#SelfCareSeptember

Did you ever have a moment when you felt like you were just out of steam? 

You're frustrated. You're anxious. You need to move forward but you feel stuck? The world is spinning faster and you're just trying to hold on?

That was the end of August for me. 

And then September came. 

I designated September #SelfCareSeptember because I was stuck. 

Enter the grant report that demanded I document everything I had done in the past year. As frustrating as it can be, looking back offered me a moment of perspective to not only use #SelfCareSeptember as a necessary pause in a hurricane of movement, but also to halt the feeling/ desire/ need to constantly fight for forward motion.

#SelfCareSeptember was necessary because I as me, as JCWK Dance Lab, and as Artist in Residence at Alvernia University had done a lot in the past year. (I think I documented some of it here on Fieldnotes. Feel free to explore the past with me.)

I'm grateful to all of my dancers (those I've known and those I've met) for trusting me on this journey from September 2022 to August 2023. We've created so much. We've proved that we can #nevernotdanceagain. 

I led JCWK Dance Lab on a September of focusing on somatic training, alignment, strength and flexibility. We shared our different backgrounds and asked hard questions of each other. We individually and collectively unpacked the ways we experience (or don't) physical and mental Wellness. This work is/was necessary so that we can dance longer, dance stronger, and dance with a deeper awareness of our physical/ emotional/ psychological/ social bodies. 

How do you make self care happen? 

Here are some of our reflections, in short video form: