So what have I been up to lately . . . the logo on the left might give you a bit of an idea.
It all started back in late fall when there was a women's wellness event at the River Falls Public Library.
Our oldest daughter Niki and I decided to go and made the rounds of all the vendors that were displaying their passions, via the work that they do. As we made our way downstairs and started walking the circuit Niki went one way and I went the other.
®
As I came around the corner what did I see but a very fit women and a table with a pair of the most sassy shoes I had ever seen. She turned out to be Lady Katherine, otherwise know as Katherine Fossler.I put my name on her mailing list as she was out of business cards and I filed it away in my mind that it would be fun to take a class. Tap into my feminine side.
Weeks came and went and I was busy with my coaching practice and life in general. Then a women I know made the announcement that there was going to be auditions for the Vagina Monologues at UWRF (University of Wisconsin River Falls) and she was the Director. I immediately said I am going to try out. Keep in mind I have never done anything like this before. School choir, church choir, plays of a sort as a kid, but that was it; and yet I was there at tryouts the first night in spite of a big snowfall that was making getting around a challenge.
What had come over me I wondered? I was going to go on stage and talk about Vagina's in front of hundreds of people. People I did not even know! Women and Men! Young and Old! And I was excited to do it! I still am. It seems that I have tapped into my Divine Feminine after all of these years. Whooo Hoooo!
You see as a child I had been in touch with my body as a pliable, free flowing spirit. I loved to sing and dance. Dancing in particular was so much fun. I could move my hips and torso in ways I did not see others doing. I felt good and very connected to life. Then my friends who saw me dance and move began to tell me (as an 11 year old) that the way I was moving looked like I was a hooker and I was inviting trouble. Yes, eleven year olds do have an idea of what it means to be a hooker. Other words and terms were used and whether I understood them or not, I got what they were saying and stopped dancing. I felt shame and guilt for moving the way that I had. I filed away that information and how my body could move for many years, decades even.
In recent years some good friends and very intuitive women had told me that they sense this part of me that is movement and flow. Divine Feminine, Goddess, teacher, healer, movement, dance and flow.
Each encouraged me to take action and do something about it. I took Flamenco and Cha Cha dancing briefly, belly dancing twice and briefly, but the old files were still there and I stopped dancing shortly after I started each time. Feeling the old feelings of shame, the old memories of my movement and flow that had been joyful, as wrong, I stopped dancing each time.
A couple of minor low back injuries over the years and back pain made it even easier to ignore that part of me.
Then I saw the shoes and met Katherine. . . connect the dots. I try out for the Vagina Monologue's . . . and I begin to release a floodgate of understanding about the beauty and strength of women. I look at the old stories that were true for the friends who told them to me, and I made them true for me too.
I coached a client who spoke to a part of themselves that they had put away and that too inspired me to reclaim my sense of self. All of me.
I revisited the stories and saw them for what they were. Experiences I had had. Someone else's stories and perceptions and filters. Not mine.
Next came an e-mail from Lady Katherine sharing that there was going to be a Santa Baby Workshop. Aha! A chance for me to check it out with no commitment and walk swiftly to the door if it wasn't for me.
Class day came around and I said ohhhh, "I'm tired and I still have Christmas presents to wrap, maybe I'll just write off the $20.00 for the class".
Well I thought of the other times I had backed away from my flow and I said, "No, I am going to do this".
I left home, stopped at Target bought some yoga wear to move in and showed up just as we were getting started.
I had no idea what I was in for save for what I had seen when I had gone to an exotic dance club in Chicago with some friends and watched women dance with the pole, in laps with pasties on their nipples while they got money tucked in their panties. It was beautiful to watch in the perspective that these women were beautiful and they knew it.
I was NOT however looking for money in my panties.
What I found at Lady Katherine was an amazing gathering of women all coming together to celebrate being women, coming together to experience healthy, fit, bodies. Coming together to experience a sense of personal empowerment at what our bodies can do. Bending, stretching, working out, dancing, working with weights and mats, and poles; laughing at how much fun we were having.
What I discovered first and foremost is that these classes are for us. For our own fitness, connection with our bodies, and our self esteem. For our empowerment. We get to choose whether or not we want to share what we learn with a loved one. It's about loving ourselves or so that is what I am coming away from these classes with.
Oh, I did say classes didn't I . . . at the end of that Santa Baby Workshop I bought a pair of shoes, as it turns out the highest heels Lady Katherine carries (who knew - GRIN) I went home and wrapped them up for my husband for Christmas. He opened them and grinned from ear to ear. He calls them his shoes. I tell him, "No, their mine". One of these days he might get to see me in them. For now I'm using them for me at class.
Two weeks later, after buying a dress for the Vagina Monologue's I realized that I really wanted to feel good in the dress up on stage. I really wanted to feel good in my body. Better than I have in a long while. Celebrating me. I wanted to tone the chicken wings, you know those flaps under your arms, and the extra jiggle in my walk. And the Riblets, Katherines term for the little bulge of skin that pops out from under your bra, or you see as little roles on your ribs when things are a little loose in the torso or boobage (don't know who coined that term - grin) area.
I called Katherine this Monday and started classes that night. In two classes, ( not counting Santa Baby) my third class this week is tonight ( Abs and Booty) I feel more cconnected to my body than I have since I was 11. I find myself feeling taller - No, not because of the shoes - walking with a bit of a swing to my hips as I stroll through Target or County Market, and swiveling my way around my house during the day. Just stopping and moving my body and celebrating how good it feels that I can. I feel a pride and connection to myself that I've taken out of that file from long ago.
I have the sense that many of the women who have come through Lady Katherine's doors have felt or feel the same. Anyone can do this. It's a loving, nurturing way to connect with your body, become fit, have a great time, and do it in a place that is tasteful and caring.
I've done the standard fitness club thing. It does not compare to the fun that this is to work your body.
Not only do I feel better as a women, as a women's wellness coach I am bringing it into my work. The flow and movement that I am regaining in my body I am bringing into my work. I'm even considering customizing my work to support women who are celebrating themselves in this way.
For me this experince is mind, body, spirit, wellness; and I love it!
To learn more about Lady Katherine should you have a desire Click Here
Warm Winter Blessings,
Nellie
Please Note, the information and services provided by or through WyseWomen LLC, WyseWomen Wellness ©, WyseWomen the Blog, Cantadora's Way, Magdalene Abbey, Nellie P. Moore, or other advertisers, or providers of services on this blog are not to be used to treat or diagnose any condition, disease, client, patient, or individual. The ideas, information and services provided are not intended to be a substitute for consult or treatment with a qualified physician, therapist, or other qualified helping professional.
®
Comments