Inspired by exercise!

On Fri morning I had a treat! A 90 min exercise session led by Ari, who is the director of the centre. In his past life (ie - up until a year ago) he had his own personal training business. My co-worker told me that Ari would never say this to us (as he's too modest) but he was trainer to Jennifer Lopez and other A-List celebs. So, what a privilege to have him teach us !! I believe various mags also voted him as trainer of the year etc. It was, of course, a five star class!

Yesterday, I went to Jacob's Pillow, which is a dance centre - they had a community day with all sorts of great free performances - my fave was going into the dance school and observing the class doing their morning warm up. It was like a scene from The Kids From Fame. It sure made me want to move my body!!

Since waking up at 6.30am, I've been thinking exercise, exercise, exercise - so I'm about to head off on a long walk!! I joined the old ladies for 15 mins doing chair exercises, but that didn't do it for me!!

Last week, a somatic educator came in and gave a class which was also fascinating. Her tip for aging gracefully and healthily was "keep moving!"

So, movement and exercising is a definite theme right now!! I need something to balance 34 sedentary hours coming up this week of sitting in a golf cart!

Once we switch back into retreat ctr mode, next week, there will be two yoga classes per day. I hope I like the teacher!!! We also have a visiting teacher coming this week (Jodi) who is a dancer and yoga teacher and I'm totally looking forward to her class tmw!!

Angry

There are some advantages to being in the woods, 3,000 miles or so away from my home city. I had an e-mail last week that reminded me of an incident I'd conveniently forgotten - a really bad experience with the film crew from a TV talk show. the e-mail said that the footage was being aired this week. Big, fat, sinking feeling. Relief at being far away. Forever the optimist, hoping it wasn't going to be as awful as I anticipated. Call home to parents today. They didn't see it either. Apparently, their friends did and two of them were so disgusted they walked out of the room. I hate to think what the editing process did and what the angle/ narration was. I feel bad for the other people on film who were exploited (most probably) and ridiculed by the camera.
Lessons learnt - no longer trust the integrity of journalists. This upsets me having been a media person myself.
Lesson two: do not let the media interfere with my life. I think I was too media-friendly previously and too helpful - I actually arranged my schedule around journos/ film crews who wanted to come.
Lesson three: do not be hypnotised by the glamour of celebrity or media. There were more letdowns than moments of "yay!!" with media promises.
Lesson four: remember the good! Do not let this idiot TV show dissuade me from pursuing things in life which I know to be good and true. Carry on protecting myself and my guests. refuse to be a media circus. It's all good life experience. How many people can say that they have appeared on a trashy TV show in their life and come away feeling more strongly than ever that human dignity is something to be honoured and preserved? End of rant. PS - as my mother likes to dramatise stories - it may not be quite as awful as I'm hearing.

Persistence

There are two ladies here I take my hat off to. Interestingly, they are both 90, both hard of hearing and both very stubborn! The senior camp here has been sold out for ages with a huge waiting list. These two ladies both did not want to go home after their two week session ended. They enquired about lengthening their stay, got a "no" and would not take no for an answer!! They told everyone they saw every day about how much they wanted to stay. One lady even paid me for next week's massage as she was so determined she was going to be here. And, guess what, both of them are able to stay on despite the humungous waiting lists. Proof of the pudding that when there is a will there is a way!! I loved seeing their determination in action and am so delighted for them both.
I got a cute e-mail animation some months back (I think from Shlomit) about a bunch of frogs that wanted to climb to the top of the mountain - everyone said that frogs couldn't climb so high. One by one the frogs indeed got tired and toppled off. But, there was one hardy frog that hopped all the way to the top. WHat made this frog different from the others? Turned out, he was deaf so immune to the voices of "no" around him. I wonder if these two ladies' lack of hearing proved an asset as their inner voice of "I want this!" was more audible to them than the voices of no-can-do around them.

