I’m writing a daily series of blog posts for the next 21 working days. I’ve joined Megan Macedo’s 2022 writing challenge, with the purpose of helping me understand the shift in my work from purely teaching Alexander’s Technique to also offering Classical Feng Shui and BaZi. The truth is, all three of these holistic healing disciplines complement each other and have been part of my life for a very long time.
I’m hoping that by the end of the series, I will, in the words of Steve Jobs, have been able to ‘connect the dots, backwards’.
If I’ve learned anything over the course of my life, it’s that everything makes sense in the end even if it does take an awfully long time for my understanding to catch up.
I’m a simple soul really, only wanting harmony, connection and peace in my life and the same for everyone else in my life that I care about.
But my life’s story has often taken many twists and turns, there have been many ups and downs, at times it’s often left me absolutely baffled and certainly at times very disappointed. And the harder I tried to push things in a certain way, the less likely things were to work out the way I felt it ought to. Actually I’m now very grateful for that!
Now, at last, in my early 50s, with the life experience I now have behind me, I’ve learnt to TRUST The Universe. And when I do that, life flows so much more freely and easily.
It strikes me that this is what my professional practice is all about. The unusual blend of holistic disciplines are really an extension of each other. I’ve needed to consciously learn all of it, in order to successfully help others achieve a better level of self acceptance and therefore find a deeper level of peace in themselves and greater sense of self. In itself this offers comfort and solace in what can often be a confusing, fast paced and competitive world. Who even has time to collect their thoughts these days, let alone process events and emotions that inevitably arise as part of our human condition.
Working in several eminent boarding schools as Visiting Alexander Teacher taught me just how important it is to have a strong foundation, and really understand who we are – my experience reflected Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Without it we’re not able to fully self-actualise or if we do the success might be short-lived, or too fragile to be sustainable for any length of time.
It was my pleasure to help my young pupils carve out quiet time away from peers, friends, teachers, classmates to enable them to come to a calm, balanced state, and deeply connect to themselves, hear their own thoughts, process emotions and happenings. It’s no easy task in an institution with heavy demands on pupils, hectic schedules and many differing pressures. But how successful and rewarding it was, witnessing so many of my young pupils find their confidence and true nature without need to mask who they really are, and empower them with simple strategies to help manage anxiety, teenage issues, stress and busyness.
During the pandemic, my school Alexander teaching went online. Often it was very revealing seeing my pupils in their home environment, that explained everything about them as our home is a reflection of who we are too. So this was a very insightful experience and gave an added dimension – Alexander’s Technique without the hands-on element immediately made my pupils more independent and able to apply it themselves more efficiently. By their own constructive thinking, positive changes were brought about with only my observation and verbal instruction. this fast tracked their skill level and was fantastic to see.
So why did I leave teaching in schools?
As much as I loved it, after 5 years, it felt like the right time to hand on the baton to someone new. My BaZi also concurred, I was coming to the end of a challenging 10 year luck pillar, change was inevitable. I find it’s always best to choose change before change is forced upon you!
In my own life, I wanted to be more flexible with my time and able to focus on my own family when required. Our two grown up daughters now live away from home. It’s been wonderful assisting them with Feng Shui in their own homes, understanding their individual BaZi ( Chinese astrology natal chart – calculated from date and time of birth ) has helped them in a myriad of ways, selecting properties to suit their Personal Ming Guas, helping them utilise auspicious directions to enhance health, wellbeing, career success, healthy relationships and boundaries.
Watch this space as I share my life’s journey from this 50-something perspective, through themes of connection, disconnection, space, place and time and also through the lens of intergenerational support and love, expatriate experiences, global travel. It’s like an outpouring of Angela’s Ashes, what’s left in the wake of my life trail.
Hope you enjoy reading! Comments welcome, but please be kind, I’m a very sensitive soul.