The word feminist was an ear chime in 1968, a sound that every cell in my body registered. I was standing in history’s crossfire. Transported from a childhood home steeped in traditions forged by an unyielding father figure and literally dropped right into the hurricane eye of uber-radical UCLA. Talk about frying pan to fire.

Maybe this musing about the mystic is spurned by current loss. Beloved mother-in-law of fifty years. Did we really first meet when I was 19? Matriarchal moon holding six siblings in her orbit, so many grandchildren, great grandchildren. And now, the shape of this long-standing constellation shifts.

The essence of the phone call I took last week rang with familiarity.  Once again, a grateful being reports the influence dance practice wielded in shaping a life.  No matter that this person attended only a year or two, the last time a decade ago.  The experience had been of great import and they wanted me to know.

The name Body Joy and I have had a tumultuous relationship. That name came on a whim in 2005. The sale of Dreizler Physical Therapy---name, logo, community standing ---was imminent and I was suffering a hiccup moment.

Perched poised at her manual typewriter Washington Square, NYC, 2022:

Personal Poem 4 U, by donation

How could I not?  She looked to be the same age I was Golden Gate Park, SF, 1969.  And the Square was alive with the exact same busting out energy.

The smell of Grandma’s kitchen lives on in my cells.  The slope of her spine bending to peer in the oven. Her low drone hum as she mixed and bustled and served.  But despite being a grateful recipient of my own Mom’s inherited flair for cooking, I embarked upon adulthood with a specialty in chocolate chip cookies.

Align.  Align with.  Be in alignment.  This word has such physical footing---arrangement in a straight line or in correct or appropriate relative positions.  The deeper definition radiates from that foundational physicality. 

I laid in funky dread bed this morning, pulled comfort over my head, delayed the rise. Coffee/newspaper (see headlines above) just confirmed the everything-feels-broken sensibility.  And I’m old enough to know it has felt this bad before.

Essentials: the body of work blending ball and roller release with core activation and stretching.  Body self-care that supports doing everything we care about.  It was named Essentials way before the emergence of pandemic-related essential workers and essential services. 

How's your pleasure quotient lately? Can you feel how unrelenting stress has emptied our collective cups? So you'll notice a recurrent theme rolling in my mat classes: “This is about pleasure...move toward it.

Loss. Again. I know you know. This time a friend, colleague, a soul sister. You and I, we live in the midst of a great turning. And, as per usual, some of us are dying. But these transitions, the losses coming down in these legendary times, somehow they feel different.

Mr. Foam Roller dropped a wisdom bomb on me. And here’s one thing I know about wisdom: it’s no static thing. It’s not a place we arrive. It’s dynamic, ever-changing, fluid.

I remember a moment just like this years ago: Oregon coast, feet-in-the-sand. Out of the blue, a notion to sell the physical therapy clinic. It dawned all over me. A need to bust out of confinement, something expansive demanding space for expression. Eventually the sale came to pass.

Stories.  I find myself telling stories these days.  A sign of aging, perhaps.  Yet history has value.

We began June 2020.  Now it’s been happening seven consecutive seasons. Dancing in fertile farmland adjacent to the Sacramento River.  Nearly every Sunday.

Let’s talk about all things foam roller. This inventive tool slipped into my life in 1992, introduced by a PT who worked in my clinic. Absolutely love at first sight, such a potent creative memorable chapter.

“What are you selling?” Inquiry numero uno from business consultant folks. I went through professional overhaul twice in fifteen years at Dreizler Physical Therapy. The second time, a creative staff nailed it. “Providing expert hands on care and individualized home exercise prescription.” Everything just naturally flowed out of that mission. So I get the value of being clear in messaging.

Decisions. Daily. We weigh desire against risk. Calculate probability in the face of longing. Concern for safety rides in direct opposition to our acute yearning. You would think by now we’d be incredibly skilled at judgment calls.

I've rolled around on the floor enjoying this same view periodically over twenty years. There is something so child-like nourishing about tumbling around on the ground...no matter what the view.

Breathe, move, change. Years ago this came to me as a personal mantra. From time to time, these three words make an appearance in writing.