poem

Our Inner Journey circle has given a number of poets and creators an opportunity to try out, to air out new ideas.

It is something to put such sound and vibration and pause into the air with a poem.

Friends from our circle, Erin Crowley and Evan Underbrink, will have their books coming out here very soon.  They would so appreciate your support with your pre-order.

Evan Underbrink's first book Milford was a wondeful offering for our world...and wait until you read his second book Coracle Days.  We need 75 friends to pre-order a copy or two to give this book life -- and do that by the end of today and you get your name in the book as a supporter, a patron/matron, a VATRON as we call it.

order Evan's book here: https://vitalitybuzz.org/shop/coracle-days/

Erin Crowley's innerfruit is a beautiful testimony to growing into life.  While Erin's book has plenty of pre-orders to get us close to printing it, last call to get your name in the book as a VATRON. You all might remember that Erin is a much loved yoga teacher, a graduate of our Yoga/Healing Touch Internship - she shines!

order Erin's book here:  https://vitalitybuzz.org/shop/innerfruit/

It's easy to forget how important poetry and song is to human life on the planet.  What song or phrase, what wisp of poetry you're humming or whispering, is already bringing you joy today?

And will I see you here tomorrow at...?

 Abundance & Success
from the perspective
of Family Constellations 

led by Paula Dunson tomorrow/Friday, March 8 at 10am
for a pay-what-you-can-donation to VITALITY!
RSVP to me by call/text 513.300.5174
2 spots left so claim your seat early!

Brian Shircliff

* donations for our drop-in programs help us pay our rent, and we know $10-20 could be too much for someone...all gifts welcome, from the change you found on the sidewalk today to a check if you won the lottery...no one is ever turned away for our drop-in classes...all truly welcome!


touch

It is quite something to be touched.  Especially in a way that demonstrates and feels like care.

It's way more than a touch then. A touch like this can remind us we are whole, that you are whole and I am whole.

Pure gift.

Healing Touch involves touch, though we can receive benefits even when the practitioner works in the space just above one's body.  That might seem strange, right?  Healing Touch without touch and someone can still get benefit?

And it might tip us off to some sense of our map of the Universe could be enlarged or more detailed.  I used to think things like Healing Touch were ridiculous...until a tai chi teacher told me that we could touch someone or even send someone love/energy from a distance.

"Oh, like prayer!" I thought.

Huh.  My old map of what I thought life was needed to be expanded or more detailed based on the idea from my tai chi teacher.  And that prayer could be more than reciting someone else's words and hoping for the best.

And my map continues to grow, and I hope yours does too!  Our world needs us, our growth.

Many of you have come in and rested on our Healing Touch tables and allowed a trained practitioner or two to work with you, all of it touching safe places on your fully clothed body and only with your permission, all of it with you as the participant in charge of the session.

We welcome you to our monthly evening sessions...for your own healing/wholing or simply to learn more about all that Healing Touch offers....
Healing Touch Sessions for the Public
$20 donation for 45-minutes
tomorrow/Tuesday at 6 & 7pm...claim your spot by replying to this email

 

We have one session left at 6pm and one session available at 7pm.  Claim yours now!  And know we are working hard to expand our offerings too to some daytime possibilities.

What might your life look and sound and feel like with a little Healing Touch 'care' and an invitation to a larger and maybe even more nuanced map of all that is?

Brian Shircliff

* donations for our drop-in programs help us pay our rent, and we know $10-20 could be too much for someone...all gifts welcome, from the change you found on the sidewalk today to a check if you won the lottery...no one is ever turned away for our drop-in classes...all truly welcome!


flow

We had a wonderful workshop at VITALITY last Saturday, Family Constellations led by Anne Becker and Paula Dunson.  Wow.

I've been discovering more and more how important it is to have new experiences -- novel experiences -- where I am naive, where I am new.  It's a path to being renewed as I delight in leaving behind an old map of reality for awhile and accepting a new map, a new way of sensing the world.

