Postsecret

Every Sunday, I read the PostSecret blog. PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard. It's a heaping dose of humanity. I love the roller-coaster ride of emotions it elicits and it gives me a chance to reflect on a myriad of subjects.

While reading this weeks postcards, I came upon this one: "my crowded commute on the metro is the most physical contact I ever really get" And I was greatly saddened to think of all the people who don't have enough touch in their daily lives. America is still a society that has very little casual physical contact. This is why massage and Watsu so dear to me. Especially Watsu with the close contact while being cradled by your practitioner in the water. Having that much touch nourishes our emotional body as well as our physical body.


Ladies' Spa Night is this Monday! Cheri, Priya and I will be holding court from 6-9pm at the Little Red Day Spa. Come soak with us and get some touch!

Playing with stereotypes.

The Pink Show
Saturday, November 14th @ 9PM

Join the LRS Troupe and guests Captain Smartypants as they explore all things pink and why it is that color is so gay. Some of Smartypants greatest and gayest hits will be featured, such as Drama Queen, Heterosexuals and Stonewall Serenade. Interactive poetry, a no-holds-barred question and answer session, several scenes from gay life blend fantastically with costumes, dance and
a benediction you won't forget.

Where: 400 Dexter Ave N.
How Much: $25 in advance or $30 on the night of the show

Advance tickets can be purchased online at Brown Paper Tickets or in person at our new box office in the Little Red Bistro during business hours.

This will be the second of three showings of LRS' collaboration with Captain Smartypants. I am not in this show, as I am taking my place as the Box Office Maven. (Doesn't that sounds so much more interesting than Ticket Salesperson. Spicing up one's titles and job descriptions is a lot of fun. I highly recommend it.)

I am planning on checking out the show this time. Last month, I was a little leery of the subject matter. Not the gay part, but the playing with stereotypes and poking fun at prejudices. I have a strong belief that one shouldn't reinforce undesirable concepts by bringing attention to them. I was worried that it might end up being a little preachy, too, in all honesty. But so far, everyone I have talked to who attended the show has mentioned how much fun they had, and how it was mostly light-hearted, with a few somber moments.

Sounds like a good blend. Not to mention, I am a sucker for musicals, and Captain Smartypants is comprised of singers who are also members of the Seattle Men Chorus.

Blood Drive at LRS - 8/21/09

Organizing a blood drive have been on Jeff's list of things he wants Little Red Studio to do for many years now. The logistics of coordinating this is quite a bit more than any of us expected. There are restrictions of who can give blood. Please check out the guidelines to see if you can donate. If you aren't eligible to donate, please consider volunteering an hour of your time during the drive doing non-medical duties.

Excerpt of an email from Jeff Hengst-

We are hosting the Puget Sound Blood Center's Blood Mobile at LRS for our next Gold Show on the 21st of August. Part of LRS's mission is to help us all gain a better understanding of how the Gift economy and the Money economy can elide or work together and support each other. For many of us, these two "economies" are ill understood and confusing especially when they collide or attempt to overlap. This is nowhere more true and challenging than what we do with our own bodies. Blood is donated and then sold. How is that tenable? Our art is donated by the Troupe's artists, but admission is charged at the door. How does that work?

Obviously we would like you to consider donating blood. Just as important to us, is that we would like this to spark conversation about all of this.

Anybody who does donate blood on the 21st will be offered free dinner at the Bistro and a ticket to the show that night! Please give us a call at (206) 963-0633 if you are interested. We need to assure the Blood Mobile that we will have 35 donors.

Be a part of Urban Arts!

Please check out this incredible idea from one of our LRS troupe members. Christina is putting together a weekend of artistic fun and education for children. She is currently looking for people who have experience and interest in one or more areas of the artistic realm who would be willing to present (or help wrangle kids) a short workshop on August 1t or 2nd.

I am looking forward to being a part of this, even if I only end up as an attendee.

Urban Arts Weekend - August 1 and 2 at Little Red Studio
Help create full self expression and contribution in a community effort that seeks to share art in all its forms.

The Vision
Empowering kids and parents to experience art and relate to one another in a supportive community of passionate teachers.

The Format
(This is still in the planning phases, so details will change and evolve.)

