It was great arriving in Kelowna, BC and being picked up at the airport by Sandra Bradshaw! Sandra and Lawrence had me spend the night at their place in Kelowna. It was a godsent as the whole trip was just wonderful.
First thing Friday morning we had a 3 hour workshop for Feldenkrais Practitioners based on the ABM for children. It was a great introduction to working with children for most of the practitioners there.
From Kelowna Susinn drove me from Kelowna to Summerland. It was very scenic and wonderful to chat and connect. We did a small pit stop in Peach Land. The Okanagan Lake is very large and a site that shows much beauty.
When we did arrived at the location that the ABM therapy sessions were being held, all I could think was, WOW!! What a place to be working from! Looking out the living room window, the view is mountains, Okanagan Lake, vineyards, apple, cherry and peach orchards. It looked like a piece of heaven to me.
My first appointment started at 7:45am PST with 5 minutes between sessions! I did get a 45 minute lunch and finsihed most days at 5pm PST. It was great that Susinn was there for part of the 1st day to see how the session go. It is a lot different working with children then with adults. With children you get a little bit of the session and have to be ready and ahead of the thinking to be on with the next movement or turn on their learning switch. When the learning switch is on, it is amazing how fast they learn and how fast their bodies accept changes.
The sessions where very each 45 minutes long and in that time I saw many changes in the way the children moved, responded to the work and how the parents looked so amazed and felt very grateful for such work being made available in their area.
Of the 7 children and 1 adult that I saw over the course of 5.5 days each learned a lot about themselves, how they move in their bodies and how some of the things in their lives have changed forever in a very postitive way.
Hip joints that were tight and no mobility become better integrated with their movement. Breathing became easier, walking and balanced changed in the children with CP and other concerns.
One little angle actually slowed down from moving so fast she could not even feel or sense any movement in her body to feeling and sensing herself in a whole new way. Such as using her hands, individually and passing a cheerio from one hand to the other. She usually moved so fast, that I had to have two hands on her pelvis to prevent her from falling or hurting herself. At the end of 7 session with her, she was truly a whole new child. Feeling and sensing who she is, chatting more, being able to calm down and notice more of the world around her. There where more moments of pure joy in her life.
One young man was chatting non stop with a family member, a part of the changes that do happen. When you want your child to walk and talk, remember to be thankful when this does happen, because it is not reversible.
I found it very interesting listening to one young boy tell of how he saw himself in his body. Which parts of his body were weak and which parts of his body her felt were strong. He was so sure that his thoughts were 100% correct. Planting little seeds of change will start the germination process of having him live a more dynamic and powerful life that he so deserves.
I often see and understand about my own thinking, how from those thoughts I have created the life I have. With the knowledge and love of parents and families. Let us bring more awareness to the greatness we all hold within ourselves. There are many new possibilities to be created!
Let us create as many new possibilities by using the Law of Attraction and ABM for children into everyone's lives.
Karen Toth
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