An active, creative way to unlock the wisdom of the body with a focus on education and communication
SIS Savoring the Gifts of 2019
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What gifts did 2019 bring you? What do you want to savor and remember from this past year? What do you want to release? Sustaining International Sisters (SIS) of InterPlay Atlanta played with these questions at their December "play and potluck."
"PRESENCE-ING" OURSELVES. Having our potluck first instead of our InterPlay playshop as we normally do posed us with the challenge of getting "our body spirits" into the room after driving in Georgia traffic and then relaxing into connecting with one another. So we had a mini-InterPlay warm up before diving into our feast! We did two rounds of saying our names, the first with our names and the place or country we identify with. I love it when someone surprises us with multiple countries or "Planet Earth."
More than 30 women from around the world came together for an evening of connection, learning, and inspiration in the home of a Turkish SISter, Guldane, in Alpharetta, Georgia, USA. We had women from Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq, China, South Korea, Jamaica, Brazil, and the United States. We have learned what our Muslim SISters can (halal) and cannot eat (pork) and are getting really good at explaining and marking the the dishes we bring so everyone eats according to their dietary needs and preferences.
POTLUCK. We SISters really love the healthful dishes we are bringing to our potlucks. Generally, we go with meat free dishes resulting in lots of vegetables, salads, and fruits.
After feasting on delicious international foods, we SISters engaged in 90 minutes of InterPlaytelling stories about 2019 and whatever else came up as we paired with different partners, moved, spoke in made up languages and relaxed.
PAIRING WITH DIFFERENT PARTNERS. The InterPlay form of "babbling" gives everyone a chance to move around the room talking with many different partners. Our SISters love meeting and greeting each other so rapidly and in such fun ways.
MOVEMENT THAT ENERGIZES. What fun it is to get up and move in the whole group and in partners! SISters notice that instead of feeling tired, they feel refreshed or relaxed.
A luxurious result of meeting in a private home was being able to stretch out on the comfortable carpeted floor to do a one-hand dance in a flower formation – stretching out on the floor on our backs with our heads touching as the center of the flower and our legs radiating out as the petals. As the music played, our hands soared and swirled in the air above us. Everyone was invited to have the dance for themselves or to connect with others. Most importantly, everyone was encouraged to follow their body wisdom, moving at the speed of their own body.
ONE HAND DANCE ON BEHALF THE GIFTS OF 2019
We played with this one-hand dance as a way to savor the gifts of 2019. Along with this intention other experiences arose. One SISter from Pakistan had a memory come to her. She was reminded of being home in her country sleeping out on the terrace under the starlit night. She said, “This was our custom,” and we understood from her that often the family members were in close proximity like we SISters were on the carpeted floor. Another SISter from Turkey got an unresistable urge to plan a camping trip. Embodied play allows us opportunities to make discoveries and generate new ideas. We connect with others and with ourselves.
Following our InterPlay play session, we opened gifts and ate dessert of custards, fruits, cookies, and cakes with Turkish tea. We were so lucky one SISter from Jamaica/Atlanta wore a Santa hat and played Santa!
SIS CO-FOUNDERS. Canan Arikan and Ruth Schowalter take a traditional selfie to document their ongoing collaboration. December SIS was their fifteenth SIS work/playshop. In November 2019, they launched the first online GLOBAL SIS: InterPlay. GRATITUDE: Many thanks to all the women who made this December SIS: InterPlay gathering successful, especially our hostess, Guldane. I'm particularly grateful to my collaborator Canan Arikan, who has super powers of organization and love. As always thanks to Cynthia Winton-Henry and Phil Porter for the magic that they created with InterPlay.
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