Start: Each day will contain numerous art classes/topics running in tandem, many of which are developed to overlap or dovetail with other topics, and some of which may involve an indoor and an outdoor (field trip - sculpture park, zoo, etc.) component. The final topics will be chosen based on logistical feasibility (what we can fit in the space), resource/materials load (what we can provide or get donated), and your interest (if no one wants to teach watercolors there won't be a watercolors class). Depending on the topic's difficulty or teacher inclination, each class could run 2-4 hours.

Lunch break: If we put together a Cooking class, it's possible that lunch will be what that class makes. Otherwise, people will need to bring a sack lunch.

Close: Show-and-tell and/or performance respectively for visual and performance art.

The Teachers
As a teacher, you are responsible to create your own plan including what you want to teach and how. But each class should involve at least an introduction/basics including the tools used or concepts needed, any safety concerns, and then the hands-on portion. Depending on the topic's difficulty, each teacher will have access to helpers. The point of the class is to give every child/parent combo a chance to play with/practice what they're learning.

Materials Note: When considering whether you'd like to teach a topic, please think about any sources you know that could donate materials, and even think about materials you might have at home. The registration fee will cover some of this, but the more donations we can get, the lower that fee will be.

Helpers Note: We need helpers to move people around the space, coordinate resources, and act as class aids. If you don't want to teach that doesn't mean you can't come play. Seriously.

The Topics
All topics presented are possibilities, intended to jump-start your creativity. If you want to do something that isn't listed, please email me.

* Painting: finger, body, oil, watercolor, paint dancing (freestyle dancing while painting), wall (use a broom to paint on a wall), objects (see Crafts and Sculpture)
* Drawing: figure/object/still-life (people, flowers, buildings, cars, animals); freestyle (what they see in their mind); comics (incorporates Writing module)
* Photography/Videography: documenting the day; music videos (could incorporate Theater, Dance, and Music topics); portraits and/or still-lifes; wildlife/nature architecture/urban landscape
* Framing (making frames and/or mats to contain visual art)
* Theater (could incorporate Dance): improv, acting
* Music: vocal (solo or group); beat boxing/rapping (could incorporate Poetry); instrumental; appreciation (could incorporate Dance)
* Aerials/gymnastics: floor work (could incorporate Dance); hoop/rope/tissu; spinning/poi
* Dance: belly; jazz; ballroom; freestyle/object (balls, flags, yoga balls)
* Crafts: hardware repurposing (take apart broken toasters, blenders, etc. and make sculpture); decoupage/collage/modge podge; paper mache; plaster of paris casting; egg or rock painting; decorate accessories (jewelry, hats, lunch boxes, belts, sneakers, backpacks, ipod/cell phone holders)
* Cooking: make lunch for the day and then serve it; snacks/hors'douvres/canapes/finger foods (could incorporate Photography);coffee and fizzy beverages
* Writing: poetry (could incorporate Vocal and/or Performance topics); short stories; comics/graphic novels (could incorporate Drawing)
* Sculpting(could incorporate Painting): cookie dough (could incorporate Cooking); clay; DAS or other polymer stuff
* Dream Work: dream theater (incorporate Performance and/or Improv topics); journaling and using mind maps for understanding; spiritual and healing components
* Tech Booth: running the light and sound board

Extra Details
Registration will be required to keep a bound on class size, and there will be a fee. We're going to keep the cost as low as possible because this is a community outreach project and volunteer based.

I am so excited to have each and every one of you come play! Please email me if you have questions or suggestions.


Christina Dietrich
chrissy.laprue@gmail.com

Amazing opportunity on June 19th.

Kirsten Lauzon, a member of the Little Red Studio troupe, is finishing her degree in Paleopsychology, the study of the evolution of consciousness. She uses a very interesting style of counseling called Systemic Constellations or Family Constellations.

While it is a bit difficult to describe, I can definitely articulate the results. My experience was quite profound. I chose a specific instance with my mother to focus on, and I recruited stand-ins, people who would "be" in the role of key family members,(im my case, my mother, her mother and me) who in a sense channeled what that person would say. I was surprised at how Kirsten's gentle questions unlocked a torrent of strong and deep emotions. Feelings so old and forgotten they seemed unrelated to the issue I had brought up. It was a tumultuous 10 minutes, wherein Kirsten expertly guided us and grounded me through the issue, keeping me from spinning off into other directions. Afterward, I felt a sense of peace around much more of my past and myself than just that issue represented.

