KRISTINA'S WEEKLY EMAIL OF THOUGHT-PROVOKING ESSAYS & VIDEOS TO KEEP YOU CONNECTED TO YOURSELF ON THIS JOURNEY CALLED LIFE |
Greetings!
A few weeks ago, I was grooving with joy to some tunes along the river where people were doing their usual walking or jogging routines. Some passersby didn't even notice or kept their imaginary NYC blinders on; a few made eye contact and smiled, perhaps reminding them they need to have a little fun themselves. And then there was one woman who on her round trip back asked me what kind of exercise I was doing. I simply replied, "Dancing."
Puzzled, she looked at me again and said, "Just dancing?" and I was like "Yup, just doing my thing!" She was pleasantly intrigued and amused, but as I mention in today's PGG, some people can't conceive of the fact that I was not doing some sort of learned "program" or following an instructor. For me, moving my body in a way it wants to, to music I love and feels good deep in my bones, is how I feel alive and free. It's also the best stress-busting mood-lifter you can find, and it doesn't cost a thing!
Dance has always been something I've loved; it makes me feel most connected to myself and allows me to express whatever energy and music is flowing through me (I was also a choreographer when younger, which is a different, but related expression). Especially over the past couple years (sans in-person Zumba or Nia classes, or live music performances), I've taken more and more to dancing around my apartment as well as outside in the park or by the river, or anywhere the spirit moves me! It's been necessary for my mental, emotional and physical well-being and has helped me to move through and release the big energies and shifts we've been experiencing.
During such transformative, extraordinary times with so much happening on so many levels - all being amplified and aggregated by our technology - it's easy to lose yourself and feel drowned out by all the the 'noise' around you clamoring for your attention to tell you what to think or do, who to love or hate, or what to watch or buy. But it's more important than ever that you take the time to shut off the outside world and tune into your own voice, and listen to what wants to be expressed - whether that's through a career, hobby, relationship, or yes, even just your body.
Today's PGG reflects all those themes, and the PGG Video of the Week reminds you it's no accident who you are at this time in history so you better do your thang. This week's Instagram post is an example of me dancing al fresco, and for our PGG Vibe of the Week why not get your weekend started bailando to this beautiful, unique talent gone way to soon, but who certainly left her mark before she did at age 23 - a great mashup of Selena's Cumbia Medley
Stay tuned for some upcoming talks, and other announcements in April!
Lastly, THANK YOU for being here and for being part of my community! If any of my essays, coaching, talks, videos or posts have helped you along your career/life journey, here are a few ways you can show your appreciation and support my work:
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Big Hug <3
Kristina
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"I love your PGG newsletters - one of the only ones I actually read in its entirety. They are excellently written, and spot on. Thanks for being so inspirational and reflective!" ~ Tom D.
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Shake Your Groove Thing
Originally published on January 18, 2011
In the movie Silver Linings Playbook, main characters Pat and Tiffany are in training for a big dance competition that turns out to be much more than a fancy booty-shaking contest. A unique romantic dramedy, it’s a film that shows there is a fine line between sanity and insanity, acceptable versus unacceptable behavior, and shows the beauty of living life to the beat of your own drum.
In the movie The Sessions, Mark O’Brien is confined to an iron lung 20 hours a day, existing on a gurney, unable to move from the neck down, and yet he writes poetry, is a professional journalist and decides to hire a sex surrogate so he can experience the most human of experiences. We go along on his journey (based on a true story!) and find him to be one of the most alive, loving and liberated individuals to have ever lived, despite such extreme physical limitations.
And as seen in the movie Lincoln, our 16th president is clearly not your Average Joe. He was always thinking out of the box, using his quirky sense of humor to defuse or illuminate situations, and taking numerous risks throughout the most heart-wrenching circumstances our country has endured. He stretched the Constitution to its limit, working within an established framework while implementing his own interpretation and/or bending the rules based on his hard-earned wisdom, keen observations and superior judgment as unprecedented needs arose and critical decisions had to be made in order for progress to occur.
In the conscious movement class I take, we are told to “dance it your way” and have breaks of “free dance” where we boogie as we see fit; it’s not chaotic because there is an organized structure and unity contained within the flow as we come back together intermittently as a group throughout the hour. It’s a super-small class because for many people, when given the opportunity to move and think for themselves, even for just a few moments, it is a daunting and uncomfortable feeling; it’s an empowering exercise that requires more effort and less inhibition, and many simply don’t know what to do if they are not following the instructor. And that, my friends, is indicative of a larger problem, with implications reaching far beyond a gym studio.
Spielberg’s Lincoln asks: “Can we choose to be born? Or are we fitted to the times we’re born into?” As citizens of the 21st century, we are certainly living in extraordinary times that will require us to become the fullest and most unique beings we are meant to be. We each have something that needs to be expressed, something that no other person on this planet — no one who has come before or will come after — can express. Right now we need new ways of looking at old problems and change old ways in order to deal with new problems, so it’s more important than ever for you to do your own thang, because there is no other way to generate inspiration and birth to innovation.
In any era it’s easy to get stuck in past habits and sucked into the zeitgeist of the day. Resist the urge to follow the herd, fight to honor yourself, think and speak your own thoughts, and begin to know yourself and create yourself anew every moment of every day — instead of getting swept up by social media, news, commercials, and even your peer groups, work and ethnic cultures or family and friends who are all, consciously or not, forces that can easily grab hold of your mind, body, spirit and/or bank account. Don’t let your physical characteristics, family roots or societal dictates squash all the rhythms inside you that might be quite different from what those outside influences might have you believe, say or do.
Not sure exactly what your groove thing is? Give me a buzz and I’ll get you started with some basic choreography and point you in the right direction, because ultimately You Should Be Dancing your own steps throughout life, hopefully with a fun disco floor beneath your feet along the way!
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Click link for this week's video of Selena's
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