Camp Kvetch

This bunch of campers are hard work. There are almost 100 of them and as a group they are very high maintenance - there are people being hospitalised left, right and centre - there are many people with mobility issues who are very dependant on us for lots of little things (which would be well and good if there were enough staff) and I get a negative energy from the group. Complaining seems to be a hobby for some of them! One guy asked me how an inter-generational activity went - I told him how nice it was. His response was "Pah - that's not a real activity if it was harmonious." He then proceeded to tell me that the chef should not make public appearances in the kitchen because she is a) overweight and b) a lesbian. At that point, I found him too offensive to be around and disappeared. I've had 3 campers being verbally abusive to me - 2 of them had the decency to apologise afterwards.
I wonder whether the dynamics between group 1 and group 2 of seniors is so different because that's just who they are - or whether people are feeling lost among the larger numbers and that is bringing out the antagonistic sides to their nature. Tomorrow night the director is hosting a "how is it going?" night for the staff. I sense there will be some burnt out and angry people there. Venting a little in this e-mail has softened my edges.

Boston

Took advantage of a 24 hour overnight trip to Boston - thanks to someone who was driving that way! I had a few hours upon arrival before meeting my friend who lives there. Spent two of them awestruck in Barnes and Noble, then sat down on a bench to eat a burrito. I realised it was the first time in close to two months that I could sit down and have total privacy and anonymity. I then got really tearful - I'm not sure whether it was the overwhelm of being in a city or decompressing from many intense weeks spent in the woods. I think probably the latter, as it felt good to be in Boston. I've been living in a pressure cooker these past weeks and with the lid off, something had to give.

It was fab reconnecting with my friend Julie and her mum and sis (who I last saw 5 years ago!!) No one appears to have aged or changed, except Julie's little sis is now married and Julie is in a bigger apartment than last time. A five year gap felt like 5 weeks!

I had my first experience since May 27 of being in a real home, having a clean bathroom, a double bed, a room to myself and zillions of shops to walk to. Yes, it felt fabulous!!!! Part of me must be a city girl after all!

Fashion Accessories

My $6 pink sunhat from Walmart gets several coos of appreciation per hour at camp. Things that would be a fashion faux pas in London, go down very well here. I went into someone's kitchen to wax my legs today and got asked whether I ever went "au naturel" - well only between waxes when I hide my legs under trousers and socks. My conditioning is that body hair on legs and armpits is somehow "ugly" or "butch". Here, on the border of Western Massachusetts and Connecticut it seems like most of the women, regardless of sexuality, are sporting fluffy armpits. I can think of at least 5 women volunteers whose legs are manlike they are so hairy. I'm getting used to the armpits, but the legs ... hmm... fashion and conditioning are interesting things - as after all, we were designed to have body fluff.
"Walkers" (or zimmer frames as we call 'em back home) are the fashion accessories of the seniors! A bright blue model with an attached shopping basket appears to be the most popular one! When (and if!) your time comes, I suggest going for one that's light, easily foldable and the right height. Some of the ladies have floral covered walking sticks! Yes, there is even fashion to be had in disability.

Appreciation

A client today said "I love you." I'm so happy that a 90 year-old was able to feel that kind of deep peace and expansiveness and acceptance in her own skin.

my day ...

With double the people here of last week (and many of them being needy and high maintenance - plus the fact we're still in the settling in phase and having a heatwave) work is intense and non-stop. Every bit of free time I have feels deliciously precious.

On the whole, a nice day! A class in the morning from 8.30-10am for my volunteer group on spiritual practices in our lives (why do them - what works for us - what challenges us etc) then I had free time!! I hung out in the arts and crafts building - which I love. Losing myself in art is always very nurturing (and probably one of my anchors that keeps me sane around the insanity!). I'm enjoying "playing" at being an old lady. I've taken to doing tapestries with them and boy these ladies know how to sew!!! My younger eyes make me a prime candidate for needle threading assistance! I got to read a few more pages of Deepak Chopra's book on ageing in air-conditioning before 6.5 crazy, non-stop work hours. Then, this evening, I did a massage trade and am still feeling good from being slathered in lavender oil!!! No more work til 11am tmw - ya-hoo-ey !!!

Now time to head on home and natter with the room-mates.

Birdshit

Birds nests are beautiful things! Ma and pa swallow have set up home above the door to our room. There are 5 baby birds to ooh and aah at and there is a lot of birdshit. I've never seen birdshit with a 3-dimensional quality before - but this birdshit is puffy and piles up and gives the same effect as wax dribbling down a candle holder. It's cascading over the woodwork and everytime i walk home I get a sense of "yuk" - Once the young'uns have flown the nest, there will be some serious birdshit clean up to do!