If you have any emotional or personal issues that you are dealing with that have a root in your familial history, I would heartily recommend this event.

Adventures in Paleopsychology

Date: Friday, June 19, 2009
Time: 7:00pm - 9:30pm
Location: Antioch University Seattle, Room 200A
2326 Sixth Avenue Seattle, WA

Phone: 2068517125
Email: duskfrog@gmail.com
This is a warm invitation to you to attend, share and participate in the culmination of my work as a student at Antioch University Seattle.

I am offering a free public workshop event on Friday June 19th at 7pm until 9:30pm.
I will provide light snacks and beverages.

Please join us!

AGENDA:

7:00 Short Movie: Paleopsychology 101
7:10 Lecture: The Evolution of Consciousness - Paleopsych Methods, Case Studies & Results
~ short break ~
7:30 Experiential Demonstration Facilitation:
Dream Tending
Systemic Constellations
~ short break ~
9:00 Participant Seminar/Open Discussion
9:30 Clean up & Depart

Kirsten A. Lauzon
www.healing-earth.net

Open to those of all persuasions.

Before Valentine's Day, I had a phone call from a young man who wanted to schedule a couple's spa session. Tentatively, has asked if the Spa was "gay friendly". My answer was "of course we are!" The Little Red Studio considers itself a part of Seattle's sex positive community, so it was only natural that the Little Red Day Spa would be, as well.

I was shocked that he was ask this question. I forget that I don't live in mainstream America where anything other than heterosexuality is considered out of the norm. Even when I had a "real job" at a local massage school, most of the employees were lesbians. So asking me if my establishment is gay friendly seemed as absurd as asking me if I did massage on people. If what you are doing is consensual and brings you and your partner(s) greater intimacy and joy, then we have no objection what so ever. In fact, we applaud you for pursuing and exploring your path!

Please know that regardless of how you structure your romantic relationships or what activities you enjoy in your bedroom, you and your partner(s) will always be welcome at the Little Red Day Spa. It doesn't matter to us whether your injuries are from a wild romp with your partner or a mountain bike accident, we are still going to treat you and your injury the same way.

For more information about sex positive information and support, please check out the Center for Sex Positive Culture.

Evolving Watsu

I have mentioned before that Cody has taught me some of the Contact Improv dance inspired movement around Watsu. Over time, I have developed a style that is fairly different from traditional Watsu. So different, that I think the time has come to give it another name, as I can't hoestly say I do Watsu any more. Definitely Watsu inspired and containing Watsu elements. I keep rolling phrases like Water Contact Therapy and Floating Bodywork around in my mind.

It's become so much more than just another way to stretch the body and massage muscles. It's a huge dose of human contact and nurturing touch. It's a decadent delighting of the senses via immersion. It's a way to connect with someone that is deeper, yet safer than one would expect when in the vulnerable position of a stranger floating you in the water.

Conversing with Jeff convinced me that it is time to have another classification for this Watsu inspired bodywork. It's right that the Little Red Day Spa, as part of the Little Red Studio family organically and creatively develop new modalities. We will of course still offer traditional Watsu sessions, no worries there. Having options is good, though, and I want people to know that there are options regarding the different types of bodywork the Spa offers.

Art in our daily life.

Having my workplace saturated with the artwork of a talented painter has brought about a keen awareness of the role art can play in our lives. It adds a texture far beyond the colors, shapes and emotions portrayed on canvas, paper, wood or stone.

Today, I rushed past a violinist playing in front of the grocery store where I bought my breakfast. It reminded me of the experiment I read about last year where a world class violinist played several exquisite pieces of music in a subway. The question being posed in this experiment: "In a banal setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?"

The answer was mostly no. Reading the article, I can remember not being surprised. Jeff Hengst often talks about setting the stage for people to enjoy art. People have to be prepared for a moment of aesthetic arrest. If they aren't, they shut down to it rather than be unexpectedly overwhelmed. Context is always important. Jeff sometimes jokes that the reason he started little Red Studio was to have a good place to show his paintings, not liking the sterile-white-walled-gallery model of show casing art.

