Good Monday evening dear friends,
I find myself feeling very heavy after the weekend.
Hurricane Harvey took its toll on many of our friends and family around Texas. I feel continued and limitless gratitude for the preciousness of life itself. Listening to NPR/TPR in my car, talking to people in the grocery store line, and hearing tales of horror from those who lost everything they own including their workplace, has brought me into a stillness I have never experienced. Sensing my breath moment to moment has created a transformational shift inside. Like the eye of the storm, my heart is peaceful.
I lived in Houston, Texas, when Hurricane Alicia hit in 1983. The eye of the storm passed over our house. Although I had grown up in Oklahoma, and experienced many tornadoes, I had never experienced an ‘eye’ of peace that is present in a hurricane. It was a door for me into Mother Earth’s true heart. The trees around our house completely laid down one direction, as I huddled alone inside, listening to the whirl of the wind and watching the rain pour horizontal. The trees slowly righted themselves and then…
Peace. Nothing. No wind. No rain. No sounds.
I will never forget that peace. I had no thoughts, and no fear… just empty space inside.
And then the trees began their descent the other direction. A slow bend that would leave them on the ground holding on for dear life as the wind and rain pounded them yet again. I found myself staying in that place of peace, without fear and sending all my love and energy to the trees.
They held on, only losing a few branches. When I walked outside after the major gusts had subsided, I heard the trees say, “Its ok. We are strong. Just like our Mother Earth.” Yes, I hear trees, and talk to them too.
That is where I am right now… in the eye of the storm. So many things are whirling 
around me, with the studio, students, changes… and yet there is a peace inside that knows all is ok. This moment is all I have.
Join me this week to dance in the eye. We call it Living Meditation in Nia. Its the place that is present all the time, no matter what we are doing. It is the place that we can access 24/7 by taking a breath, and sensing it touch us inside. It is the place where we can look into another’s eyes and for a moment, radiate stillness and presence as we truly SEE them. It is the place where we can hear all the turmoil around us and listen in silence with an open heart, creating an energetic aikedo 
swirl that dissipates the energy into calm.
We all have it inside.
Let’s dance it this week.
While there are many organizations helping out, I have found two that are here in San Antonio doing great things, and I have donated to both. If you are looking for a way to help, the San Antonio Food Bank has many needs, both financial and physical. I am heading down there tomorrow afternoon to work stocking in their coolers. You can go to https://safoodbank.org/, and make donations as well as sign up for shifts. Animals are also in dire need of assistance. Please visit the Animal Defense League, to donate as well as volunteer to foster homeless animals: https://adltexas.org/.
Ride the wave of peace in the eye of the storm.
I love you all dearly, Adelle
Nia: Tuesday 7:30am, Wednesday 9:15am, Friday 9:15am
Nia FreeDance: Thursday 9:15am
Read more from Madisyn Taylor of DailyOm. My inspiration for this week’s focus. Riding the Wave of Life~
While riding the wave of life you must also practice stillness so you can flow with, rather than resist the wave’s motion.
Our lives are continually in motion, buoyed by the wave that is the universe’s flow. As the wave rises and falls, we are carried forward, through life’s high and low points. The universe’s flow may take us to a place in life where we would rather not be. As tempting as it can be to fight the direction and size of this wave that propels us, riding the wave is intended to make life easier. When you ride the wave, your life can evolve naturally and with minimal effort. Riding the wave, however, is not a passive experience. It is an active process that requires you to be attentive, centered, and awake. You must also practice stillness so you can flow with, rather than resist the wave’s motion.
Because life is dynamic and always changing, it is when we try to make the wave stand still or resist its direction that we are likely to get pulled under by its weight. If you try to move against the wave, you may feel as if you are trapped by it and have no control over your destiny. When you reach a low point while riding the wave and find your feet touching bottom, remember to stay standing so that you can leap forward along with the wave the next time it rises. Trying to resist life’s flow is a losing proposition and costly because you waste energy.
Riding the wave allows you to move forward without expending too much of your own efforts. When you ride the wave, you are carried by it and your head can “stay above water” as you go wherever it takes you. It can be difficult to trust the universe and let go of the urge to fight life’s flow, and you may find it easier to ride the wave if you can stay calm and relaxed. Riding the wave will always take you where you need to go.