A Health Odyssey: Speculations

Being a contrarian at heart, I came into this fair half in and half out, as is the general way I venture into places. The biofeedback booth, for instance, albeit extraordinarily new age, was interesting. Poor Zoe got some horrendous readouts (that she was nearly 80 years old, on three different levels), and mine were not to my satisfaction either. I keep a weary eye on easy solutions (except for that potion that Peruvian shamans use...). Even more so, the biofeedback woman's pyramid-scheme-sounding endorsement is not reassuring to the legitimacy of what she is doing, though her testimony of defeating cancer is respectable. I suppose I pull out a logical fallacy by judging what is being sold or endorsed to the personality endorsing it. I'm left weary.

If that didn't feel a little stained by commercialism, the next booth was soaked in it. I attended the 15 minute seminar, and though I do like the use of all-natural ingredients (though, "natural" and "organic' have been infiltrated anyway), I wondered in my head why I wouldn't just make the mixture myself. The healing effects seem legitimate because of my history of research with Ayurveda. I am biased toward Ayurvedic and Chinese medicinal food combination. Healing's a big seller. If only it would have less to do with money.

The next booth was the Sweetwater Farm booth. I have been to the farm on Sunday. (It's been a while but I loved getting up for spoken word.) I don't have much commentary on this booth other than that eating dry seaweed is like eating bit of air. His suggestions all sound very healthy and all, but if I were to follow them exactly, and with the calories I use up with Ballet and Modern, I'd basically disappear. There's a constant perfecting of my diet to accommodate my dance lifestyle. I have to consume enough calories, but at the same time, I have to eat so as to have a clear mind. The solution is to eat heavy after dance, and light before it. The gentleman's viewing of acid foods as unhealthy may or may not be true. To the Ayurvedic system, a diet is dependent on one of the three major body types (doshas)--vatta, pitta, kapha.

At the S.E.T. booth, I found my weary-meter off the charts. I am familiar with one of the acupressure points used by the team, which goes back to Taoist medicine. However, the experiences of the past fellow students (headaches in particular, and phantom occurrences) makes me hesitant. This does not mean I would not eventually go in there for a session, but I'd approach it as I would any type of venturing into unknown caves or any of my psychonautic experiments on myself. I do much research before diving into an alternative treatment. Just because it's alternative and "natural" does not mean that it may not have consequences (I only like prosequences). I have personally read more on rolfing than I have with S.E.T. therapy. It is likely I get a rolfing session, and maybe even at this upcoming spring break. Anything to get my alignment together (well almost anything). Their crystal bowl healing is interesting, though I would not pay too much to attend one of the services, for I already have lots of crystal bowl music for the greatest healing meditation.

Perhaps I'm too weary for my own good. One could call me a skeptic, but I am not that either. When I go to a bookstore, I pick out Skeptic and Atlantis Rising--the two opposing poles. Really, are they really that opposing? Probably not. What I have learned from the health fair is--put energy on health itself. Have that constant in-the-back-of-mind thought of maintenance. We must always be in a state of letting go, washing, letting the energy flow. Most importantly (and this ties to the Ayurvedic system), one has to listen to their own body. As Christina has been saying, the body is very intelligent. If we could just listen to it more often, or to be more aware of it, perceived "problems" would vanish.

Thoughts on Fleming's Master Classes

There was much contrast between the Fleming master classes and our usual Ballet class. First of all, the class seemed oriented in such a way to serve the dancers of the company. The routines seemed to directly correlate with their on-stage performances. That being said, I can honestly say I gained some things from the two master classes I attended. I found the center combinations to be a helpful tool in building speed and connections between movements (especially with the petite allegro). The pirouette exercises I also found very helpful, especially the second positioning of the arms during pirouettes to "open" the back. It's neat to be taught the routine and then to be shown how a professional would do it.

Our Ballet class, however, is certainly more helpful for me, for it works at building my base strength and technique needed to get to the point of these Fleming dancers. Another difference is the students in our class would likely not deviate much from the barre instruction (adding more beats or turns, etc.) unless instructed to do so. Also, there is a general notion that the Fleming routines may not deviate much from their usual barre and across the floor work (likely due to their class being performance-specific). There's evidence of this from Fleming's weak barre instruction. The dancers are likely used to Fleming's routines. This adds to Fleming's demeanor, for he could have at least seemed less sluggish in instruction while being in the presence of students at our level (which I'm sure he could remember having).