And now the Spa is another place where people can relax into the experience of contemplating art. Some paintings, I have found, need more than a minute of your time to be fully experienced. In the Spa, people have the time gaze lazily or intently at a piece of art, as their interest dictates. And I am lucky to have the art constantly changing. Every Art Talk night that Jeff hosts on Tuesdays leaves me a surprise on Wednesday when I come in. At least two of the dozen paintings hanging in the spa get changed out, and I can experience a new atmosphere. Sometimes I have to remind him that he hasn't changed things up enough. Sometimes I ask for a painting to stay for a while longer. Having the art change regularly keeps me engaged and excited about coming to work far better than vacation or family photos.

While I felt a pang of guilt at the time for squandering a chance to listen to lovely music. Upon arriving at the Spa, I couldn't remain mired in those feelings. Not surrounded by all the different emotions and colors vying for my attention. But it did cause me to search through the CD collection for violin concertos.

Thoughts of Ruination

Yesterday, I saw on the back of a car the saying "I'd rather be ruining my life." I have been thinking about it ever since.

What exactly do they mean? I have often wondered, and been annoyed, by the bumper stickers and license plate holders that proclaim what the drive would rather be doing, or driving. If you would rather be doing something else other than driving, for goodness sakes, do it! Or if I am feeling really cynical, I wonder how focused the driver is on the task at hand (namely, driving)if they would rather be skiing or riding their bike. It makes me nervous.

But, ruining your life? Is it catering to the idea that if it's fun, it must not be good for you? Combating this concept touches on the center of the why we have set up the Little Red Day Spa as we have. Every spa session has treatments what have tremendous health benefits, but the main thing we had in mind when we have created our offerings was joy. When you are enjoying yourself, when something is fun, you are rejuvenated. So much about our daily life revolves around "have to" and "need to" rather than "want to" and that in itself is stressful. Joy is necessary to maintain balance and health and happiness.

So please, don't think of doing things that bring you joy as wasting time, or ruining your life. Remember that joy is often what gives our lives meaning and fulfills us.

More Watsu reflections

After my last Watsu post, I received a few emails and have had some great conversations about this unique bodywork. Here are a few snippets.

One woman said that the best way to describe it is that "there are no worries under the water." (While being floated, your ears are under the water most of the time, creating a muffling or insulating effect to the noises around you.)

Another guest wrote this:

Having already experienced a Watsu with Mahina last September I knew that I had to concentrate on relaxing, floating, and clearing my mind.

That accomplished, I gave myself up to trusting that you would care for me. What I was feeling from you during the Watsu was this incredible maternal nurturing energy that fed my soul. I was filled with peace and comfort that is hard to describe...............

I felt connected and accepted, non-judged in any way.

That is so rare, being a middle-aged man in the business world. To find a special place, with incredible practitioners who can impart such peace and positive energy in a safe environment.

I had a 90-minute relaxation massage 3 days earlier by a LMP I had seen for many years. I am surprised (and shocked) that in comparing the 2 treatments, the 90-minute relaxation massage now feels so non-therapeutic.

Another guest talked about wanting more sensory disorientation. Dreams of a larger tub so that toes wouldn't brush the edges and no jets so that the silence is more profound. (I'm working on that.)

I'm really enjoying people sharing their stories and experiences with Watsu. It gives me a chance to further develop my ideas for evolving my own style and to understand the different ways this bodywork can touch someone.

I look for patterns.

One of the things I like to do most in life is to analyze people, their behaviours and social events. I look for patterns, not only so I can make predictions about future happenings, but also so that I can recognize something different.

We had our third Couple's Spa Night yesterday. It was quite a nice affair with a good mix of people. The pattern emerging is for everyone to be social in the hot tub, much like during Ladies' Night, at the start of the evening. Slowly, pairs drifted out of the water. Even though I had lowered the tub temperature down to 98F, no one was interested in staying in for Watsu. Not surprising after a hot day.

Couple's took turns using the 3 massage tables to trade massage. Most everyone indulged in the coolness of the clay that was scented with peppermint and lavender essential oils. Being scrubbed head to foot with the Pineapple Salt Scrub got rave reviews from the gentleman, some of whom had never had the pleasure.

