JOIN HOSTS, KATHLEEN CARRILLO AND ANDREW MARCUS, FOR AN ART VACATION  IN THEIR LOVELY BED AND BREAKFAST AND ARTIST RETREAT ON THE RIO CUALE. THEY INVITE YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN RELAXING OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, ART CLASSES IN PAINTING, PRINTMAKING,CERAMICS AND MORE, GALLERY WALKS, LIVELY DISCUSSIONS, CREATIVE THINKING AND SOUL COACHING OR JUST PLAIN KICKING BACK IN THEIR MAGICAL ART RETREAT.  THEY HAVE SETTLED IN PUERTO VALLARTA AFTER A LONG AND SUCCESSFUL TWELVE YEARS OF DEVELOPING AND PARTICIPATING IN TOWLES COURT, AN ARTIST COLONY IN SARASOTA FLORIDA.  IT WAS TIME FOR A CHANGE.  AFTER A THREE YEAR SEARCH IN LATIN AMERICA, THEY DECIDED THAT PUERTO VALLARTA WAS THE PERFECT LOCATION TO SETTLE AND START A NEW ADVENTURE.  WE HOPE YOU LOVE PUERTO VALLARTA WITH IT’S OCEAN, MOUNTAINS, RIVERS AND A  PROFESSIONAL ARTISTIC COMMUNITY.  WE ARE SURE YOU WILL BE DELIGHTED WITH THE CHARM OF PUERTO VALLARTA.

THE WEEK OF MARCH 23-20 ENJOY 2 CLASSES DAILY WITH TANNIS IN ADDITION TO KATHLEEN’S ART CLASSES, AND TIME TO ENJOY THE WILD AND BEAUTIFUL SETTING.

ROOM FOR 8 PARTICIPANTS.

4 ARTISTIC ROOMS

EACH BED AND BREAKFAST/ART RETREAT  SUITE HAS A LOVELY BALCONY WITH A SITTING AREA THAT HAS  A PEEK AT THE RIVER.  THE BREEZES ARE SPECTACULAR, AND THE RIVER MUSIC ENCHANTING.  THEY HAVE PRIVATE BATHS, CAREFULLY SELECTED  DECORATIONS, ALONG WITH THE OWNERS ORIGINAL ARTWORK.  THERE ARE LOVELY PATIOS SURROUNDING THE PROPERTY WHERE YOU CAN SIT AND CONTEMPLATE IN A NATURAL SETTING FILLED WITH MAGICAL MOMENTS. IT IS A FEW STEPS TO THE ART STUDIO WHERE WE WILL HOLD ART WORKSHOPS AND OTHER CLASSES.  THESE ART HOLIDAYS AND B&B STAYS ARE ENCHANTING.

DETAILS/RESERVATIONS

Tea Time Pilates Workshop
Celebrate International Pilates Day & Mothers Day!!

After warm-up & stretch I’ll break down Pilates moves so both beginners and the more advanced practitioner learn/re-enforce how to really find/feel the core muscles, avoid injury, and work on a deeper level.  I’ll do hands on work with all (willing) participants and if there are new moms, she’ll include a special series of postpartum exercises to get your body back! Also learn a bit about the philosophy behind Joseph Pilates’ workout. Questions will be addressed as they come up and a take-away handout will be provided.

Award winning DVD WELL worked out with Tannis will be available to participants for 15% off. Beginners and the more experienced welcome!

$30 or come with your mom or a friend for $20/each!

Please RSVP: 646.489.3422 or Sam@YogalaEchoPark.com
Yogala Echo Park | 1840 echo park ave. echo park, ca 9

For the pre-Christian Druids the May Day holiday was known as Beltane, and it was a celebration of fertility.  The Romans celebrated Flora, the Goddess of flowers the same day.  When the Roman occupied the British Isles the two celebrations merged – maidens with wreaths of flowers in their hair dancing ‘round the May Pole, a symbol of verdant forests and fertility in general.  The legendary Arthurian court of Camelot embraced the lusty month of May.  Bright wild flowers bloomed and lured in pollinating bees – and like Cupids they dusted pollen across the land, ensuring a bountiful harvest by fall.  This was the time to revel, replenish, and rejuvenate, so that in a few months there’d be foals, and lambs, and a cornucopia to harvest and stock to survive brutal winters.  In the late 1800s the emphasis changed.  The May Day holiday became International Workers Day, or Labor Day.  Now on May Day in the USA workers rally and march to bring awareness to problems they’re facing.  They rally together so that from the fruits of their labor will come bounty for themselves and more opportunities for future generations.  Tomorrow, only a few miles from where I live, as many as 100,000 people may congregate in downtown Los Angeles to speak out about immigration issues and workers rights.  But has the deepest core meaning of May Day really changed?  It’s still about planting hope so that there’s a way to survive the tough times, and pave a better life for the children, the future generations.   Myself, I’m attending the Los Angeles Festival of Books: dancing round the information pole to gain new insights, stimulate my imagination, and create something of substance – whether it’s what I bring to my day in and day out teaching,  my Pilates retreats and holidays, and my own over all wellness.   Isn’t that what most of us really want?  How are you celebrating May Day? What nurturing is going on in your life?

