About Susan
Susan is inspired by the everyday magic of simply paying attention. She finds that mindful embodied practices of gentle movement, breathing, self-touch, and connecting with the senses offer moments of full presence with ourselves just the way we are.
Susan is curious about movement as a practice in self-compassion and discovery. She considers movement our matrix for daily life: breathing, opening and closing our eyes, rolling over, reaching, pulling, stepping, dancing, climbing, steadying, letting go.
Susan loves nature's wonders, from the tiny to the vast, and finds joy and meaning in making things with her hands.
Susan is curious about movement as a practice in self-compassion and discovery. She considers movement our matrix for daily life: breathing, opening and closing our eyes, rolling over, reaching, pulling, stepping, dancing, climbing, steadying, letting go.
Susan loves nature's wonders, from the tiny to the vast, and finds joy and meaning in making things with her hands.
Susan is a truly giving, compassionate person, and this shows in her delivery of her practice and her sharing of inspirational thoughts and ideas. I have found that practicing with Susan has led me to a better understanding of myself. Susan offers more than just a physical practice. She is continually learning new ways to view ourselves in this world, with respect to our mind, our soul and our body and loves to share this with us.
Karen B.
What I'm Reading Right Now
The Inner Work of Racial Justice:
Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness
by Rhonda V Magee
I'm grateful to be journeying through this book with a small online group. We meet a couple of times a month to share passages that inspire us, challenge us, open our hearts. We listen, reflect, and sit with our questions. I really appreciate that the author not only infuses the entire text with her sense of mindfulness as a pathway to personal and community transformation, but also includes guided meditations in each chapter.
"We all need to notice, reflect on, and work against the habits we have of seeing others through the lenses of the clumsy categories of race and sterotypes. Every. Single. One. Of. Us. ... Simply looking with patience and compassion at how we "do" identities in our own lives, and how identities have been and still are being "done" to us, deepens our ability to see more completely all that we have been trained not to see. ... Our thoughts are shaped by our environments in ways that are essential to see more clearly."
Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness
by Rhonda V Magee
I'm grateful to be journeying through this book with a small online group. We meet a couple of times a month to share passages that inspire us, challenge us, open our hearts. We listen, reflect, and sit with our questions. I really appreciate that the author not only infuses the entire text with her sense of mindfulness as a pathway to personal and community transformation, but also includes guided meditations in each chapter.
"We all need to notice, reflect on, and work against the habits we have of seeing others through the lenses of the clumsy categories of race and sterotypes. Every. Single. One. Of. Us. ... Simply looking with patience and compassion at how we "do" identities in our own lives, and how identities have been and still are being "done" to us, deepens our ability to see more completely all that we have been trained not to see. ... Our thoughts are shaped by our environments in ways that are essential to see more clearly."
Teachings That Help Me Grow
Every day offers learning and so many teachers surround us - from our family members and neighbours to people we meet in passing, from trees and wildflowers to rocks and waves, from joyful adventures to deep challenges. Here are some teachings that help me grow.
"Perhaps the wisdom lies not in the constant struggle to bring the sacred into our daily life, but in the recognition that life is committed and whole, and despite appearances, we are always on sacred ground."
-Rachel Naomi Remen
"Seeing a boat is not the same as rowing it."
-Proverb
"To a brave person, good and bad luck are like her left and right hand. She uses both."
-St. Catherine of Siena
"When we get stuck, we often steamroll through rather than going back to the beginning. In general, you have to go slower than the speed of your habit to change something."
-Erin Godfrey
"Don't give advice unless someone insists. Instead, be fully present, listen deeply, and ask the kind of questions that give the other a chance to express more of their truth. Whatever that may be."
-Parker Palmer
"Motivation is a gift afforded to a brain and nervous system that's not chronically overloaded."
-Yvette Lalonde
"Our worth and our belonging are not negotiated with other people. We carry those inside our hearts."
-Brene Brown
"This is a moment of suffering. We all struggle in our lives. May I be kind to myself."
-Kristen Neff
"The great spaciousness and safety net beneath a tightrope walker is silence; it offers freedom from self-preoccupation and the fear of making a mistake. A regular practice of contemplation helps us trust that silence will uphold us, receive our mistakes, and give us courage to learn and grow."
-Max Picard
"Contemplation is not about flights of mystical fancy so much as it is about awakening to the present moment in our physical bodies. Present, yielded, alert, flexible willingness to engage your life where it is. This is the contemplative attitude."
-Cynthia Bourgeault
"Contemplation is a long, loving look at the real."
-William McNamara
"Perhaps the wisdom lies not in the constant struggle to bring the sacred into our daily life, but in the recognition that life is committed and whole, and despite appearances, we are always on sacred ground."
-Rachel Naomi Remen
"Seeing a boat is not the same as rowing it."
-Proverb
"To a brave person, good and bad luck are like her left and right hand. She uses both."
-St. Catherine of Siena
"When we get stuck, we often steamroll through rather than going back to the beginning. In general, you have to go slower than the speed of your habit to change something."
-Erin Godfrey
"Don't give advice unless someone insists. Instead, be fully present, listen deeply, and ask the kind of questions that give the other a chance to express more of their truth. Whatever that may be."
