When celebrating becoming a US citizenship and searching for a word to describe her felt sense of the outpouring of love, comments, responses, cards, gifts, attendance, gestures, kindness, messages, received from our community, the word that kept coming up for Helen was amplified.
“Personally becoming a US Citizen was a big deal, and y’all AMPLIFIED the experience way beyond my wildest imagination. Thank you, Helen”
“am·pli·fy;
increase the volume of (sound), especially using an amplifier....
”the accompanying chords have been amplified in our arrangement”
...cause to become more marked or intense. can make all the difference.”
Joe (Helen’s husband) put a special US flag on the Soma Studio wall. His Grandfather served in the US Navy and this flag was on his coffin at his military funeral in the 1940s.
Interesting to note there were only 48 stars as this was before Alaska and Hawaii were part of the United States.
In the first song, Joe (who rarely ever makes comments or recommendations on what Helen should do) said “you have to stand still for THAT song” - it was the National Anthem. We stood still. Helen’s ankles and knees wobbled with an array of emotions as we heard the sound, felt the amplification of the moment and stepped into a very moving class experience.
Helen’s mother, who lives in the UK, dressed up for the occasion in her Red, White & Blue. What a delight to witness Helen’s parents dancing along to “What a Wonderful World ~ Louis Armstrong”, with their grins stretching from ear to ear. Being able to teach Hybrid and bring people all over the world to Soma Ranch virtually through Zoom is such a gift.
“Hello - I have been on your mailing list for longer than I can remember.
I would like to... come and celebrate your wonderful achievement. I have never been there. I am hopping in the car asap.
I’ve been embarrassed and intimidated to dance...
I will forge new boundaries as well, inspired by yours. ♡♡♡
Thank you, ”
Cheryl, who had been on Helen’s newsletter list since the 1990s, came to class, and Soma Ranch, for the first time.
Folks drove long distances, including Chapel Hill and Houston, to come to class.
Dear friends made cake, oatmeal squares, brought chocolate, cards, cash, ice cream, yogurt, snacks, wine, gifts, flowers.
Hope you can sense the over flowing love.
The pavilion, YET AGAIN, was enjoyed in its glory. What a delight to impromptu hang after class, enjoy coffee and kind conversations. Have the opportunity to get to know each other, hear stories, offer support and laugh YES, lots of laughter.
Here’s a sharable link to the full playlist of songs provided from class participants and the International Nia Teachers FaceBook Group. If you have apple music you’ll be able to sign in and enjoy.
Here’s a copy of the “final” Playlist that was used for the 60 minute Nia Class experience.
