Dance
Well…I guess it all started with a little TV show called “I Dream Of Jeannie”. I loved Barbara Eden and thought her costume was awesome. As a kid I figured that if I could just get my hands on that outfit, then I’d also have the same magical powers.
Besides learning Greek dance as a child, I didn’t have any background in dance and started learning Bellydance in 1992. I loved the dance from the start, and practiced a lot at home on my own, hopping from teacher to teacher. And so it came to be that rather than religiously following one teacher or style, I learnt from a variety of people which has given me an understanding of this dance from many different perspectives.
I began performing 1995, and then running some Bellydance classes in 1997 at my local university. My teaching life had begun in 1991 when I became a group fitness instructor and a swimming teacher, so I’d already had quite a lot of teaching experience, and in 1998 I decided to teach and perform Bellydance full time. In 2002 I completed Australia’s only accredited Teacher Training Course in Bellydance through Belyssa (from Perth, Western Australia), who is my idol in the whole of the Bellydance world.
Yoga
I tried my first Yoga class in 1988, and thoroughly disliked it - as far as I could see, it was nothing but funless grind. For ten years I went to one or two classes per year and couldn’t stand it, year after year. Weird, you might think, and you’d be right. But as bizarre as it might be, there was a reason behind the madness: I continued trying Yoga every year, despite my dislike of it, because I was absolutely convinced that Yoga was something I needed. I didn’t know precisely why, but in my heart I was certain of it (and I can tell you now, that I was right – it just took me a decade to prove myself right!).
I guess the mistake I made was going to the same place year after year, not realising that there are many different types of Yoga. Finally, everything changed when a flier was given to me for an Ashtanga Yoga centre. I tried a class and was in love! Ashtanga, for those of you who don’t know is Hatha Yoga (as is all physical Yoga), "Ashtanga" being the 'brand name', so to speak, of a very dynamic and challenging style of Yoga. It involves set sequences, so coming from a dance background I was drawn to it immediately because it felt almost like a choreography to me. These days I enjoy and appreciate many different styles of Yoga, but it was via Ashtanga that Yoga finally made sense to me. And so I started practicing more seriously in 2000. In 2007 I completed my teacher training certificate at Samadhi Yoga here in Sydney.
Although I practiced Ashtanga for years, it’s not the only style I’ve practiced. I enjoy participating in a variety of styles of Yoga: from flowing styles to very static styles, from dynamic to restorative. For my practice at home, I use different types of Yoga to suit my different moods and needs, but the flowing style is my overall favourite and it’s generally the one I use in the classes I teach.
Pilates
I began participating in Pilates classes in 2005. There was a class being taught just after mine at the centre I was teaching at, so I thought I’d give it a try. As a reasonably fit person to begin with, I was shocked at how little I could do - Pilates was tough! But I persisted and improved, and although there was nothing fun about it, I loved the results. The abdominal work in particular was especially helpful for a person like me whose lower back is overly-flexible from years and years of Bellydancing - it was extremely stabilising for my lower back, and so the enormous benefits compelled me to continue going to classes and practising at home too.
Now here I am, a couple of years later teaching Pilates (certified in matwork through The Pilates Room in Sydney). With my dance background, I prefer to teach Pilates working directly with music, rather than just having atmospheric music or none at all. I believe this makes the class more engaging and interesting for participants. And for added benefit, I use a combination of dance stretches and simple Yoga poses to increase flexibility, plus some light meditation at the end to enhance relaxation.
Animal Welfare
My animal welfare history: 1998-2005
Between 1998 and 2005, when I had all my classes under one roof, ALL the proceeds from our school performances would go to animal charities. I would pay all the expenses out of my own pocket and give away every cent made. See article (below right) entitled “Good Vibrations” that appeared in the Southern Courier in 2004.
But in 2006...
In 2006 I no longer had a school as such, and my business was scattered all over Sydney, so I came up with the idea of making bandana collars to give to dog and cat welfare groups so that the adopted animal could have a house-warming gift to take with him or her to their new home. I also thought they could do with some bedding, and with donated pillow cases stuffed with wadding, simple bedding was made to give to the animals too. Of course, I welcome the shelters to whom I donate the products to sell them to make some extra (and much-needed) money rather than give them away, if they think that will serve their work better. My helping hands in this last charity venture have been:
- My mother for diligently collecting newspapers week after week for the animals convalescing shelter hospitals.
- Anneliese, who sewed some of the collars.
- Tony and Kylie ( from Swarovski) for donating almost 1,500 crystals for putting onto collars.
- Luke (from Petbarn Alexandria) who managed to get me a box of 60 collars.
- Sarah (from Petbarn Alexandria) who was kind enough to discount some collars and give me some free tennis balls.