There were many correlations to how the Ladies' Night evenings shape up. Some of the women who attended with their partners have been to Ladies' Night, so that may have had a lot to do with it. But I can't help but be curious if human behaviour in groups is not that variable.

Small reminder: Ladies' Night tonight!
Drop In: 7- 10pm
Cost: $10
Little Red Day Spa
1506 Franklin Ave. E. Seattle

Creative Movement

I had a session with Cody last week, the practitioner who developed the Creative Movement Spa Session.

We ended up spending the whole time in the hot tub engaging in an aquatic dance with her mostly orchestrating my movements. At the beginning she explained to me that I should let my body decide what movements to do, including being completely passive and allowing the movements that she or the water generated. It was deeply relaxing and freeing, especially the part where I could move or not move. Sometimes during a bodywork I have urges to stretch a limb during a massage stroke that I don't feel comfortable acting on.

At the end of the session, I was quiet for a long time. An odd state, as I am normally chatty when feeling that good. I was so absorbed in being. I was reveling in the feeling of integration. It wasn't that my emotions/psyche were in tune with my body and vice versa. I was whole.

Having an emotional goal, rather than a physical one, is not uncommon for body work. But it is also not common enough. Cody and I had a solemn discussion about the work she has been doing with one of our guest's grief in their sessions. It was moving and wonderful. We talked of making this type of work more available, or rather, making people aware that it is available at the Spa. I think it is a wonderful fit with Watsu.

Looks like we will have to come up with another name for what we do in the hot tub, though. We seem to be moving farther away from classical Watsu as we edge into incorporating Cody's emotional work and use of Contact Dance Improv*. I am looking forward to learning more so as to be able to do these sessions, as well, and share similarly trans formative experiences.

*What is Contact Improvisation?

Contact Improvisation is a moving massage. It is a dance that fine tunes your senses and wakes up your ability to listen and respond to what is happening in the moment. If you could do Aikido, surf, wrestle and dance at the same time, you would have an idea of what Contact Improvisation feels like. What makes Contact different from other dance is that partners are often moving in and out of physical contact while rolling, spiraling, springing and falling. They find ways to "enjoy the ride" and improvise while mutually supporting and following each others movements. The dancing is unpredictable and inspired by the physical and energetic contact the partners share. -- Ernie Adams, Berkeley, CA, (found here.)

Yin and Yang

Yesterday I hosted M. Yu of The JadeGate in Austin, TX at the Spa. I shared watsu with him and he shared his blend of bodywork and acupuncture with me. Quite an experience all round.

What was most dramatic for me was the contrast of the energy that each treatment generated. I found acupuncture to be charged, intense and stimulating, with relaxation only entering into the equation when he shifted to manual bodywork. A marked difference from Watsu, where, even as the giver, I am enveloped by the soothing nature of being in the water and gentleness of the movements.

He commented that it was a jump to go between the two. Watsu was the most pure yin modality he had experienced, where as acupuncture is very yang. This concept piques my interest in Eastern oriented healing arts. The idea of being able to create a balance in a spa session appeals to me.

Rhythms.

If there is one thing that is constant in our world, it's change.

This post is an excerpt of a recent email from Jeff Hengst, owner and founder of both the Little Red Studio and the Little Red Day Spa. I found it exciting and settling and thought you might enjoy a peek into the driving force behind the spa.

There are some rhythms worth noting. One year ago we moved into our new home on Harrison Street. After a long search and nearly crazy making wheeling and dealing, we found our current location, got financing together and signed papers. In early February we had a magical "blessing of the space" ceremony. I can still hear Nan's shamanic screams as we wound our way through the cavernous, gray empty dirty space we would soon call "home." "Our new home." Rose pedals were tossed in all directions and incense was thick. We even attempted to bring a bit of Jack, the "ghost" that lives in the upper studio at Franklin, to come to the new home. (It doesn't seem to
have worked.) The place was filthy and dark but seemed to be full of potential. And the presence of our group seemed to fill it with hope and possibility right from the start.