-Parker Palmer
"Motivation is a gift afforded to a brain and nervous system that's not chronically overloaded."
-Yvette Lalonde
"Our worth and our belonging are not negotiated with other people. We carry those inside our hearts."
-Brene Brown
"This is a moment of suffering. We all struggle in our lives. May I be kind to myself."
-Kristen Neff
"The great spaciousness and safety net beneath a tightrope walker is silence; it offers freedom from self-preoccupation and the fear of making a mistake. A regular practice of contemplation helps us trust that silence will uphold us, receive our mistakes, and give us courage to learn and grow."
-Max Picard
"Contemplation is not about flights of mystical fancy so much as it is about awakening to the present moment in our physical bodies. Present, yielded, alert, flexible willingness to engage your life where it is. This is the contemplative attitude."
-Cynthia Bourgeault
"Contemplation is a long, loving look at the real."
-William McNamara
SUSAN'S MOVEMENT & MINDFULNESS LEARNING HIGHLIGHTS:
Dharma Pathways (Sister HaiAn), online
Meditation and Dharma Talks, ongoing
2020
Mudras for Health and Healing (Kathleen Burr), Ottawa, ON
Workshop, 3 hrs
2019
Movement Research Intensive (Frey Faust, Francesca Pedulla, Diane Bruni, Ruth Douthwright, Kevin O'Connor, Jane Clapp, Riki Richer, Erin Godfrey, Dr. Sarah Kim, Leslie Young, and Matthew Remski), Toronto, ON
Axis Syllabus, Tuning Perception, Developmental Movement, Resistance Stretching, Injury Prevention for Movers, Trauma Recovery and Movement, Proprioception and the Nervous System, Moderation in Motion, Fascia and Mechanoreceptors, Hanna Somatics, Historical Perspective, 100 hrs
2018
Lifesong (Barclay McMillan and Chris McLean), Ottawa, ON
Voice, Movement, and Autobiography, 30 hrs
2017
Movement Research Intensive (Diane Bruni and Ruth Douthwright), Toronto, ON
Introduction to Developmental Movement and the Axis Syllabus, 15 hrs
2017
Michael Hutkins Yoga (Michael Hutkins), Ottawa, ON
Chair Yoga Training, 15 hrs
2016
Rhythms Rediscovered (Katherine Marr), Ottawa, ON
Yoga for Vulnerable Populations Teacher Training, 40 hrs
2016
Jeremy Sills, Ottawa, ON
Sound Healing Intensive, 15 hrs
2015
Contemplative Outreach, Ottawa, ON
Centering Prayer Retreats
2014
Rainedance (Jennifer Anderson), Ottawa, ON
Hooping Workshops
2010-11
Omega Institute (Biff Mithoefer), Rhinebeck, NY
Yin Yoga Teacher Training II, 50 hrs
2011
Yin Yoga Teacher Training I, 50 hrs
2010
Joy of Yoga (Janice Clarfield), Montreal, QC
Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training, 15 hrs
2008
Core-Elation Yoga (Sylvie Gouin), Ottawa, ON
Hatha Yoga Teacher Training, 250 hrs
2008
Dharma Pathways (Sister HaiAn), online
Meditation and Dharma Talks, ongoing
2020
Mudras for Health and Healing (Kathleen Burr), Ottawa, ON
Workshop, 3 hrs
2019
Movement Research Intensive (Frey Faust, Francesca Pedulla, Diane Bruni, Ruth Douthwright, Kevin O'Connor, Jane Clapp, Riki Richer, Erin Godfrey, Dr. Sarah Kim, Leslie Young, and Matthew Remski), Toronto, ON
Axis Syllabus, Tuning Perception, Developmental Movement, Resistance Stretching, Injury Prevention for Movers, Trauma Recovery and Movement, Proprioception and the Nervous System, Moderation in Motion, Fascia and Mechanoreceptors, Hanna Somatics, Historical Perspective, 100 hrs
2018
Lifesong (Barclay McMillan and Chris McLean), Ottawa, ON
Voice, Movement, and Autobiography, 30 hrs
2017
Movement Research Intensive (Diane Bruni and Ruth Douthwright), Toronto, ON
Introduction to Developmental Movement and the Axis Syllabus, 15 hrs
2017
Michael Hutkins Yoga (Michael Hutkins), Ottawa, ON
Chair Yoga Training, 15 hrs
2016
Rhythms Rediscovered (Katherine Marr), Ottawa, ON
Yoga for Vulnerable Populations Teacher Training, 40 hrs
2016
Jeremy Sills, Ottawa, ON
Sound Healing Intensive, 15 hrs
2015
Contemplative Outreach, Ottawa, ON
Centering Prayer Retreats
2014
Rainedance (Jennifer Anderson), Ottawa, ON
Hooping Workshops
2010-11
Omega Institute (Biff Mithoefer), Rhinebeck, NY
Yin Yoga Teacher Training II, 50 hrs
2011
Yin Yoga Teacher Training I, 50 hrs
2010
Joy of Yoga (Janice Clarfield), Montreal, QC
Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training, 15 hrs
2008
Core-Elation Yoga (Sylvie Gouin), Ottawa, ON
Hatha Yoga Teacher Training, 250 hrs
2008