What we learned in 2014

Chris and I learned a lot in 2014.

For example, living and working in a building under renovation causes wear and tear on our nerves. Getting through this time meant recommitting to our meditation practice, doing yoga, receiving bodywork, getting outside, having fun (even if we had to schedule it), being with friends, and other healthy activities were essential.

We learned to tolerate a certain amount of impatience and testiness.

We learned to be kinder to ourselves. We reminded ourselves that renovation was our decision and the results are ours to enjoy. That doesn’t change the fact that our nervous systems freaked out and needed soothing. We’re relieved construction is complete.

Chris and I experienced formal, informal, and ongoing learning in 2014. Bodyworkers sometimes joke that we are continuing education addicts. What follows does nothing to disprove this.

• January:  Largely thanks to outreach on Front Porch Forum, Chris and I started a community garden. You can learn more about that at thegardenat485elm.org.
• March:  We attended a 2-1/2 day Dermoneuromodulation workshop. This gentle hands-on bodywork maximizes the therapeutic benefits the skin as keyboard” that offers access to the nervous system. I would have preferred a protocol of specific techniques I could practice until I gained more proficiency. Chris internalized it more successfully and is integrating DNM into massages and craniosacral treatments.
• May:  Chris and I did Anatomy In Clay with Dr. Joseph E. Muscolino. Here’s my blog post about that very useful class.
• 

  The cultivator I stepped on in July. Instead of dinner at home that night, I had a tetanus shot at the E.R.

  July:  I was scheduled to be a teaching assistant for Teaching Therapeutic Yoga for Seniors at  Kripalu Center with my teachers, Kimberly Carson, MPH, E-RYT and Carol Krucoff, E-RYT. But a week before the program was to start, I stepped on a garden rake that went through my shoe and deep into my foot. At the same time, the Chair Yoga teacher at the Montpelier Senior Activity Center, where I teach, asked me to sub her classes — and then take them over in the fall. With my injured foot, I couldn’t assist a class at Kripalu. But I could teach chair yoga. While I’m still sorry I missed the class, staying home allowed me to take this opportunity to begin teaching chair yoga.

• August:  Chris was a teaching assistant for the Upledger Institute’s CranioSacral Therapy 2. Hearing an expert instructor present the work again while helping students understand it provides a level of learning that exceeds merely reviewing the material.
• September:  Chris was a teaching assistant for the Upledger Institute’s SomatoEmotional Release 1 with a teacher he’d never met before. He got a new take on a familiar technique and now gets better results in less treatment time.
• September:  I completed Geriatric Massage 2 with the Day Break Geriatric Massage Institute. We treated volunteer clients at a residential care facility, including residents on the memory care floors. I am grateful for the people and their families who let us learn by working with them.
• October:  Chris attended CST Touching the Brain 1; Stimulating Self-Correction Through Glial Interface. He learned an amazing amount of new information about the brain and nervous system from a gifted teacher. Most helpful was being able to use the information and techniques to help clients as soon as he got home.

We’ll begin 2015 with learning, too. On January 3, we’re hosting a Intro to Zentangle workshop.

We’ll learn a lot more about gardening and working with others to produce food.

We’ll continue settling into what is still our relatively new home and hometown. That’s the kind of learning that takes a lifetime. We’re looking forward to it.

What did you learn this year? We wish you a very happy new year.