Goodbye seniors!

At 9am this morning, we waved off the seniors who've been with us these past two weeks. I felt quite tearful as it's an unknown whether I'll be here again next summer or they. Tomorrow, we'll be filled to capacity with new folks for the next 4 weeks. So, on a hot 90f day, I'm enjoying a free afternoon before the craziness starts again!

The flip side of ageing

Through massaging I'm seeing the flip-side of ageing. As clothes and shoes come off, I'm seeing crusty, sun-induced growths on backs (message to all: cover up!), arthritic feet that are so deformed they look like gnarly sculptures; incontinence pads and bowels that eliminate through bags.

I saw one lady struggle with tears when she was trying to tell me it's not fun being 90. She'd had a stroke and wears a hearing aid and has poor vision. The message that I felt very strongly she was trying to tell me is that this is not who she used to be. She's a prisoner in a body that doesn't co-operate for her.

I've picked up Deepak Chopra's book on ageing from the library here - to see what he thinks we can do to age gracefully and healthily.

I'm sure I've said this before and I'll say it again - look after your body, enjoy your body! Don't take the fact that it works, forgranted!

Great first day of senior massage!

The massage went great yesterday! Everyone wanted a repeat appointment and for every person who got an appointment this week, there's one on the waiting list incase of cancellations. I think for anyone wanting to set up a business it helps a lot to be part of a community and to have a ready-made clientele on your doorstep. This is all such a breeze compared to doing it in London, where I was just another anonymous person peddling my wares.

As with all things in life, balance is important. It's tempting to take everyone who wants an appointment, but the price would be burn out at my end - so i know I'll be constantly shifting to get the balance between my massage practice - my 35 hour work week here - my classes here and all-important downtime just right.

Two people now in the volunteer group have Lyme's Disease - yikes! That's 10 percent of us and we're only 6 weeks into our time here. Gotta rush to class now !!!!!

Business is humming!

Life here continues to be one big comedy show! I went to bed, my sides splitting from laughter from the funny tales my room-mate had to relate of her day of taking the seniors on a shopping expedition. Today she's hosting an inter-generational discussion on secrets for a long and happy marriage. there are some couples here who've been married for over 60 years, so I think it's going to be a great session!! The deal is that they can ask as young 'uns questions, too!

Had the experience yesterday of launching a commercial venture in 24 hours! I got the green light (after much bureaucracy and impatient waiting on my part) to give the seniors massages. So (and am feeling most proud of this) in one day I created all the written documents I needed (intake form, confirmation slips etc), set up a massage space and (the best bit!) sold out all my slots for this week!!! It's a great situation both ways - the prices are reasonable, so folks can afford, and on my side it's great extra pocket money.

Alas, I am totally wiped out this morning (time of month thing), so am gonna have to summon my energy to rise up in preparation for todays treatments! I know that all my massage angels (teachers, practitioners, massage friends) will be in the beige yurt (my massage space) with me in spirit and that the energy will come from somewhere!!!

I had a really sweet discussion with one of the seniors last night who said that he felt his two weeks here had been a "rebirth". I think seniors should live their lives on a day to day basis in a place like this, not just for 2 weeks per year!

Humility

A few weeks ago when we were going round in a circle, expressing what we are grateful for, one of the organic farmers here said "a strong body. I know I'm not always going to have it." Shuttling people around in the golf cart, I realise that every day we are able to dance, walk and move freely in our bodies is a delicious gift. One lady here, who uses a walking device was once a champion tennis player. Another gentleman, who walks with a stick with great difficulty told me he used to walk 5 miles every day. With this thought in mind, I've already done an early morning walk around the lake and am going to walk now into Falls Village and do some yoga before my shift starts at 1pm.

It was my day off yesterday. Went art gallery hopping in Great Barrington (a town about 30 mins away). The lady who drove me there is a professional artist, so it was interesting to hear her critique of what we saw!! Last night, we had a Hawaiian party for the staff which was lots of fun (despite the fact it rained like crazy!) The 21-year-old who put it together pulled out all the stops - hay on the floor - multi-coloured pineapple decor, bubbles to blow, sparklers, punch, tropical fruit to eat on skewers, a hammock and free fun gifts for everyone. I told her she has a future ahead of her (if she wishes!) as an events organiser.