Hello friends,
Last week was interesting for me. How was it for you?
I intended to offer a workshop Managing the Overwhelm for parents and caregivers right before Mother’s Day. After three choir rehearsals, supporting a sick child and husband, and struggling with low registration, I realized that I had a bit too much on my own plate to manage the outreach, logistics, and planning involved. Isn’t that interesting? Ha!
A few silver linings made it all worth it. A lovely fellow parent, Nick Cote, who works at Wayside Youth and Family Support Network, reached out to me asking if I could share some resources with the participants. So, in this post I am sharing information about the Parent Peer Partnership Program and other parent and caregiver support groups. Many of the services are free and on Zoom. Please reach out to Nick for more information: Nick_Cote@waysideyouth.org or 978-349-4167.
Planning the event reminded me that a family network exists right here in my town. I reached out to them and am working to offer the workshop in June through the Acton-Boxborough Families Network. Stay tuned for details.
The more I apply Alexander’s principles to my everyday life, the more I realize that what might feel like a “failure” or a roadblock can instead provide an opportunity for reflection. During these moments of consideration, these moments of inhibition, new possibilities can emerge. New ways of thinking, new ways of getting from this here and now to the next here and now.
Spiral images beautifully capture the unfolding of these moments. Instead of traveling to my goal (supporting parents and caregivers) in a straight line, life is taking me in a spiral. A fiddlehead fern, a conch shell, water in a bathtub, spiral staircases, double helixes, spinal twists. There are no straight lines in the human body apart from those we impose upon ourselves. Spirals arise in and around us as our genetic building blocks, as means of structural support, and as avenues for energetic flow.
Speaking of which, the last Mindful Movement 5-week series starts this Friday, May 15th at the Acton Recreation Center. Registration is still open! Join us for an exploration of Alexander’s principles applied to activities of daily life, qi gong, developmental movement (lots of spirals involved!), vocalization, or whatever movement patterns interest you.
When: Fridays, 10 am – 11 am
Duration: 5-week series from May 15 – June 12, 2026
Where: Acton Recreation Department, 50 Audubon Dr.
Who: All adults 18 and over
Cost: $100 for 5 classes
The next Awareness in Nature session will take place this coming Monday, May 18th in my backyard. Please RSVP for the address. We will read excerpts from Annie Dillard’s “Seeing” from Pilgrim at Tinker Creek as inspiration (click on the link to read the whole essay). I have cherished this book since my youth, when I “borrowed” it from my mother’s bookshelf and “forgot” to return it. Along with my early years attending Quaker meeting, Annie Dillard’s writing has served as a seminal influence, introducing me to homegrown contemplative traditions long before I explored Buddhism and other Asian traditions.
Embodied Awareness in Nature
When: Monday, May 18 (rain date tbd), 10:30 am – 11:30 am
Where: Hannah’s back yard in South Acton (please RSVP to this email for the address)
Cost: $20 per person
Finally, I will have a table at the Acton Community Wellness Fair at the end of the month. I will be offering free 10-minute chair and table sessions, as well as information about the Alexander technique. If I am managing my own overwhelm, perhaps I will bake some sweet goodies to share!
Community Wellness Fair
When: May 30, 10 am – 2 pm
Where: Gould’s Plaza @ Rte 27 and Rte 119, Acton, MA (near Nara Park and Bruce Freeman Rail Trail)
What: Enjoy music, art, and wellness info.
Thank you as always for your support and interest in this work.
With gratitude,
Hannah
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