2018 The Year of 18 Calm and Confidence as I Embrace Life Maturity

Starting in 2009 I have set an intention for the coming year as each December comes to a close. The 2017 theme was the Year of Shining from Within and that has truly been a practice for the past 12 months. 

2017 was a personal challenge in that I lost trust in myself for choosing to take a job that seemed like a place to thrive but in reality was an environment in which I was drained. The benefit of this experience has been to strengthen and nurture my intrinsic motivation instead of searching for validation externally. 

My partner Brian is a chef and we have been exploring what it means to be a chef as opposed to a cook. A chef fixes mistakes, sets the vision, brings the best out in each team member, as well as in the product. Our discussions helped me realize that I am entering the maturity lifestage in my arts management consulting and teaching career. I have the knowledge, wisdom, experience, and talent. In August I finally recognized that I was ready to launch my own business and opened Artsightful to provide insights into the business of art as an educator and consultant.

The name Artsightful was derived from meditating on words that encourage me to take deep, long breaths. I often speak of inspiration, the Latin origin of the term to blow into or upon. As a student of yoga, and a teacher, I have been tuning into my inhalations and exhalations as a guide in finding self-confidence. With each breath the respiratory diaphragm massages the solar plexus area in upper part of the belly. This is also the location of the third chakra characterized by the expression of will, personal power, and mental abilities. The energy of the third chakra or Manipura in Sanskrit is activated when we assert ourselves in the world (chakra content taken from http://www.chakras.info/solar-plexus-chakra/.)

Approaching 2018 I breath into my solar plexus and experience the deepest, longest breath when I reflect on the concepts of Calm and Confidence. My face, neck and shoulder muscles relax, jaws are released and eyes soften. I know that I am able to trust my body and breath as I relax my reflex for self-preservation and self-protection. This is my intention: to embrace and trust my evolution into Maturity. Calm and Confidence was part of my theme in 2014 and in 2018 I am deepening this practice by celebrating 18 which in Hebrew is the numeric value of the word Chai, the word for Life. 

2009 The Year of Amy
2010 The Year of Living My Dreams
2011 The Year of Balance
2012 The Year of Being Present
2013 The Year of Connection
2014 The Year of Clarity, Calm and Confidence 
2015 Year of Creative Expression
2016 Year of Integrating Parts 
2017 Year of Shining From Within

One Minute Yoga Practices

Learning to do things in a different way

Two character strengths that significantly contribute to my well-being are Creativity and Love of Learning. These interconnect in my career as a teacher of two seemingly disconnected subjects: the business of art and restorative yoga. The VIA Institute of Character Classification of Strengths motto for Creativity is to “do things in a different way” and the motto of Love of Learning is to “learn something from every situation.” These statements describe the deep engagement I feel in the flow of teaching both yoga and business.

Although I recognize that both yoga and business are the foundation for deeper meaning in my life, the combination is not easy to explain to potential clients or to my supportive family. 

This dichotomy causes self-doubt and frustration that turn into negative thinking. To resolve this tension I contracted a business development specialist to help me identify how to interconnect these two areas of teaching into one easily understood whole. After several missed deadlines for delivering her proposal, the consultant admitted that she could not identify any correlation between yoga and business. 

I felt stumped. Was there really no connection? Surely, my desire to do things in a different way had a greater purpose.

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What I now realize is that a search for meaning and a sense of achievement in my life-work is not something I can farm out to a consultant. As a creative person I thrive on doing things a different way based on what I learn from every situation. Focusing on the positive relationships I have with my students and clients, I see the connection: Business and Bodies are both studies of systems that can be explored, understood and improved for improved health. 

My lifework is to guide people in articulating their vision, exploring the current reality in relation to their goal and developing options and solutions to pursue their intentions. Ultimately, finding this connection has been an opportunity for me to go deep into my belief system and affirm my unique way of creating and learning. I love learning to do things differently. 

Truth and Trust

Listening to National Public Radio this morning on the way home from yoga, their seasonal fund drive was on the air. The host said

Yes, that resonates with me.

But where?
Friends
Spiritual gatherings
Nature
Social Media channels
School...

...actually, in ourselves is the place to start. We need to be, first and foremost our own source of truth and place of trust.

Namaste.

Master the Business of Art!

It is official - I launched my new venture!

Artsightful to provide arts management training, insight coaching and capacity consulting to build thriving arts ventures and inspiring careers! My goal is to share insights into the business of art.

Join the e-newsletter 
Be the first to know about upcoming programs for artists, creative entrepreneurs, arts managers, and board members. 

Check out the program calendar for our design-thinking sessions launching in October 2017!

