2nd ANNUAL WW CONFERENCE - and the two Old Women!

Hi Everyone,

I am filled with delight and happiness after spending a magical weekend with a group of absolutely precious women. The time was so astonishing I want to share it with you. The weekend kicked off Friday night with an opening circle led by well-known Celtic-Cherokee woman, Susi Wolf. We did a little Round Dance while she sang and then she told us stories. At exactly the most scary point in the story about Old Man Northwind, the wind came up and the lights went out! (we had a little alter in the center with a candle so the story went on). Later we learned that several in the group initially thought the outage was staged by Susi. However, we proceeded to have one of the most powerful storms in NM history. The lights came back on for a few seconds, and then we lost power for good - until about five the following morning. So, my talk, our graduation, and our party afterward had to happen by candle light. Thank goodness I had a good supply of candles in the house. Lanny made all the food, which was divine and included homemade English muffins and three kinds of seed cheese. It was still raining by nine or so and by that time everyone was scurrying back to their rooms. Lanny and I sat together (finished the wine - lol), went to bed and got up before the crack of dawn to clean up, wash the floor, and set up all the mats, etc.

Saturday we began with WWYoga at 7:30, which worked out beautifully in my studio. So many different bodies to help and I was very grateful to have the knowledgeable assistance of three of my WW practitioners. Posture assessment followed, we had a little break, and then I gave a talk on my new hips work. We broke for lunch after that and as the women were walking out my breezeway, two Old Women came in.

They were very old and beautifully but simply dressed in long skirts and shawls. Both were caucasian with their hair in long braids down their back. They had two or three teeth each and if they were carrying anything it was small - I don’t remember that either had large bags. They walked in, one stood and the other sat down on my sofa. They asked if I was Amelia Earhart. I laughed and said no, my name is Christine. And Lanny, who was standing next to me, told them we were having a women’s conference on prolapse. They told me they had heard of me and that I was doing good work. I was trying to get a reading on them, as they were too healthy and well-dressed to be street women, but they also weren’t your average older American women! They looked like they’d stepped out of the pages of an old nursery rhyme book. Something made me ask if they were hungry (we had pineapple and muffins left over from the morning break) and they looked at each other and said thank you, but they were on their way to get something to eat. We asked where they were headed and they said “West”. We bid them farewell and out the door they went. Lanny and I were speechless.

The afternoon was filled with more physical work and then about ten of us had signed up for a tour to the top of Sandia Peak on our world-famous tram. The tour was led by Tamara Chavez from Tour New Mexico, who happens to be our neighbor here in the Plaza where we live and work. At six o’clock we piled into her big van and off we went on a wonderful tour, first of Albuquerque and then up the mountain to catch the tram. She regaled us with cool stories of our local neighborhoods and illustrious characters. I learned so much! Dinner at High Finance at the top was wonderful - much better than the last time I was there, about twenty-five years ago. Ours is the longest tram in the world, which ascends through 5 ecologic zones - literally like going from Mexico to Alaska in about 15 minutes. We returned home late and when I opened the door I found my dear husband crashed out on the sofa. I peeked in the studio and he had washed the floor and set up all the yoga mats, blankets, pillows and batons for our 7:30 WWYoga class. I love that man!!

Sunday’s sessions were beyond wonderful. Herbalist and storyteller Beverly McFarland gave a ninety-minute talk on plant medicine. It was hardly enough time and everyone in the group wanted to go home with her to her beloved mountains and herb gardens. There was so much healing and wonder going on all weekend that by Sunday I was very emotional. The gorgeous Chicana poet, Jessica Helen Lopez, followed with the most powerful woman-centered poetry on the planet. She writes and performs from her own experiences of domestic violence - just indescribable.

Susi closed the circle with a breathtaking exercise where we placed a crystal in a clear glass of water, held the glass with both hands as we went on a powerful healing journey, and then drank the charged water. The circle ended with Susi’s beautiful voice and drum. Healing and happiness were palpable.

For the first time in my life I feel completely safe and absolutely loved in this magical Universe. I believe women must heal each other, and to a large extent only women can heal the world.

Love Always,

Christine