I might find that my old map was better.  I might find that something of the new map could update my old map.  Sometimes I even discover that my old map really isn't useful anymore, or that my clutching it so tightly prevented me from noticing much else.

Our Cincinnati Genius of Waters reminds me to appreciate just how much the Universe offers a free-flow of new possibilities, just as the water flows from our Genius, at least on warmer days.  How much are you willing to receive of the Waters' goodness?

Maybe it's Family Constellations that does it for you, or tomorrow/Tuesday night's Inner Journey journaling led by Helen Buswinka, 6:30pm in our new space, $10-20 donation requested.

Maybe it's Bones for Life or Feldenkrais that does it for you as it has so many all over the world...and beginning again tomorrow in-person:
Bones for Life® 5-week series on Tuesday mornings
(one spot remaining!)
10:30 - 11:45am EST
starts tomorrow...Feb 13, 20, 27 + March 5, 12
$95 for the whole series or $30 to drop-in for a single class

Feldenkrais® & Bones for Life® 4-week series on Thursday evenings
(three spots remaining!)
6:30 - 7:45pm EST
Feb 15, 22, 29 + March 7
$80 for the whole series or $30 to drop-in for a single class

Register by clicking here and simply paying the amount for your series and be sure you include your name (do not check Anonymous) or text/call me at 513.300.5174 to make arrangements for your check.

Hope to see you tomorrow for Bones for Life at 10:30am or Inner Journey journaling at 6:30 or both.  There's a gift to giving ourselves different experiences.  Where will you begin and allow yourself to receive more and more the free-flow of goodness the Universe continually offers?

Brian Shircliff

* donations for our drop-in programs help us pay our rent, and we know $10-20 could be too much for someone...all gifts welcome, from the change you found on the sidewalk today to a check if you won the lottery...no one is ever turned away for our drop-in classes...all truly welcome!


time to stand tall

There are plenty of things that can knock us down these days.  Watching the news for too long, experiencing some slight in a relationship, letting a troubling memory from the past sit with us too long.  Even gravity can seem so poised to knock you and me down when we least expect it.

Maybe you've been wanting to improve your balance?

Or stand taller with ease, no matter what's happening in your life or in the world?

Or maybe you simply want your walking -- whether to your car or for exercise -- to feel pleasurable, pure joy?

Well, my friends, it's all entirely possible.

The good news about gravity is that if we know how to use it, we can grow the strongest of bones.  Bones that we can rest upon.  And my two new in-person series, one by day and one by night, can help you to explore how...and how easily:

Bones for Life® 5-week series on Tuesday mornings
10:30 - 11:45am EST
Feb 13, 20, 27 + March 5, 12
$95 for the whole series or $30 to drop-in for a single class

 

Feldenkrais® & Bones for Life® 4-week series on Thursday evenings
6:30 - 7:45pm EST
Feb 15, 22, 29 + March 7
$80 for the whole series or $30 to drop-in for a single class

 

Register by clicking here and simply paying the amount for your series and be sure you include your name (do not check Anonymous) or text/call me at 513.300.5174 to make arrangements for your check.

What is it you really want to be able to do in your life?

The longer you wait only postpones what becomes possible for you.

I made fun of my mom for more than ten years before I finally explored Bones for Life & Feldenkrais...and I marvel at how easily I could have made my life if I had only explored these gentle styles of moving and being earlier than I did.

Grateful to have jumped onboard when I finally did -- am I ever!  And I hope you do too.

Brian Shircliff

* just one spot remaining for this Saturday's Family Constellations workshop -- text me at 513.300.5174 to make sure there is room!  $130, led by the wise and fun duo of Anne Bernard Becker & Paula Dunson!

* donations for our drop-in programs help us pay our rent, and we know $10-20 could be too much for someone...all gifts welcome, from the change you found on the sidewalk today to a check if you won the lottery...no one is ever turned away for our drop-in classes...all truly welcome!

 


VITALITY...a circle that changes you, me, + the world

At our Inner Journey this past week, Helen Buswinka and I were noticing that what we do at VITALITY is very different from other groups.

We do not have speakers or events where people just come hear people blab on.