Are you an arts management trainer who would like to offer a session or series? Learn how to partner with Artsightful.

Contact informatin

Email: amy@artsightful.com

Phone: 415.994.9901

Address: 901 Mission Street, Suite 306, San Francisco, CA 94013

4As: Affirming Intention as a Daily Practice

Each day I am starting with a practice of identifying my Aim, Attitude, Action, and Achievement to set and move forward with intention. So much of my work is focused on others, that this is an opportunity to focus on me in the context of collaborating with my clients, students and co-workers. The following is adapted from the book How to Have a Good Day by Caroline Webb.

The 4As

• Aim: What is my intention, my purpose, my focus for the day?
• Affirmation: This is a positive affirmation of wow am I approaching this aim? What qualities am I bringing to this the purpose?
• Action: What work, knowledge and influence am I bringing to the aim?
• Achievement: How will I know that I have reached my aim?

Example1: Working with a strategic planning client

• Aim: to provide guidance, direction and focus to a group that has strong voices and high expectations
• Affirmation: I have the tools, experience, knowledge, and context of the big picture perspective, plus the voice to speak clearly, and concisely
• Action: listen, provide observations, give direction, and stay focused on actionable items that are realistic in the context of strategic planning, while playing the role of translator of ideas into action steps
• Achievement: I have provided guidance, insights, have documented actionable items, taken responsibility for my specific role and what I need to deliver, while not over-promising

Example 2: Leading a restorative yoga class

• Aim: to create a safe space in which there is a sense of connection to community
• Affirmation: I have the tools, experience and resources to facilitate the group; students trust me and value my voice
• Action: Teach from my heart, feel the safety within myself and share that calmness and connection with others
• Achievement: Following the final meditation, create a mandala from twine in which each participant is holding a connection point and we have woven a safe space where we can breath more easily and deeply

As I read these examples I had the second A as Attitude but I changed it to Affirmation. it is clear that this step gives me focus and sets me up for success.

Show up, dive in, stay at it.

These statements resonate with me and are the foundation for why I make my life's work the practice of supporting artists and arts managers in creating sustainable business ventures. 

Arts are essential. They describe and critique our society.  

- Robert Redford

This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.

- Toni Morrison 

Take your broken heart, make it into art.

-Meryl Streep quoting Princess Leia Carrie Fisher 

Show up, dive in, stay at it.  

- President Obama

February Yoga Urban Retreat: Lunar Practice

Sunset Tree (c) Amy Kweskin

The night is time for slowing down, softening the body, easing the breath and calming the mind. Join me for an evening of nurturing and balancing your body-mind-breath connection. Escape from your urban surroundings as the lights are dimmed, candles lit and soft music and nature sounds fill the studio. 

Treat yourself to two hours of gentle yoga and restorative poses in a safe and nurturing environment.  

Saturday, February 18

6:00 - 8:00pm Yoga Practice

8:00 - 9:00pm Optional Potluck

$20 per person

Register here:

Anasa Yoga
4232 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland, CA 94619

Bring a friend, as my intention is to create a supportive and nurturing community of practice.

Appropriate for all levels and capabilities.

 

This 2-hour class will be followed by an optional evening potluck in Anasa’s lounge. If you are able to stay after class and gather in community, please bring a dish or beverage to serve 4-6 people.

Playlist for Women's Lib

Need some musical inspiration? Checkout this Women's Liberation playlist featured in the Smithsonian Folkways Magazine,  a publication of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, put together this inspiring playlist.

"In recognition of the 2017 Women's March on Washington, Smithsonian Folkways spotlights songs of women's liberation. Spanning several decades of material, the themes in this playlist range from labor conditions and civil rights to women's health and the legal system. Featuring artists such as Quetzal, Barbara Dane, Peggy Seeger, and Malvina Reynolds, Smithsonian Folkways honors the many women and men who contribute to furthering public discourse on women's rights." 

This is a screen shot - click here to listen.

Nourished by our diversity we shine brigther

The United States of America
a country brightened
by our diverse population

We are all
immigrants 
refugees
who seek luminosity
in our quest for self-actualization
community connection

Together we are a rainbow of light
arching across lands, seas, skies
beyond borders
our glow fueled
by hopes
and
by dreams

Open our hearts
open our minds
open our hands
open our borders to the possibilities

Nourished by our diversity
we shine brighter

-Amy Kweskin

Melt Away Tension and Set Intentions for 2017

Join me at my Urban Retreat of gentle and restorative yoga the evening of Saturday 1/21, 6-8pm at Anasa Yoga.

Followed by an optional potluck.

 

More information and to register, visit:

http://www.anasaoakland.com/events-workshops/