Three years ago I was able to cobble together enough financing to commit myself for the month of February and March to design and paint the large triptych painting that then went to SEAF (Seattle Erotic art Festival) in early April and then hung in the lower studio, aka the Spa, at Franklin since then. Some of my fondest memories of our last year or so of LRS at the old space are of seeing Mishabae and Bev and sometimes others doing performance yoga in the near dark in front of the painting, the audience all crowded around and sitting on the floor looking for all the world like the whole scene had just spilled out of the painting.

(And people wonder why I don't get excited about having my art in gallery shows!)

Well, the painting has been in the lower studio (now devoted almost exclusively to the spa) until this past winter solstice when it moved to the Fremont's annual winter solstice feast. After that it moved to the Harrison Street space. It sat, propped against a side wall since then. Today, Alex, Kim and I installed it on the main north wall where I will finish it at last. It is only about 75% finished. And of course we will fashion a cover for it so that it does not have to be on view except when it is intended to be so. For the meantime it will be covered with a big curtain.

Admittedly these paragraphs and this already lengthy e-mail don't really address any of the important business of what is going on at LRS. And believe me, there is much going on! However, I wanted to share these thoughts with you because they get closer to a truth about how I am running LRS and what you might expect from me than a report with bullet points. (Don't worry, I will get around to that too.) Instead, what I am hoping you will abstract from these thoughts is that I move fast at the same time that I move slow. There are different wavelengths for different aspects of LRS. It took a long time to find the building and get the financing together, but once we had it we moved fast. We were in our new home and doing shows within three weeks. In a couple of months we were settling in. In one year we are fine tuning. And all of this on a tiny budget. And with the painting, I designed and painted all of what is there in two months, but I have patiently waited three years to have it situated in a place where I could properly finish it.

Some things may appear to take forever at LRS. While others may seem to be going so fast you can not keep up. You are probably right about both sensations. I imagine that this must be frustrating at times. I appreciate how well you as individuals and as a troupe have come to deal with this potentially maddening combination of wave lengths. And while we are at it, I might as well say it, this is not going to change anytime soon.

Sometimes you have to be sad.

When someone is a regular guest and I don't see them come in for a while, I like to think it's because their life is full and busy and that I'll see them again when things slow down. Being part of the service industry that is more of a luxury than a necessity, sometimes I only see people a few times a year.

Yesterday I got a call regarding a regular guest who hasn't been in for his monthly appointment in the last two months. His brother wanted us to know that he had passed away. He was very kind to mention that his brother always spoke fondly of his appointments here at the spa. Now I find myself in the position of having to pass on the news to his favorite practitioner and the rest of the office staff. Not only was he a patron of the spa, but he and his brother often came to the Little Red Studio shows. This is more difficult than I thought. I have never been in this position of having before, and I can only hope I am doing it right.

Oddly enough, I am not sad that he died. Death is a part of life and not to be lamented in and of itself. I am sad for his brother and the rest of his family who will miss him. I am sad I won't have my interactions with him anymore, brief as they were, they had become regular occurrence and a part of my routine on the third Saturday of the month. And I am sad because it shatters my fantasy that the reason I don't see my regulars around is because they are doing something better.

Pardon me while I go make sure my loved ones know they are loved by me.

Comfort Touch

There are many different reasons people get massage. Pain relief or management, rehabilitation for injuries, relaxation from physical, mental and/or emotional stress, just to name the most listed reasons. However, I think the more common reason to get a massage is the basic need for touch. In America, we don't get touched enough in our daily lives on a casual basis. Sure, if we have a sweetie or family that we live with there are varying amounts of touch available. But when we get sick, or are having a stressful time, our need for touch increases.

One of the questions I like to ask people is if they have any "comfort touch" places. (I generally save this for those who mention getting over an illness or don't have a specific focus for the massage.) You know the spots, usually the ones that you instinctively rub when you are tired or stressed out. Or maybe it is harkens back to when you were young and a parent would rub your temples or your low back when you didn't feel well.

On these areas, I don't go looking for knots or do any fancy techniques. Soft, yet firm, full hand contact to really illicit that feeling of care and comfort. Often times, I will rest a hand on that area while using my other hand to work loose a tight muscle elsewhere. It's amazing how having that resting touch can be so relaxing and comforting.