- David (from Southern Courier Newspapers) for being interested in writing an article about it entitled "Dandy Diamond Dogs" (see below right), and ‘Cuddles’ the Maltese Terrier, ‘Toby’ the Jack Russell Terrier, and Andrew (the human), all from Animal Welfare League, who posed for the photo that appeared with the article.
- My “Seinfeld” and “Kath & Kim” DVDs, which kept me company as I spent hours cutting up material into bandana shapes and decorating the collars with the Swarovski crystals.
Then in 2007...
Mid-2007 I lost the help of Anneliese (the seamstress), so I had to get my non-sewing self to Spotlight to buy my first sewing machine. I also thought that the doggies could do with a hobby, so I thought I’d get some tennis balls for them to play with and bones to chew on. Thanks to:
- Katia who gathered a massive pile of pillowcases to turn into bedding for abandoned cats and dogs in shelters.
- Sarah who donated a big stack of towels.
- Sam and Vicki for their contribution of pillow cases and sheets.
- Rosanna (from Spotlight in Rockdale) who managed to get me a juicy discount (courtesy of her manager David) off wadding to make the bedding.
- Also thanks to Rosanna for her advice on which machine I should buy that would be good for someone who is completely incompetent (ie. me!) when it comes to sewing.
- Sarah (from Petbarn Alexandria) who gave me a pile of free tennis balls with a big purchase I made.
- Cliff (from A.Sonda & Sons Butchers in Brighton-le-Sands) who donated big bags of brisket bones to keep the dogs at Sydney Dog’s Home (Carlton) happily to chewing for days.
- Massive thanks to Jim (from Petbarn) who organised for me to buy 400 (!) tennis balls at a very discounted price.
Late 2007 I enlisted the help of the staff and members of one of the gyms I have taught at, Fernwood Rockdale. I'd like to thank:
- The manager Larissa for being open to my idea of getting the members to involve themselves in what became the gym's first charity drive.
- The staff of the centre, who were enthusiastic about this charity venture from the word go.
- The staff and members who donated blankets, towels, pillowcases, tea towels, doonas, cushion covers, sheets, newspapers, plastic bags, garbage bags, and a bunch of other stuff that was put to good use.
- Maria (graphic designer and proprietor of Colourful Ideas) for creating the poster to let everyone know what we were doing.
A special thank you!
I want to say an extra-special thanks to a very special family:
- To Kiem and Regent (makers of the pet-related events for Sydney-siders, visit: http://web.netcall.com.au/Pet_Events/) for spending hours and hours and HOURS stitching wadding into pillowcases to make bedding. Then, when we ran out of actual pillow cases, Kiem and Regent spent more hours actually making pillow cases out of bedsheets. And once the pillow cases were made, to spend even more hours stuffing them with wadding to turn them into bedding. So far, they've turned approximately 120 metres of wadding into bedding.
- Also to Mama for buying greens for the rescued rabbits waiting for their forever home at Sydney Dogs Home (www.paws.com.au) and collecting newspapers.
- To Sister Sally for raiding all the $2 shops in her area and buying piles of blankets for bedding.
- To the whole family for collecting newspapers (piles and piles of them...these guys are literally taking any random newspaper that doesn't seem to belong to anyone - watch your papers people, if you're not reading them they might be snatched from under your nose!) which are used for shelter dogs and cats convalescing in hospital cages after operations.
The reason these guys deserve an extra-special thanks is not just because of the HUGE volume of work they've done (and are still doing) - I mean, I'm talking literally hundreds of beds for the shelters - but they did it all without being asked. They volunteered from the start and kept on volunteering, working tirelessly and uncomplainingly.
Their generosity has been both astounding and inspiring...but hang on a second! I just received these photos of the dogs (see right) - evidence that, in fact, it's not really Kiem and Regent who have been doing the sewing - it was the dogs all along! (I knew it couldn't have been the humans!)
This is me at Coogee
Beach, striking the pose!
No human can do the following
Yoga poses like a dog can...in the dog world, it's called 'Doga':
This is Jake, showing how to execute a perfect Downward Facing Dog...
...and a perfect Upward
Facing Dog. Jake was 11 when these photos were taken. For his size, that
makes him around 59 years old, so it just goes to show that you're never too
old for daily Doga practice (or Yoga practice if you happen to be human).
This is the late Jordan
in a classic Doga pose: the Belly Tickle Posture. This is a great pose for
all dogis, as it requires no experience and is rather relaxing for dogis and
yogis alike.
Here is Jasmin preparing
for relaxation in Savasana (Corpse Pose).
And finally, Jake and
Jasmin in meditation.
Dessie at the machine, hard at work
Roger finishing off another piece of bedding
Lockie
inspects the near-finished product...
...then gives the nod for the work to proceed (trust the Jack Russell to be the one in charge!)