A class I subbed integration, midline, confidence

I subbed a class for my teacher Adam Ballenger yesterday at Sugar Space. I was very excited for this class. Sugar Space isn’t a studio but is a community art space that you can rent out for dance lessons and parties. Adam has done a phenomenal job at cultivating a really great group of dedicated students who he used to practice with from other studios he owned. Anyways I was very excited to work with these students and was sup flattered when he asked me to sub (normally he just cancels the class when he goes out of town)


The main theme I wanted to work with was muscular energy with an emphasis on the midline.

I talked about how I recently started going to massage school and how as much as I love it (because I absolutely do) it can be an overwhelming amount of information. At times I feel scattered, defeated and I think I won’t be able to finish the program. But then I remind myself, or my wonderful husband reminds me that I can do this. That I really like it, I am discipline, I have the time to focus on it….. All of these things take me from a feeling of scattered defeat and brings me into a place of integrity with confidence to go on. (This story helped me link into this word of integrity)

Integrity means “the quality or state of being complete, unbroken, condition, wholeness”

“When we know that at our core there is a fundamental wholeness (state of integrity) we can express our self with confidence (feeling quality) because we are lacking noting.”

The plan was to focus on the midline which so many cultures consider a very sacred space. The midline holds the Hara meridian center channel (Chinese), the sushumna and the seven chakras (Hindu) and the spinal cord and the nervous system (western). By integrating our limbs toward the midline, and integrating muscle to bone we can express our self and our poses with confidence. And by practicing this on the mat, it is easier to stay integrated in our midline and maintian our confidence off the mat.

This was the main info I shared before we chanted the invocation. I also told a story of hanuman that is very similar I waited until I wanted them to hold a pose and I shared the brief story (I think I will post the Hanuman story in my next blog)
The class was lots of fun. It was my first time teaching these students but I know many of them because we have been students of Adams for awhile. I was nervous about changing my position from fellow student to teacher but it seemed to go really well. They seemed to really enjoy my sense of humor. I used this finishing analogy for inner spiral that was a big hit (that would be another blog).