some prettttty amazing things have happened since the Magic Dressing Room incident.  a transformation of All Things.  Attitude truly is everything.  And mine is pretty damn sassy.  and things just seem more in alignment...back to center.  When i used to figure skate, there was a spin i did that involved extending one leg behind at a slight angle, bending backwards, and lifting my arms upwards.  i know, right?  plunk.  plunk.  plunk.  and my instructor (a horrible man) would scream "center yourself for godssake! center!" over the loudspeaker from his toasty little room above the ice.  Wha? i'm 10 years old, freezing, it's 6am and i have to go to school in and hour but didn't study for a test that i have and he wants me to CENTER?  what did that mean anyway?  breath taken, tears wiped, ice removed from butt, skate skate skate, build speed, turn into it - shoulder leads the way, breath, think only of the shoulder - it will lead you - clear everything else from thoughts, and begin the grace.  the extended foot was counterbalance.  once you got that part, the rest seemed to make sense.  the girls that tried to get showy with the leg always fell.  horribly.  (toe pick stuck and stopped in ice, body still rotating. it's physics)  not enough counterbalance, and BAM. when you arched the back, there was nothing to keep you upright.  the arms?  upward to stay out of the way.  and for grace.  so without the element of counterbalance, there's no hope of completing the maneuver.  without the arch, there is no maneuver to complete.  and the graceful swan-arms just make it seem so effortless. but in order to get there, you have to dig in dig in build up just the right amount of speed, then be willing to go up on 1 thin edge of a tiny blade, and push your shoulder against where gravity is taking you.  once you make that first effort, your arm will follow your shoulder...your hip will follow your arm and shoulder, and soon you will make the most beautiful expression of movement.  but - you must remain in center in order to hold it.  or plunk.

wishing you strength and stamina to break through where gravity may take you.....