Joe Pilates was born into a world of corseted women. Fact: Well-bred ladies wore some form of corset starting in the 14th century. By the 1800s, extreme lacing of these core-crushing contraptions took hold. Remember in Gone with the Wind when Scarlet and Mammy struggle to squeeze Scarlet’s postpartum waist down to 18 inches? Then there’s the GWTW scene with the southern belles napping, corsets unleashed, literally taking a much-needed breather. Imagine forcibly cinching your waist down to 18–22 inches daily, all your adult life. People in the 1800s suspected corsets caused health problems. When a lady grew faint, the cry went out to loosen her laces and she was led to the fainting couch and administered smelling salts. Health experts warned that extremely tight lacing displaced organs and compressed the spine, not to mention the fact that it prevented proper muscle development and prohibited vigorous exercise. 19th century corsets were so rigid that women were forced to sit upright and could barely bend over. But women endured corsets from adolescence on in order to have fashionable figures.

It was in this social climate that Pilates introduced his method. He advocated building a powerhouse, which he called a “deep-muscle corset.” The inner corset consisted (and still does) of the pelvic floor, transverse abdominus, multifidus, diaphragm, inner-thigh muscles and all muscles surrounding the pelvis. When we practice Pilates properly, we construct our deep inner muscle corset by hollowing our center (core) and activating the muscles of the pelvic floor and girdle. We gain control over our bodies, and this leads to health in mind and spirit. But the mindset of the general public had to change before this concept could be widely accepted. When you look at the last hundred years, you will see the journey from corset to core strength parallels the emancipation and liberation of women.

March 8th 1911, when women celebrated the first Women’s History Day, most women wore corsets. By 1914 the modified corselet hit the market and so did looser clothes. On May 16, 1916, the first annual swimsuit day took place at Madison Square Garden in NYC. Women, freed from corsets, began to enjoy recreational activities. In the ’20s, rebel-rousing flappers with boyish figures danced risqué Charlestons. But the majority of ladies clung to undergarments with stays and laces. My grandmother, who was born in 1893, wore her corselet into the 1970s. She felt indecent if she didn’t wear it.

For decades she suffered from chronic indigestion, later diagnosed as a hiatus hernia. Corselet caused? Seems likely. My mother, in her 20s during WWII, wiggled into a compressing girdle until the late 1960s. Then, suddenly, it was women’s lib time and everything changed in a flash—at least on the surface. Mom threw away her girdle, hung up her dresses and put on a pantsuit. When I came of age, bra burnings were in the news. My mom and grandmother were fine with me wearing mini-skirts to high school and tiny bikinis to the beach. They’d accepted the changing societal attitudes toward women’s bodies. Amazing when you realize this transition happened in just 50 years, after 500 years of required corset wearing!

By the late ‘70s, everyone slithered into Spandex and fitness became an industry. I was one of the countless women pumping iron, sweating in aerobic classes, getting strong (at least on the outside). Yoga and mediation were catching on, but Pilates work that developed those deep inner corset muscles wasn’t mainstream yet. Then, as those of us in the Pilates community know, Pilates went public in the early 1990s and it caught on like wild fire.

As of 2011, more than 40 years after Joe passed away, 12 million people worldwide practice Pilates, and approximately 30 thousand people teach Joe’s methods. The deep corset muscle building methods Joe introduced right around 1911 are now the foundation of mind-body movement and fitness practices throughout the entire world. They’ve been embraced by both sexes, but do seem to mirror the century-long empowerment of women. Joe’s life view wasn’t just about constructing the deep muscle corset. It was about taking control of the body and empowering it and, allowing the whole being—mind, body and spirit—to flourish.

As we come to the end of the centennial anniversary of Women’s History Month, let’s think about how the Pilates lifestyle has empowered women to this point in history, and how practicing and teaching the Pilates method to women of all ages and future generations of women can help them evolve toward even greater emancipation and accomplishment. I invite you to weigh in on this topic from your own experiences as one who practices Pilates and/or teaches it.

