think it would serve everyone to have acting training. I think of acting training as life training. It includes sharpening your senses, body awareness, empathy, learning how to communicate authentically, being willing to let it all hang out, being willing to take risks, learning to really listen to yourself and others. And of course there are the simple skills one learns – how to project, how to enunciate clearly, how to modulate your voice. We learn how to witness. There’s that space that watches. I’ve been in lots of situations – especially on tour – where I’ve had to adapt and adjust. That ability has held me in good stead as a teacher.

S: In all this background and experience, what would you say is the most important aspect you bring to teaching fitness?
The most important aspect I bring to teaching fitness, especially The Gentle Way to Fitness©, is that I absolutely love what I do.

S: Where is all this taking you? What’s in your future?
I will teach classes and give workshops whenever, wherever and for as long as I’m able and as long as I love doing so. The plan is for me to give a series of classes on this cable station. I’m pretty excited about that. I’m committed to creating at least one DVD. That has been an amazing journey so far. I’m looking for someone to appear who will help me fund it, write a grant, find a sponsor – something.

S: I have a feeling that may happen. Do you mind telling us how old you are?
Well, I’ll tell you that I am the oldest certified Nia teacher and that I was born in January of 1933. You can do the math.

S: You seem pretty healthy. To what do you attribute your fitness?
Well, if I’m going to teach The Gentle Way to Fitness©, I’d best model it. The basic ingredient, as I said at the beginning of this interview, is to bring love, respect and gratitude to everything I think, say and do. I’m not always successful in following my own instructions, but the intention is there and as it is said, “When the intention is clear, the means will appear.”

S: Speaking of modeling, would you like to give us a taste of your classes on cable and ultimately on the DVD?
I’d be glad to. So this is just a taste, not the whole meal.