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Sitting in the bus, as the rain pours down the windows on my way to Local Motion to teach, listening to the chatter of school kids coming in from the downpour, I am struck by the strange feeling of normal life feeling not quite normal. Over the last few weeks, many conversations have been dominated by a certain feeling of both excitement and apprehension, the slight fear of being able to do all of those things that we’ve missed over the last few months, the last year since COVID-19 brought all our lives to a standstill.
Of course, we’re not really turning back time, so we’re not “going back to the way things were”. Over the last year we - our bodies, minds, relationships and habits - have changed.
You might be ready to dive headfirst into social events, restaurants and group classes, first in line for the gym or eagerly boarding the tube to go back to work. Or maybe you feel apprehensive, scared of COVID, or simply not quite ready for the business of full scale life: the commute, the work, the friends, the family, the fitness routines, the sports... Maybe you feel you’re “too far gone” to be able to attend a movement class or that you’ve “forgotten how to be around new people”?
I’m not here to tell you how to feel or what you should do - I’m neither a scientist or a politician. I’d just like to say that what is important is to take the time to know how you feel, and to know that is okay.
If you’re not ready for in-person classes just yet, online classes are still possible - I’ll be working alongside three wonderful teachers (John Sawney, Cat Jones and Cristiano Karnas) facilitating a weekly online class every Thursday evening. This improvisation class will be centred on self care, play and exploration, to help you ease back into the body at your own pace.
On the other hand, if you are ready to start reconnecting and moving with other people again, there’s never been a better time: after a year apart we can start back from the basics to slowly build both community and a physical practice TOGETHER.
It is with this intention that I am relaunching the People Moving Together Group from the 1st week of June. We’ll be meeting twice a week in person (and once a week online) to build a social physical practice (Movement Culture), a way to have fun and feel great. As a group, we can support each other through the challenges of emerging from lockdown.
Alongside our physical movement practice, the group will be diving deeper into conversations about movement. Over June and July, we will be exploring and asking questions about how a movement practice can be structured and used to generate confidence, and promote a healthy sense of self worth. I don’t have all the answers, but together we will delve into the questions, and in doing so find our own path to a freer and more confident way of being. #PMT #peoplemovingtogether
If you’re interested in exploring improvisational games, and getting to know your body with a greater level of awareness and sensitivity, please do join me on my Thursday evening classes with London Movement Group, where we will be exploring just that!
Weekly Affirmation:
"Nothing happens until something moves" - Albert Einstein
Weekly Timetable:
Tuesday 25th, Floorwork Class @ Localmotion, 7:00pm book here
Thursday 27th, Sensitivity & Awareness @ Hyde Park, 7:00pm book here
1-1 sessions available