Channel Your Inner Pilates Goddess

March 17, 2011

Balance is healthy. All work with no breaks leads to stress, and dis-eases of the mind, body and spirit. The word holiday derives from the words holy and day. In the Middle Ages days set aside for worship and time away from daily rigors and routines.  Throughout history Holy days, such as Christmas and Hanuka, have been observed globally.  Holy days modernized into “holidays” during the Industrial Revolution.  Now cultures world wide allot different time allowances for annual holidays.  The USA is at the low end of industrial nations’ “time-off” scales.  Fact is many Americans never EVER take holidays – even during the holiday season.  Not good! Long term medical studies show non-stop workers have higher levels of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and sleep disorders.  This last problem contributes to poorer productivity.  Sleep deprived people have shorter attention spans, less retention capacity, and are prone to depression.  In addition, they don’t metabolize well through the night and that leads to weight gain.  Clearly working day in and day out with no holidays makes no sense. Holidays are healthy.  All vacations qualify; R&R at a spa, action packed eco-adventures, or culturally informative holidays.

Travel, whether it’s a short getaway or long adventure, stimulates and restores.  On the one hand it gives you permission to mellow out and relax.  But any time you’re in a new habitat you’re out of your comfort zone, and that forces you to be alert.  Result, increased brain activity, which keeps the brain young.  What better way to stimulate the brain than explore a new place, try something adventurous , meet new people.  All this keeps you young and vibrant, and makes you a better contributor in the community and workplace.  Medical studies over the last 50 years verify that people who take a week or more off of work annually are less likely to suffer from depression.  They have healthy hearts. They’re sleep patterns improve.  Carefully monitored research shows those who take holidays have quicker reaction times and better retention skills than their work ‘til you drop colleagues.  On my Health Habitravels retreats and adventures I’ve seen these benefits enjoyed by my fellow travelers.  So don’t deny yourself that week or two off annually, whether it’s now during the Holiday season, or later this year. If you can’t break away for long, because of work or lack of funds, take short breaks throughout the year.   Once you’re home you’ll see positive results in your personal and professionally life because you gave yourself time to breathe, explore and recharge your batteries.

SOME BACKGROUND ON HM157 – A PLACE & A COMMUNITY THAT ALIGNS WELL WITH THE PHILOSOPHY OF HEALTH HABITRAVELS ~

“Historical Monument # 157 on the California Historical landmark list. As far as what hm157 stands for spiritually & politically:

Our Community Creative Space is dedicated to the propagation of all positive possibilities* All that we do is in the name of LOVE & unbridled creativity. We function as a Gallery, a multi-purpose art work space, a farm, a location for public and private events, film/video/photo shoots, film screenings, community workshops, lectures & fundraisers.

What makes our little Family Business stand out, is just how much we pride individuality and self determination. Our resident artists all have very different beliefs and passions, that complement each other beautifully. We exemplify how Creativity & Cooperation is the key to Freedom & Security*

But these blessings don’t come easy my friends, there are no short cuts when building you own slice of Heaven on Earth in which to thrive in. The environment we aim to create, is that of Self Constructiveness & highlight that it is Self Destruction that keeps our movements from being successful decade after decade. Our actions are meant to send out positive undulations into the community and art world at large. We see Good, Clean Fun as a universal need, work & play can become one if your heart is in he right place.

As we grow towards Independence, we seek out the ancient wisdom of our Native Americans & aim to tie it into our art, music, farming, new technology & communication. Through self expression and celebration, we unite with our entire community & together we shall sever our ties to the corporate machines that perpetuates slavery under every rock & in every Third world country. We will become Producers, rather than consumers.

We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we do want to embolden The Truth and mean to encourage others to follow suit. We feel very strongly that Art, Music & Fashion should elicit positive change and put down evil. Be inspiring, encouraging & loving….and you will find your dreams coming true*”

PLEASE JOIN ME IN LINCOLN HEIGHTS @ HM157!

PUT ON YOUR DANCING SHOES.  GET READY FOR A CLASS THAT TAKES YOU TIME TRAVELING AND GLOBE TROTTING.

EACH 90 MINUTE CLASS I’LL TAKE YOU THROUGH THE BASICS OF DIFFERENT DANCES FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

* NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY.
* IT’S FUN.  IT’S HEALTHY.
* IT’S SOCIAL NETWORKING THE OLD FASHION WAY.
*BRING A PARTNER OR COME ON YOUR OWN.

