Dancing

Think about all the things that happen in your kitchen. You're orchestrating ingredients—chopping, dicing, grating, sautéing, steaming, roasting. You're wielding an impressive array of gadgets: grinders, mixers, air fryers, microwaves, dishwashers, ovens. You're navigating spaces from floor-level drawers to overhead cupboards, hoisting grocery bags, cantilevering heavy pots, and balancing precarious stacks of dishes. There's one essential component we don’t think about much—until it starts complaining. Our own body.

Signs of good sleep include taking less time to fall asleep and not waking up often or for long periods. And although the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM)and the Sleep Research Society (SRS) recommend adults sleep at least seven hours a night,¹ over one-quarter of us fall short of this recommendation.² There are many factors contributing to this lack of sleep, and back pain is certainly one of them. 

Today, those of us in the U.S. celebrate our nationhood. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence announced colonial freedom from Great Britain; our history has included the winning of many more freedoms since. In various and sometimes contradictory ways, our society continues to defend much cherished freedoms, and also to aspire to new levels of freedom.

Claudia Cummins is a yoga and meditation teacher, poet, and talented writer. Already familiar with Esther’s book and DVD, she joined the 1-2-3 Move program on Thanksgiving last year. It quickly became a favorite way to lift her spirits and do her body good throughout the darkest times of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this essay Claudia generously shares her beautiful account of discovering the 1-2-3 Move dance party. You are invited to visit and enjoy more of Claudia’s writing and expertise on her website.