My New Favourite Website

I officially know what is going to be consuming hours of my life from now on: MAKERS.com

This website features the stories of some of the most influential women in America. Every groundbreaking woman that you have, (and many that you haven’t) heard of has an interview on this site. They talk about not only the accomplishments which have made them acclaimed but also their personal stories, their opinions and their inspirations. The first day I found this site I watched interviews with Erin Brockovich, Ruth Westheimer and one of the first female NYC firefighters, Brenda Berkman. There are woman who work in every field you could imagine. Every age, race, religion are represented. This project by AOL and PBS is one of the most inspiring things I have seen in a while. I am officially addicted and you should be too.

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Gratefulness Challenge Day 19

Hump day already? How did that happen? Not that Wednesday is really the middle of the week for me, but it does still seem momentous whenever I get there. This Wednesday is even more momentous because today I am almost 2/3 of the way through my Gratefulness Challenge! I’m extra excited about tomorrow’s milestone because I have yet to loose steam or inspiration. I actually have a second list going of things I haven’t had a chance to write about yet. Maybe I will have to share that with you at the end if it is still full.

1. Teaching: Over the years I have taught dance to people of all ages and experience levels. Sometimes teaching can drive me crazy. Students are hard because they don’t always want to be learning. It makes my job as a teacher really impossible. But being a teacher is as much a learning opportunity for me as it is for them.

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The Best Valentine’s Day Gift

Maybe you’ve seen this picture already, but if you haven’t take some time to read it over and contemplate the true meaning of love. I’ve spoken before about women’s rights and respectful men, and below is a fantastic example of exactly that. Ride for a Dream is a Canadian organization dedicated to ending violence against women. In partnership with the White Ribbon Campaign (another great organization of men dedicated to ending violence against women), Ride for a Dream raises money through organizing bike rides across Canada. I actually know some young men who did one of these trips last summer, truly inspirational.

The picture I am sharing with you was originally posted on Ride for a Dream’s blog and is now trending on many social network sites. I think is one of the best things that could go viral, especially in honour of Valentine’s Day.

http://www.rideforadream.ca/valentines-day/

Gratefulness Challenge Day 4

Today is the first day that while writing I am reminded of why blogging scares me a little. This is the first post I am putting out there which includes opinions of mine that I know some people are strongly opposed to. So if you don’t like this one, maybe this blog isn’t right for you…? Don’t worry, I won’t take personally. And now back to your regular scheduled programming. The gratefulness challenge continues…

1. My C-I Training practice: When I was completing my dance degree I had this phenomenal professor, Donna Krasnow, who absolutely changed my life both on a personal and professional level. Meeting her might just end up being another item on the list on a day to come because she was THAT influential. Along with being a spectacular artists and teacher she was also profusely educated in a diverse range of subjects, including dance science. One of the thousands of wonderful things Donna has accomplished is to use her knowledge of dance and science together to create a conditioning program specifically for dancers. C-I Training, which stands for conditioning with imagery training, specifically targets the trouble areas dancers often have, therefore helping artists prevent and recover quicker from injuries. Furthermore, the use of imagery in the work helps the skills learned during the training transfer easier into more traditional dance settings.

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