THERE WILL BE A FEEL GOOD WARM-UP, THEN A BREAK DOWN OF THE DANCE, FOLLOWED BY TIME TO PRACTICE THE MOVES AND DANCE DIVINELY

MY BEING A HISTORY AND CULTURE LOVER I’LL INFORM YOU AS BEST I CAN ABOUT THESE DANCES FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES & ERAS.

SOME DANCES ON THE 2011 AGENDA :

• 18th and 19^th CENTURY ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCES
• FRENCH FORMS FROM COURT DANCES to THE CAN CAN
• CELTIC REBEL GIGS AND HIGHLAND FLINGS
• ROMANTIC POLKAS, MAZURKAS, WALTZE
• JAZZ AGE CHARLESTON AND JITTERBUG
• MEXICAN FOLKLORICA
• SIZZLIN’ SOUTH OF THE BORDER MOVES

ALL HAPPENING AT HM157 LINCOLN HEIGHTS, CALIFORNIA

Each 90 minute class is $15 sliding scale donation. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds.

To make it a real social there will be libations & tasty tid-bits Pot luck style…. so we encourage folks to bring their specialty*

SATURDAY DECEMBER 4^th I’ll introduce a bit of 1920′s dance fun during intermission @ the Bessy Smith tribute night.

SUNDAY 12/12/10 The 1st Dance Around the World Class  starts @ 2PM sharp*.  Scottish Reel to warm up quick, and a flirty English Country Dance follow.  In the Holiday spirit think Charles Dickens and Jane Austin era – wear your dancing shoes, dress in layers, and I encourage you for the fun of it to accessorize in the manner of the era of the dance.

Please do come dance with me – Tannis
Please RSVP to Charon Nogues of HM157′s *The Church of Fashion* at  hmonefiftyseven@gmail.com

JAN 2011 DANCE AROUND WITH WORLD WITH TANNIS: Come kick in the New Year
Sunday, January 30th, 2PM sharp at HM157 in Lincoln Heights.  LEARN THE CAN CAN!

The infamous Can Can (which means scandal) was all the rage in Paris when Degas, Van Gogh and Lautrec walked the cobbled streets of Montmartre, all in the know drank laudanum, and showing an ankle was considered sinful! You can image the ooh-la-la-thrill caused when ladies flashed their ruffled white lingerie (and sometimes bared all) kicked and split their up to the eyeball legs high, so all the world could see EVERYTHING.  The Moulin Rouge show’s were often raided and the performers jailed.  Originally MEN AND WOMEN partnered in the Can Can dance.  For our class we’re going back to those non-sexist routes.

And so – Mesdames et monsieur (don’t be shy guys!) wear clothes that allow you to move with ease  – bring along petticoats and don those pearly white ruffled drawers.  I’ll teach some limber up stretches and then let’s see who can kick the highest.
NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED.
$15.00 suggested donation.  Socialize after class over H’or oeuvres and beverages.

The WELL blog title sprung from the concept of not simply wellness and well being, but of a well, as in an ancient well. Like a wishing well.  A sacred well, that provides oh-so necessary water – the source of life.  In folklore around the world wells were, and are, considered sacred.  They were magical. They were the water spirits’ realm.  They were a place to pray – to meditate – to find answers – to dream – to wish.  And so in the WELL blog I’ll explore where to source wellness, and how to allow that wellness to fill our lives.  Sure there’ll be suggestions on movement modalities that I know, and that I’m exploring and learning about.  Way to keep the body strong, supple and healthy.  But beyond movement there’s so many elements that contribute to our well being.  For instance what replenishes our senses? Of courser it’s different of all of us.  But there are common sources that feed our beings.  Sunrises.  Sunsets.  Certain scents.  Being acknowledged for our unique skills and gifts.  Being loved, and loving others.  These are the elements that fill the majority of us with joy.  And that’s what I want to offer here.  Ways to find joy, in movement, in your work, in your relationships, in your day to day adventures, and in those special adventures to other cultures and sacred places.

I’ll draw from the well of the world around us and speak on ways to keep the well spring flowing in your life, even in times of drought and darkness.  In other words, how to keep the juices flowing in heart, body and brain.  Perhaps books, reading them, writing them.  Art, viewing or doing.  Travel – within and without. Food for ourselves, for others.  Relationship – with people, animals, nature, our self  - well, the subjects are endless. I’ll take on a first topic later this week.  So come back to the WELL blog – and bring your questions, your dreams and wishes with you – we’ll commune!

