sunday tune

saturday poem

His eyes were the same colour as the sea in a postcard someone sends you when they love you, but not enough to stay.

― Warsan Shire

(photograph by me)

friday cartoon

horizons

I collect Horizons. More over at MOVE ME

(all Polaroids by me)

week 3

Your eyes are full of language.

A little bit of eyeball movement for this week prompted by my joining Instagram. I don't need more excuses to stare at my various screens so I'm a little annoyed with myself...

Overtime I will be giving you a few simple exercises for your eyes, but for now lets keep it simple and ask yourself this; What was the last horizon you set your sights on?

The muscles in your eyes will change shape in response to focusing on what’s in front of them. A computer screen, for example, will prompt the reflexive behavior of the eye to hold the position of your lens. Now those lensballs were made for seeing near and far and if you don't use them you loose them so...

1. LOOK AWAY FROM YOUR SCREEN, I'm presuming so do forgive me if you are gazing at something else, to something as far of in the distance as you can as many times as you remember throughout the day.

2. If remembering is not your thing then add this nifty little programme, Time Out, to your computer to remind you to take eye breaks

3. Send me a picture of the next horizon you see.I like pictures.

With thanks Katy Bowman and Ruth White for enabling me to see a little better with all your advice.

Francisco de Zurbarán - detail from Saint Lucy

'...Because of the limitations of our eyes, we have a prejudice, a bias, toward that tiny rainbow band we call the spectrum of visible light.'

-- Carl Sagan, Cosmos

Kiki Smith Silver Eye Brooch

making eyes

“When most I wink, then do my eyes best see.”

eyes

Porcelain eyes, made by me.

“I like you; your eyes are full of language."

[Letter to Anne Clarke, July 3, 1964.]”
― Anne Sexton

sunday tune

saturday poem

I did find the entire world
in looking
for something 

– Mary Oliver, interviewed for On Being

friday cartoon

Found via this wonderful blog

week 2...

Since you already have you feet out...you do don't you? Then why not make them do a little extra work for the good of your legs, pelvis, spine, shoulder, brain and SOUL.

Please note, the following can be done at any time, in any place and as many times as you deem fit and you DO NOT have to consult your doctor before wriggling your toes, but you might want to show him or her what great feats of sole-fullness (get it? hehehe) your feet can accomplish next time you are in....

1. Roll through your ankle joins and feet and just generally explore the ranges you have.

2. Can you press the big toes down whilst lifting every other toe up? Try one foot at a time and then both together and notice any other parts of the body that try and get involved unnecessarily.

3. Can you lift the big toes up whilst pressing down every other toe?

4. Lace your fingers inbetween your toes and alternate between squeezing your fingers with your toes and your toes with your fingers. When you are done with this non-sense then see if you can take you toes off your fingers rather then just removing your hand.

5. Wrap a plastic band/hair tie or resistance band around your toes and see if you can spread your toes evenly. This is nice alternated with number 4.

6. See what you can pick up with your feet!

Inspiration taken from Jules Mitchell, Katy Bowman and Dr Andreo Spina.

 

Images by Peter Lindbergh from Vogue Italia (September 1997)

“Shoes block pain, not impact! Pain teaches us to run comfortably! From the moment you start going barefoot, you will change the way you run.”

― Barefoot Ted

barefoot dancing

week one

...we'll start simple...

TAKE YOUR SHOES AND SOCKS OFF

That's all. I know it's cold, but that's good for you too sometimes (more on that another day).

If you find that you have your toe-lock-socks and shoe-prisons on most of the day, then start slowly by slipping them off every now and again at work and IMMEDIATELY when you get home.
If your work and/or home are already free of the aforementioned then why not go all out (go on, I dare you) and get those feet in contact with as many different surfaces as you can throughout your week. The more texture, bumps and grooves the better.

If you start to notice that your day-to-day is filled with flat, even, hard surfaces then get creative about what you can find to walk on. There are grass verges EVERYWHERE and since you don't need that mat at your front door to wipe your shoes on anymore (cus you took them off right?!) then how about replacing it with a pebble mat! Google it (they exist) and make one!

Feeling all the texture the earth has to offer is a simple but profound pleasure and there are many many many benefits that accompany that pleasure. I recommend looking up Gary Ward (Author of What The Foot?) and Barefoot Ted (clues in the name) for some facts and figures and funny anecdotes.

Hello Again

So, a little behind with the whole new years resolution thing, but not because I'm to cool for school to make them. On the contrary, I bloody love imagining I'm capable of inhuman shifts in habit and I don't much care that the actual change is usually minuscule. I think of setting new years intentions like knowing in your skin what you can’t yet think in your brain and, since I am all for trusting those kind of feelings, I make many.

If you are also a sucker for resolutions, and you don't mind suggestions, then I have a movement focused one for you. It's something I spent last year trying, sometimes succeeding in, sometimes not doing at all (in no particular order) and to my delight some of these quirky little imaginings have become well rounded useful habits that help me day-to-day.

Each week (not accounting for lack of Internet connection, sickness and laziness) I will post a simple way to introduce a different movement nutrient into your daily life. I've gathered these from many places and will always credit my source where necessary, because it's the right thing to do, but also so that you can go and do your own research (if you so desire...and I wholeheartedly recommend that you do desire that kind of thing)

Week one to follow....

 

we are all stardust

YES (found here)