Goodbye 2011

Well where did that month go?

Looking back over the last month of 2011, I think it's fair to say that it was a month of ups and downs.  Highs and Lows. The first half had some rough patches as I struggled to get back to full health after my run in with laryngitis and the things that accompanied it. My month was a bit light on the teaching front because of it...well that, and the reduced Christmas schedule, which definitely turned out to be a blessing, giving me a little more time to rest and do all those pre-holiday jobs that need doing, no matter how simple you try to keep things.

As the Christmas week approached however, it was time for some fun. Another road trip! We enjoy road trips and we have taken 2 in the last 2 weeks! The first destination was Muskoka, our new favourite place to visit with a pit stop in Toronto first for a spot of business and pleasure. Just pleasure for me :-) I got to dance some Nia with my Toronto Nia teacher, Martha Randall and reconnect with some of my fellow white belt graduates for the first time since July...that was special and I almost got to connect with another friend too, but not quite. Next time hopefully. We took in a show...well, you have to when in the city, especially at Christmas time....

Muskoka was perfect for my birthday. A wonderful place to relax and get pampered. The only thing that would have made it more perfect would have been to see it snow...or to see some snow there! But alas, despite the -12 temperatures there was no snow in sight between December 22 & 24. Oh well. It made for a much easier journey, on the plus side. Beautiful weather in both directions for a road trip. Bright blue skies, sunshine and even some snow-topped evergreens as we made our way through the lake-ridden landscape, on our way home on Christmas Eve. Beautiful!

Christmas was quiet. Quiet is good but I did miss my family this year, and I'm looking forward to March.

Then came NewYear and road trip number 2, taking us to Massachusetts, over the border. It's never my favourite time of year and has always been a slightly tricky time for me, not really sure why but I suspect I'm not the only one. It is a time when we can't help but review the year that has passed and maybe even judge it just a little. Our achievements, or if we feel like being especially hard on ourselves, the lack there of. The sad bits, the losses. If we're lucky however, we don't forget to remember the best bits. The friends we've made, the love we've given and received. The simple pleasures. The life lessons.

I was happy to retreat this year, spiritually retreat....for the first time. It was wonderful to immerse ourselves into such a nurturing environment and let everything else go. To roll out of bed at some unearthly hour and roll onto our mats for a morning yoga class. To eat a healthy breakfast and to study with an inspiring teacher. To meditate. To meet some like minded people and to be surrounded by beautiful countryside. To welcome 2012 in with some fabulous and joyful music... and to not have a hangover on New Years Day. I enjoyed the simplicity of this NewYear's Eve. The shift to this new year was more about the letting go of last year and any challenges it presented and moving joyfully and positively into the year ahead. I think it can be very easy to forget the significance of this sometimes with all the hype around the celebrations...the parties and the alcohol. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Recapitulating

It's now just over 2 weeks since I completed my Nia White Belt intensive training here in Ottawa but the memories are still very much at the forefront of my mind.

It was a truly unique week out of my life. Potentially life changing and definitely life shifting. I went on Day 1 with high hopes to have my spirits lifted after basement floods and personal injuries had been weighing me down for weeks prior, and totally came away high on Nia and with a renewed zest for life! This was truly a case of something showing up in my life exactly when I needed it.

I've never spent so much time dancing and moving in such energetic ways...so consistently. It was tiring at times for sure but also surprisingly energising. My body surprised me on several occasions in the way it somehow found energy reserves which I didn't know existed! My usually reluctant morning body seemed to spring to life at 8.30am as we began each day with a fabulous and inspiring Nia class with Martha Randall.  With the exception of my poorly (healing) finger, my body didn't fuss at all...during or after an hour of early morning movement. That's not normal for me, at that time in the morning, there are usually achey joints to be found and it felt so liberating to discover that such an energetic movement form could be mine before breakfast! 

After all that sudden activity and mind/body stimulation, I found I really needed to just let it all settle in the week which followed. After the intense "high" which lasted about 48 hrs after graduating, I appeared to "crash" and was so, so tired! It was a perfect time to take a little road trip and accompany Alan to Toronto...a change a scenery felt good. Funny...I did try to attend a Nia class in Toronto one morning, it felt like a great opportunity to do so, but for reasons I shall likely never know, after successfully navigating downtown Toronto and finding the venue listed on the website...nobody else showed up! Perhaps the class was cancelled for the summer months, I have no idea but either way, it seems I was not meant to dance that week. I was upset at the time, it felt a like a wasted opportunity but I had to smile, acknowledge that my research could clearly have been better and instead feel grateful that there was at least a Starbucks within sight, so I settled for a seat and coffee before retracing my steps back to the hotel.

That was over a week ago now and upon returning home I've revived my home practice and dug out my Opal DVD a couple of times and it was great having a deeper understanding and connection with the moves and to recapitulate some of the feelings and moments shared on the training. Moments of learning, connectedness, community and good old fashioned Joy! It was such a fun training...so many laughs, and some tears, but release and shifting on an intensive like that is only natural..it's the body's way...

So what is next? Well...it is now my intention to teach Nia one day. I have a long way to go first though. Still a huge amount to learn. This is just the beginning; the tip of the iceberg, but I intend to give it my best shot and see where that takes me. I certainly never imagined that I'd end up learning how to choreograph dance classes! It just shows what can be possible if you allow your heart to rule your head just once in a while!

Maybe by the new year I'll be ready to at least test out my new found knowledge....I'll keep you posted!