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Letter from Martha Graham . . . 

2/5/2017

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. . . to Agnes deMille 

"There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique.  And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost.  The world will not have it. 

"It is not our business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions.  It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you.  Keep the channel open. 

​"There is no satisfaction whatever, at any time.  There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest . . . "

(as shared by Wayne Hackett in his 5-day Jin Shin Jyutsu class)



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What Is Tortoise About?

2/5/2017

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It's about training for mobility, strength, balance, coordination, and pain-free ease of movement.

The main sources for the Tortoise Slow Fitness class are Tai Ji, Yi Quan, Qi Gong, Rosen, and, since my recent trip to the Bay Area,  Jin Shin Jyutsu. 

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I attended a JSJ seminar in Cotati taught by Wayne Hackett, an old-school master of the gentle art of Jin Shin Jyutsu, which is usually practiced in stillness. Between the first and second days of the class, I realized that I wanted to bring JSJ into movement, as a part of the Tortoise class.

I began studying JSJ in 1981.  It is a lifelong study for me and something I look forward to sharing with others.




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About Conscious Movement

12/22/2016

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As the main tortoise of Tortoise Slow Fitness, I am ever and always interested in discovering new ways of thinking about conscious movement.

Recently I participated in a continuing-education seminar called "(Re)Defining the Core," presented by David Lemke, a fitness expert from Austin, Texas, through Cross Country Education.

I found some Tortoise food for thought there.  Two morsels:

(1) The human body is not symmetrical, and David posits that physical and psychological stress tends to take a body into its fetal position of comfort, wrapping around the assymetrical arrangement of the organs.  "When the going gets tough, the Tough want Mommy," says David.

(2) As we go through life, we humans employ lazy habits of posture and movement while unconsciously giving over to the positional effects of stress.  As a result, we lose "muscle inventory." The neurological response to long-term disuse of a given muscle is to "forget" it, so we lose strength along with joint range of motion.

In the practice of conscious movement, one thing that happens is that we begin to remind our nervous system how to engage "lost" muscles of posture and movement, with the possibility of restoring and maintaining  balance, fluidity, and stature. 



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Announcement

12/22/2016

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Scarlett Malone Castillo officially came into existence on December 20, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. PDT in Portland, Oregon, at the age of 72.
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    Tortoise Blogs

    The  theme of
    this blog is
    mind-body-spirit
    in movement.

    The author is an elderly tai ji practitioner. 
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