Ultimately, there is no wrong reason to want a massage. Wanting touch is a basic human need and should be satiated.

The Power of Touch

Once upon a time, before I went to massage school, I was average on the touchy-feely scale for an American. I shook hands when I met people, hugged my family members, and occasionally, very good friends and I would trade back rubs. Most touching was reserved for a sweetheart. I think this is how most Americans relate to touch; we accept that it's not proper to engage in touchy activities unless there is a significant emotional bond.

During massage school, I learned an incredible amount about how important touch is to our health. Not only emotionally, but physiologically necessary for development through infancy and childhood and maintaining health as adults.

Somewhere in the schooling process, I became intimidated by touch and the power that it could invoke. I became more conservative in when and how I touched my friends and family. As I furthered my massage career, I became less "touchy" and wasn't even much of a hugger. I spent my whole work day touching people and the last thing I wanted in my time off was for more physical contact with people. Periodically, I would take an extended period of time off from doing massage, and I would notice a craving for touch return.

It wasn't until I took my first watsu lesson that I noticed what was missing from regular massage. During a watsu session, I cradle my guest in my arms and, at times, I will use other parts of my body to float or position them. It was these non-therapeutic contact points that created a loop. I was getting touch, too, instead of just giving it. I found that I could incorporate massage into my watsu treatments and not feel drained afterward. Giving a watsu treatment is just as relaxing as receiving one!

Learning watsu opened me up to touch, again. Now I am quite touchy in my daily life. With more touch coming in, I find it easier to give touch back out. Interesting that it is more important what kind of touch one receives that the amount.

A continuing theme.

While cleaning my desk the other day, I found an old business card of mine. What makes that remarkable is that it had a slogan I used for a few years before abandoning as too unwieldy.

"Using Touch as a Tool for Transformation."

I still feel very strongly about this statement. The underlying idea that two people interacting with each other can be psychologically or spiritually uplifting is under recognized in American culture. For a year, I worked solely with people going through psychoanalysis or counseling and saw first hand how much touch and massage helped each of my patients work through their emotional healing process.

It makes me happy to see it this principle reflected in all the spa treatments we have created.

Happy New Year!

Thank you to everyone who came and visited the Spa in 2007. We had a successful year that engendered a lot of growth. Not only in the volume of business, but more importantly in our philosophy. Jeff and I spent most of the year evaluating and refining our vision of what we wanted to accomplish by offering our services at the spa.

Changes have been put into motion, though some of them will not be apparent right away. The most obvious change is that the large altar piece painting, "Suffering Change", has been moved out of the Spa to the Little Red Studio building on Harrison St. While I miss having this incredible work of art in my daily life, the Spa feels lighter for it. The painting is powerful and heavy, both in theme, content and color scheme. Over all, a bit intense for a place with a goal of rejuvenation and pleasure.

Inspiration has already struck Jeff for a new painting for the Spa. It will feature a person being floated in a watsu session in the center panel and figures bodypainting and applying clay to each other in adjoining panels. I have seen the preliminary sketches which evince a softness and spiritual nature that will set a lovely stage for spa sessions.

The Ladies' Spa Night is coming along quite nicely. It's looking like the first one will be held in the middle of January. They will be held on Monday nights with drop in hours of 6pm to 10 pm. These nights are designed to be a casual and social evening. At this time, there will be only one practitioner present to facilitate use of the spa's accoutrement, not to provide services. I am thinking that this practitioner will be one of our massage therapists so that, for an added fee, one can get a 15 minute massage during the evening. Another massage table will set up for others to massage or do salt scrubs on each other. Eventually, I would also like to bring in an esthetician to do facials as another "add on" to the evening's fare. More than likely, this evening will cost $10. More info to come soon.

Starting soon, the Spa will move to a 6day week instead of a 7 day week. We have decided that the Spa should be closed one day a week to allow for a concentrated day of maintenance. This will be much more convenient than trying to squeeze in service calls between sessions. The day has not been decided upon, as of yet. It's turning out to be a difficult choice as to which day of the week we should be shut down.

There are more changes in regard to management that I think will make the Spa run smoother, but hopefully, the implementation will remain behind the scenes.

Here's to a healthy, prosperous and most importantly, FUN new year!