We sit in a circle and while someone might begin a conversation, we invite everyone who wants to to speak, to talk about their experiences, to offer ideas and questions that could be pivotal to shaping the conversation.

Do we expect everyone to speak?

Of course not.  Though everyone is welcome.

And that's how we do it differently.  We know the circle has a way of transforming us all -- and might be exactly what our world needs.  It's so easy to fall into the trap of authorities, of expecting all the ideas and leadership to come from a single person or even a panel of people.  That's a triangle arrangement -- and quickly creates a hierarchy of who is valued and how much that person is valued and why others are all too often less valued.

But in a circle, everyone is valued.  Are there still leaders?  Sure.  Of course.  Though the leaders ensure they are not dominating the conversation and see their real work as making sure all who wish are given the opportunity to speak.

Tomorrow/Saturday we celebrate a new book from our press, VITALITY buzz, bliss + books...our friend Jack Kennevan's Conversations with Prisoners: A window into the lives of our brothers and sisters.

Open House
TOMORROW/Saturday, Jan 13
2 - 4p
we'll honor Jack at 3p and begin a conversation

all welcome for cookies & tea/coffee

This book invites a conversation, for sure, and celebrates conversations Jack had for well over a decade with prisoners at our county jail.  Compare our prison system with other countries and it's very quickly apparent that we as a nation have a lot of work to do to catch up.  Note this article referenced in the book, and the bipartisan support for such an idea in the US; click here to read it.

What would our world look like if we were all valued and recognized and looked in the eyes of everyone, opened our ears to everyone, allowed for the possibility that our hearts and minds might be moved and changed by all?

Let's discover together.

Brian Shircliff

coming up:  Healing Touch Sessions for the Public...$20 donation for 45-minutes...this Tuesday at 6 & 7p...claim your spot by replying to this email

and one week from tomorrow is our Winter Retreat, Jan 20!  details in the attachment below, and note some special offerings coming soon too!

* donations for our drop-in programs help us pay our rent, and we know $10-20 could be too much for someone...all gifts welcome, from the change you found on the sidewalk today to a check if you won the lottery...no one is ever turned away for our drop-in classes...all truly welcome! 

 

 


need a new rhythm?

Has movement become difficult for you?  Not able to do the things you want?  Feel less flexible and less strong than you did last year?  Achy back or neck or knee or shoulder preventing you from doing all the great things you want to do?  Bones for Life® has something for you!

Bones for Life's gentle moves create quick change because we re-engage developmental patterns that helped you and me and all humans to build one's nervous system, each on our own unique ways, all to help us stand tall and walk....and run and dance and on and on and on.

Many opportunities coming your way this month...though they fill quickly so reserve your spot...details below!

drum+roll
a unique, 90-minute interactive experience of drumming led by Josiah Wolf
& gentle moves led by Brian Shircliff
TODAY! Sat, Jan 6 at 3:30p 
$24 donation (or pay what you can)
RSVP to Brian by text/call: 513.300.5174

in-person drop-in $20 Bones for Life classes
four 75-minute sessions to choose from, or come to each one:
Tues, Jan 9 at 10:30a
Thurs, Jan 18 at 6:30p
Fri, Jan 26 at 10:30a
Tues, Jan 30 at 10:30a

RSVP to Brian by text/call: 513.300.5174.  All welcome - age 18+.  All welcome whether you're new to Bones for Life or have some experience.  Brian will tailor the class to your needs!

free Bones for Life: 3-part Live Series (Zoom), each at 10a EST,
hosted by our friends at Future Life Now
January 16 - Stand Tall, Don’t Fall
January 18  - The Roots of Healthy Walking
January 23 - Arthritis to Osteoporosis: What to do?

Experience the near-magical feeling Bones for Life can give you in a few minutes.
Click here  to learn more and register.
The 10:00 EST doesn’t work for you? That’s ok! Register anyway and we will email you the replay videos of each session.

 

What if your path to regaining flexibility and strength and balance and joint-health could be a lot easier than you ever imagined?  Would that new discovery put a new rhythm in your step?  in your whole life?

