Following the Thread
Happy New Year and Happy Carnival to all who celebrate.
In 2025 I followed the quiet voice and felt sense of knowing around bringing movement and somatic work more into the center of my offerings. I am following the thread and building more trust in myself and in life.
Part of following the thread is trusting in the unknown, which has not been easy to come by for me. In our culture, there is a lot of value in expressing certainty, of being logical and having aspirations that fit into the norms of society.
It’s not that I am not aspiring, but some of the grip of the need to be legible, the need for everything to make sense, the need to prove my worth through my work is loosening. It is a holy relief.
I am finally, slowly, letting physical movement, somatic practice, dance, and music take up more space in my life and work. I am not a professional dancer, nor has that ever been my goal. I am a lifelong student of movement, from dance, to soccer, to weightlifting, to pilates. I believe physical awareness and pleasure allows us to come into more alignment with our values and life force energy. This awareness and joy can be used to create more good in the world.
Movement and music serve as an anchor to bring more aliveness and presence into the body. No, these practices are not a silver bullet. No, they are not the same as calling your reps or protesting on the streets to demand justice and stop the disappearance and murder of our neighbors or delivering food or giving money to people who are afraid to leave their houses.
But it may help us to feel more present in these moments, and support us in taking more sustained action toward the world we want without losing track of ourselves.
We all deserve liberation, and that includes you. Liberation, felt in a moment, can grow. We need spaces of practice and spaces to resource ourselves to be able to do the hard work of shifting culture, power, and awareness. There is always time to begin, and begin again.
I’d love to move with you! I am still teaching every Monday at St Claude Yoga Center at 8:30 am, with a new additional class time at 5 pm! Please reach out with any questions. Bring yourself and a friend.
I will have another online series coming up after Mardi Gras, beginning on Wednesday February 25th.
Winter Movement Sustainability Teaching Schedule:
In Person in New Orleans:
Mondays at St Claude Yoga Center: 8:30 am and 5 p.m. Sign up here.
Online:
6 week Lent Series: Wednesday February 25 - April 1st, 8 PT/10 CT. Sign up here.
Class description
Movement Sustainability is a somatic movement practice that focuses on building awareness and cultivating joy through improvisational tasks. Drawing on the lineages of 5 Rhythms, Movement for Trauma, Fighting Monkey, and other somatic practices, this hour practice offers invitations to reconnect to your senses, body, and environment. Movement Sustainability is a place of building agency, finding play and discovering new possibilities.
Sessions use music and guided movement tasks to explore our physical bodies and our inner landscapes. Throughout the session there will be space made to verbally share any insights, questions, or feelings that may arise, allowing the learnings to integrate more fully into not just our practice but our lives. These one hour sessions will balance moving gently and vigorously, so come dressed to move and build some heat.
A Playlist:
For the last 10 years, I have made an end of year playlist. Here's the 2025 BEST. Some songs were on repeat all year, some I couldn't stop dancing to, some had instant impact. Would love to know what songs move you!
Sending care to you all,
Willa