LRS Pilosophy - Part 1 of 3

"Erotic Art is all art... well, almost."
Written by Jeff Hengst.

"Erotic" does not have anything necessarily to do with sex and so it follows that "erotic art" does not necessarily have anything to do with sex. To see "erotic" as synonymous with sex and to set oneself up to emphasize this aspect of "erotic" in the spirit of reclaiming an open honest awareness of sex in the face of a sexually oppressive society, is to still be caught up in the oppression.

Another way of defining "erotic" is to think of it as a god/dess form, a kind of energy that animates the human spirit through bodily means. It is the energy which calls us to spirit which is a “body” or plane of being where-in there is a rich tapestry of connection and meaning-fullness. Seen in this light, nearly all art is erotic. Why else would the human animal make art? Surely art has its uses, but we consider it “art” precisely to the degree that it has no practical use. Its real use, if it is art, is its ability to help us experience the spiritual, to get us to a place where we can remember and experience these connections and sensations of meaning. As modern people we have come to see "utility" as antithetical, or an encumbrance, to art's ability to steward us to spirit.

The ancients made tons of art, and they had no sense of "utility" encumbering them. What is amazing to me is that they made any art at all. Life was very difficult for them. The simple basics of life required enormous amounts of time and energy. And yet they still found time to carve, dance, write poetry, draw and paint as well as ornament their everyday objects with an artfulness which is utterly lacking today. Nevertheless, we live in a modern world where these distinctions have become the fabric of our life and culture. And so we must find ways to overcome this distinction which has for so many of us become a barrier to ever reaching spirit which is so essential for rejuvenating our bodies and souls.

As an antidote for this malaise, we have, at the Little Red Studio, set forth a definition of art which states that all art that is done in this view is "erotic." That aspect of art whose subject is “sex” is the "Sex Art" subset of erotic art.

There is another kind of art that is made which is not erotic art. All art made for the sole purpose of profit is not erotic art. The world today has many art assembly lines which simply crank out art as a commodity to be sold for profit. Much art that is made is done in part for profit, even my art is for sale after all. The degree to which it is done for profit is precisely the degree that it is not erotic. And this is neither good, nor bad, just different. The difference that makes this worth pointing out is that "profit" is "even" or "balanced." For example, if I sell something money is given back to me in the amount that is determined to be equal in value to the thing I am selling. Moreover, the money is exchanged more or less at the same time as the “art” is completed and delivered. The transaction is complete….done. An erotic exchange is not "done." It is open ended and full of uncertain possibility. The exchange is not equal and fairness is irrelevant. In fact, what seems to happen is that by some unknown mechanism things seem to increase. The openness and “un-done-ness” of the transaction seems to play an important role in this increase.

I don't believe that until the modern era anybody would have even thought of the classification of "erotic art." It is one of the great challenges of the industrial/technological age that we live in to find a way to re-integrate the spiritual back into our lives and find a way to have "erotic exchanges" in addition to the many "profit" or "done" exchanges that make up most of our lives. It is this very lack of spirit or integration of self which is cultivated in "erotic exchanges" that would lead us to even think of classifying art this way and reveals our yearning as a culture.

Re-kindling an understanding of the erotic as an energy form that can embrace and accept our bodies, all of our bodies, even our sexual bodies, could be just the breath of fresh air and honesty that we need. This is the "worm hole" away from the whole Judeo-Christian paradigm that views access to the spirit to be in the hands of a religious elite and sex to be inherently evil. And more importantly, for us liberal and sexual progressives, this different understanding of "erotic" could be the escape pod that could help us avoid the subtle trap of thinking we are free from this tyranny when if fact we have turned the trap inside out and then stuck our foot back in it, which to my mind is what we do by equating sex with erotic and thinking we are balancing out the sexually oppressive dominant culture.

To think of erotic art as simply art that has something/anything to do with sex is to miss a very exciting boat that is going to a whole new dimension of spirited, integrated and animated living that to be sure, includes lots of shame free sex. But it could include more than that. It could include lots of art making- singing, poetry, painting, dancing, miming, sculpting, acting and drawing- much of which may or may not include sex as its subject.

And that kind of experience, I guess, is what we call Little Red Studio.