WHERE TO STAY: Charming, intimate Alma del Solhttp://www.casaspirit.com/almasite/main/mainhome.html

WHERE TO DINE: Here’s a couple of recommendations:Las Capellina and Truco 7

MUST SEES IN TOWN
Casa Diego Rivera
Teatro Juarez
Museo de la Alhondiga de Granaditas
Pipila—ON TOP OF THE HILL—take the fernicular or walk up for a fabulous view of the city.
Mention Guanjuato to a Mexican and they light up and say “Mummies”
Checkout the macabre—but fascinating. Museo de los momia:http://www.mummytombs.com/mummylocator/group/guanajuato.closeup.htm
The central El Jardin, especially on Sunday for Mariachis, people watching

NEARBY
Valencia and San Miguel de Allende…which brings me to part two of the trip:

Sagrada Wellness Retreat, a tranquil high desert hideaway that offers yoga and Pilates classes and world class massage treatments is Fifteen minutes outside San Miguel de Allende, Colonial art colony. San Miguel has been a haven for North Americans for decades. After too few days in Guanjuato I arrived at Sagrada ready to conduct a 5 day mind-body movement workshop for a small group of students. 5 days later, after discovering deep hidden muscles, which always happens when you do Pilates—accessing inner energies via Gyrokinesis classes—increasing flexibility with partner stretches—having fun doing a Conga line to Latin grooves as the sun set in the open air yoga studio—and most important sharing a lot of laughs and given one another encouragement to face not just the physical but the emotional challenges life volleys at us well, it felt too soon to bid adios to my new friends. Plans were made to continue the work in Denver, in Portland, in L.A.—maybe back in Mexico? Several times people from San Miguel joined us for classes and meals, including Tasha, originally from Denver, and now the owner of Flying Root Pilates, her fully equipped studio a couple of minutes away from Sagrada. We broke up our relaxing stay at Sagrada with an excursion to La Gruta, a hot springs resort where healing waters wash away all ills, and an afternoon taking in the markets and galleries of San Miguel. To truly appreciate San Miguel’s culture I recommend a longer stay—to explore the shops, galleries, attend festivals, dine in top quality restaurants. It’s a shoppers’ heaven, although quite pricey. Before returning to Guanjuato, I bought a purse made of recycled aluminum pop tops from Iaginarte (100% made in Mexico, with proceeds going directly to into the hands that made them) and some delicate silver and gold earrings crafted by Cartherine Gielis a Guanajuato artisan from Guanajuato at an annual artisan’s fair at Instituto Allende. San Miguel is a very “gringo” friendly place, with Canadians and Americans in every café and on every corner. It’s a safe place to experience Mexico, despite all the bad reports currently assaulting us in the media and damaging Mexico’s necessary tourist trade. Did I feel safe during this trip? Yes. Will I return to Mexico? Yes! As I said, Guanjuato spoke to my soul like few places have.

For further writing about this region—Ana Cervantes, a music pro and professor living in Guanajuato writes with tenderness and insight about Guanjuato at this link:

http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/625-life-and-music-in-guanajuato

NOTE: September 18-25 I’ll be back teaching in Mexico at Rancho La Puerta, near Tecate, just across the border from San Diego, California.

- view photo gallery -

For even more photos, visit our photo albums on Facebook:

• Five Days at Sagrada Wellness Retreat
• The Central Mexico

- View past Health Habitravels luxury adventure travels, spa vacations and ecotours -

BHUTAN CULTURAL AND FESTIVAL ADVENTURE

$4,300 per person double occupancy

Oct. 27 meet in Bangkok/Nov. 11 depart from Bangkok
$4,300 (double occupancy)

INCLUDES Bangkok hotel 3 nights, breakfast & tour, 12 day escorted tour of Bhutan all lodgings and meals, classes with Tannis and roundtrip Druk air Bangkok/Bhutan flight.
NOT INCLUDED – INTERNATIONAL AIR TO BANGKOK.

THE ADVENTURE BEGINS IN BANGKOK then on to Bhutan for 11 Nights/12Days.  BHUTAN TOUR AND TREKKING, A GOVERNMENT AUTHORIZED, LICENSED, INBOUND BHUTAN TOUR COMPANY TAKES US ON A CULTURAL ODYSSEY IN THE “LAND OF THUNDER DRAGON.” Combines cultural tour, trekking and attendance at a late fall spiritual festival.
(Tannis will teach classes most days)

RETURN TO BANGKOK with overnight stay in hotel.
GOOD LUCK & TASHI DELEK!