It sure does mine!

Brian Shircliff

* and reminding you too that Inner Journey journaling is this Tuesday, Jan 9 at 6:30pm...led by Helen Buswinka

* donations for our drop-in programs help us pay our rent, and we know $10-20 could be too much for someone...all gifts welcome, from the change you found on the sidewalk today to a check if you won the lottery...no one is ever turned away for our drop-in classes...all truly welcome!


new

As we leave one calendar behind for another, a new one, I always wonder what each new year might be inviting.  Yesterday gave me a glimpse...flexibility!

Two events planned and two events already needing to be rescheduled!
drum+roll
Sat, Jan 6 at 3:30p (was scheduled for today; rescheduled for illness)
a unique, 90-minute interactive experience of drumming led by Josiah Wolf
& gentle moves led by Brian Shircliff
$24 donation (or  pay what you can)

Jack Kennevan's Conversations with Prisoners
Book Launch & Open House 

Sat, Jan 13 from 2 - 4p (was scheduled for Jan 6)
Jack has offered so generously the letters he wrote to prisoners for years; we are honored to publish them with donations supporting VITALITY and prison ministry...hope you'll join us to celebrate with cookies!

and we're thrilled to announce these!
reply to this email to save your spot for any and all!

Winter Retreat 
Sat, Jan 20 from 10a - 2p
led by Helen Buswinka, Logan Probst, and Tonia Smith
a little gentle movement, a little meditation, a little lunch, a little Healing Touch self-care, a little journaling…a huge boost to your season! $72 or pay-what-you-can

Healing Touch & Capacitar
Self-Care/Family-Care Workshop

Sat, Jan 27 from 10a - 12:30p
led by Mary Duennes
such easy-to-learn practices to bring calm, relieve stress/pain…
for yourself or your loved ones,
$24 or pay-what-you-can

 

We hope you'll join our circle and grow with us in 2024!

Brian Shircliff

* donations for our drop-in programs help us pay our rent, and we know $10-20 could be too much for someone...all gifts welcome, from the change you found on the sidewalk today to a check if you won the lottery...no one is ever turned away for our drop-in classes...all truly welcome!


tonight...nature's holiday?

I've opted to say this year "Happy All The Holidays!" when wishing people well.

It seems more fitting to me...

until I begin to consider what is a holiday for the Earth, the planet on which we all spin together.

Holidays, after all, are what humans have created to commemorate some story we tell ourselves, something we want to remember, something pivotal to a particular group of humans.  We create rituals and expectations around those stories and remembrances.  They are important, right?

But what is important to the Earth?

It all keeps going on.

And yet tonight there is a definite shift...the proportions of darkness and light change.  Beginning tomorrow and each day after that until the Summer Solstice here in our northern hemisphere, we know we begin gaining moments of light...but how deeply do we sense this?

Tonight is a pivotal moment.  We pivot.  And our ancestors noticed.  They felt it, sensed it, often more than just the changing of darkness and light, I suspect.

I often need a calendar to remind me of the pivot.

Hmmm.

I was amazed to discover on a voyage to Hawaii that some of our ancestors could navigate the massive Pacific Ocean by tasting the water, remembering by taste what continents and islands they were near based on what flowed into the water from those land masses, so different in each place.

Happy All The Holidays.  All that's important to each one of us, all of us on this Earth together noticing by sense or by calendar or by weather app that the darkness/light ratio is flipping. And will do it again in six months.  And then again....

Or maybe the better greeting is simply 'happiness'...one word a friend often says to me when we look at old photos from generations gone by, where even moments that were once painful now from a long distance feel differently.  Each moment simply a moment in a much larger fabric.  Happiness.  The long view.  Full of 'moment by moment' and pivots all at once.

