GLOBE DANCER: January 2010

Hello there my Sweet Friends,
I know it's been a while since you have heard from me. Much has been going on. How are you? How your dance, called life, on this planet we call earth? I trust your heart, health, mind and spirit are well. I'd love to hear from you.

I thought I'd give you a brief outline of my 2009, since it's been over 6 months since you've heard from me. But I'll start at the beginning. The highlights of 2009 were:
-I started out the year very abundant.
-I got stitches in my finger from a deep cut from a mirror. First stitches since childhood, but only the first of 2 sets of stitches for the year.
-I fell in love, I mean, head over heals in love, wildly and passionately. More about that later.
-I taught Aerial Contact in my home for 6 months- which is teaching people how to lift people into the air while dancing.
-I took my first Contact Improv Classes. I figured I'm teaching my version of Contact, I might as well see what Contact Improv is...it was nice to take some workshops and classes and learn how others teach this work.
-I was gifted a surgery that I had postponed doing for 11 years-second set of stitches.
-10 weeks after surgery I performed a dance peice I created to a paying audience.
-I started regularly doing Scar Tissue and Lymphatic Massage on clients and being able to teach them this work to support their health.
-Hit the big 40!
-One of the things I'm very excited about is that I taught my first Ecstatic Dance class and it was a great success with many people asking for the next one!
-I started back with my meditation practice and studying Buddhism, which is making me very happy, balanced and feeling so much more well rounded internally.

I have made some powerful intentions this year and I'm very excited about them. Just to share a few:
One is to support myself through my art of dance, sewing, performing, creativity and facilitating classes.
Opening to be with my life partner.
Heal and empower myself more in all areas of my life. I love that work Empower.
Spend more time in nature
Possibly start my journey to South America.

This past year has been a good one, full of newness, love, passion, big AH HA'S and scariness of decisions. But it was a great year for growth and perspective.

Falling in love was the most amazing thing of this year. Funny how you sometimes your don't know you are in love until after it's over. As beautiful, passionate, fun and alive as it was, sometimes self caring is the more important thing. The biggest lesson was that sometimes to get what you want (the end goal), you have to choose the opposite of that in the moment to get it in the future.

Mine was realizing this man had just gotten out of a 10 year relationship, 1 week before we met (I didn't know that for 2-3 months, I thought it had been 3 months-wordage is a funny thing), and 4 months into being with him, he had taken me to his town, introducing me to everyone he knew. I realized he needed to be a free man and I needed to care for myself by getting out of it, as I wasn't getting what I needed. So good to know what you need, ask for it and then honor it. It doesn't always look like it's what you want but it truly is...to love the self.

And then in August I gave birth to a fibroid the size of a 4 month old fetus. Ok ok, not a birth, but a surgery, a surgery that is the same as giving birth surgically, meaning it wasn't a natural birth.

Back 11 years ago, a doctor told me I had fibroids in my uterus and immediately wanted to take me into surgery. I was not having any of that. I realized I didn't believe in surgery. I got in touch with why the fibroids were there. I did a number of things, that honestly looking back at it is the most funny thing and would make a great one woman show if I shared with you all the craziness that I did to rid them of my body, any where from having my lover pouring olive oil up me, to taking disgusting tasting herbs, rubbing all kinds of things on my body, taking hormones that at first caused me extreme bliss, to suicidal thoughts. Yikes!

The pain got worse, I wasn't able to dance as well. I felt as if I had HUGE testicles on the inside of my belly bouncing around. Very unsexy.

It was pretty profound how it all happened. I thought about surgery, told a friend about is, she saw this info where I could get the exact surgery I needed and Voila! Within 4-5 weeks I was in surgery. It was scariest and hardest thing I ever had to decide in my life. But I had such amazing support and so much love around me. All that, on top of being at one of the top hospitals, with one of the best doctors, all for free-that doesn't happen often in the US. So I felt very taken care of and healing was great. I have the whole thing documented on video, my friend will be publishing it for scar tissue massage, which I am now doing.

I am actually considering putting together an organization now to support women through surgeries. No woman or man for that matter should go alone. I am so grateful I had people all around me, laying in bed with me all day the first day out. So healing. I learned so much through this and would love to give my wisdom on this subject to others.

Anyway, 10 weeks after surgery I performed to my first paying audience. Which was a blast. I got to put together my own work, I designed, dyed and sewed my own outfit for it. Everyone involved were amazing dancers.

OH, on top of that I turned 40 this year, yes, that is right, I'm 40! The best shape in my life, very strong, fit and full of life, energy and dancin' my bootie off. I've been wanting to be 40 since I was 16 years old, so I'm happy for this. I know this decade is going to be amazing.

In December I put on, as my birthday gift for me, and ecstatic dance class. It was amazing, so much fun. I got some great feedback and reviews. I am planning on my next class, I want to do something more regular. There is something amazing about giving people a space to dance to great music. What magic happens!

In December I went back to Meditation classes and sits, it's been amazing. I am loving it.

I have tons already in the fires starting for next month. I'll share those later.
I look forward to hearing from you. I'd love to catch up.
I'd love to hear your high lights from last year and if you have any intentions for this year.
Much love, Heather.