I hope you can join our circle tonight.
Winter Solstice Zoom Party
hosted by Penny Costilla

TONIGHT - Thurs, Dec 21
6:30pm ET
offered by donation...$10-20 suggested
RSVP appreciated

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86501049196?pwd=M09nenVwU3RPWUNsN3dZSUw4QXNQZz09
Meeting ID: 865 0104 9196
Passcode: 215933

And I got a preview last night of Josiah's drums he'll invite us to use Jan 1 -- wow!  Thanks to those of you who have already registered.  Details below and more coming, the long view.

Brian Shircliff

* donations for our drop-in programs help us pay our rent, and we know $10-20 could be too much for someone...all gifts welcome, from the change you found on the sidewalk today to a check if you won the lottery...no one is ever turned away for our drop-in classes...all truly welcome!


come get your word

This year has seemed fast and slow all at once to me.  Now that snow is flying here in the Ohio River Valley, the feel of Winter seems close, even though I still get wisps of October in the air.

But one thing's for sure, it's darker.  Darker and longer spells of dark.  And as we descend into the gifts of the deeper darkness and the comforter and more and more tea, perhaps you too are feeling the solstice is close.

This will be our 12th or 13th Winter Solstice Party in our VITALITY circle.  I think that first year of our existence we were still rehabbing and didn't gather.  But we have every year since then, and now with the powers of Zoom, we'll gather again no matter where we are in the world.

As you might recall, Penny will invite you to give her a number.  And your number is matched with a whole bunch of cards with one word on it.  And she'll give you one word -- a delightful word that could be significant for your new season, your whole year.

I remember mine from last year, for sure.

Whole new worlds open up...
Winter Solstice Zoom Party
hosted by Penny Costilla

this Thurs, Dec 21
6:30pm ET
offered by donation...$10-20 suggested
RSVP appreciated

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86501049196?pwd=M09nenVwU3RPWUNsN3dZSUw4QXNQZz09
Meeting ID: 865 0104 9196
Passcode: 215933

And catch a sneak peak below of some fun events coming up, including a New Year's Day event with drummer Josiah Wolf!

Brian Shircliff

* donations for our drop-in programs help us pay our rent, and we know $10-20 could be too much for someone...all gifts welcome, from the change you found on the sidewalk today to a check if you won the lottery...no one is ever turned away for our drop-in classes...all truly welcome!


did you get your name in the book?

We're very close to layout time -- game time! -- with Jack Kennevan's book Conversations with Prisoners...a selection of those inspiring letters he wrote to prisoners with whom he was meeting for more than ten years at our county jail.

As I write and send this to you, these friends have pre-ordered copies, which helps us pay the costs for the book's layout and publication -- THANK YOU!

Sue Antoinette & Russ Martin, Helen Buswinka, William Coleman, Beth Corbo, Mary & Tim Cronin, Mary Duennes, Denise & Mike Eck, Sherri Elmore, Mike & Fran Harmon, Spencer Kociba, Patricia R Leigh, Kim & Mark McLaughlin, Marianne Mundy, Krista Powers & Patrick Flerlage, Peg Niehaus, Judy & Fred Reuter, Mary Ann Roncker, Mary & Bob Schneider, Jodi & Wayne Shircliff, Brian Shircliff, Tonia Smith, Peggy & Dan St. Clair, Beverly Thomas, Thomas VonderBrink, Amy & Steve Whitlatch, Carol Yeazell, Carol T & Bruce Yeazell

Don't see your name here?  Then order by the end of the day and we'll be sure your name is included.  We take pride in noting inside each one of our books all who have supported the project.

You bring new ideas to life!
pre-order by clicking here...

and if you are planning to pickup your copy at the party or at a VITALITY class after Jan 6, you could use the Coupon code PICKUP and then click FREE SHIPPING to save you a few dollars :)

 

And our world needs new ideas, yes?  This book inspires so much love.  May our world feel ever more such ripples.

Brian Shircliff

PS Jack has generously offered this collection of letters and interviews with him about his experiences to be published with proceeds supporting VITALITY Cincinnati’s holistic mission and ministry, just as his pastor Richard Bollman, S.J. has done with Selected Homilies. In honor of Jack, VITALITY will make a donation of a portion of the proceeds of Conversations with Prisoners to Transforming Jail Ministries.