From 10th to 12th August 2020
Around twenty people alternated with each other and crossed paths at Flores de Vida during the three days of Fiesta Cruda, forming sometimes groups of up to ten people in front of the participants taking up the role of activity leaders. Hatha yoga, intuitive dance, improvisation theatre, cooperative painting with natural pigments, Kinomichi, Qi Gong, strength training with body weight, improvised concerts, quantum scans… the relaxed festival-goers had the opportunity to discover all sorts of physical and artistic practices in the mindset of goodwill and joyful sharing that won everybody’s heart, from the youngest of 15 months to the oldest!
Hatha Yoga with Elie
Elie offered a beautiful session of Hatha yoga, which he defines as a yoga of balance between feminine and masculine. Gently and masterfully, ending with a relaxation that he accompanied with a flute, Elie initiated a group all too happy for the opportunity to recenter themselves.
Intuitive Dance
Sarah, a dance teacher in Toulouse, guided a lovely moment of intuitive dance with a drum. Associating movement to natural elements in an approach that she describes as body ecology, she invited people to dance, at first in interaction with a tree, then with a human partner. This disconcerting and very enriching opening greatly inspired the improvised dancers, as can be seen in the picture above.
Kinomichi
Jean-Paul, a teacher in Belgium, came in the middle of the festival to introduce Kinomichi to the group. This discipline was developed from the Japanese martial art aikido by Masamichi Noro. It borrows basic movements from aikido with the purpose of finding harmony with a partner. Ki means “energy”, no means “of” and michi “way”.
Qi Gong
Francine allowed the group to take on Qi Gong with a playful approach using a cane stick. This initiated the participants into becoming aware of the energy circulating in the body. The slow movements facilitate the dynamisation of vital energy, Qi.
Muscular Strengthening with Body Weight
Yannick motivated people early in the morning for sessions of muscular strengthening and coordination training. The method is based on the repetition of series of movements and it is largely inspired by animal postures and characteristics. It is oftentimes used to warm up in combat sports. This kind of training harmoniously maintains flexibility and strength.
Marina Gave a Natural Painting Workshop
Marina, who teaches fine arts in Spain, invited us to share a moment of cooperative painting with hues obtained from natural pigments: turmeric, coffee, red pepper, cumin… The canvas had been cut in squares so that each participant could dedicate themselves into painting one particular square before sketching all kinds of bridges from one square to another to eventually form a collective painting.
Scan of Your State of Health
Karine scanned the state of health of many of the festival attendees with a special quantum device. In the beginning of September, each of them will receive the digital version of their assessment and Karine, who will return next year – promised! – will be able to make a comparison from one year to the next.
Myriam, a Dietary Coach
Myriam, a nutrition coach in Toulouse area, lead a workshop on living foods and difficulties during dietary transition. While eating raw is easy-peasy at Flores de Vida where produce of excellent quality is abundant and where the energy of the place is highly supportive, staying on track once you’re back home is another story.
Massage on demand!
Annie and Sarah offered the participants massages that were hugely appreciated. Given in the respect of sanitary rules, they demonstrated the talents of these two experts: Sarah for Californian massage and Annie for the face massage “Kobido”. Big thanks to both!
Improvisation Theatre with Samuel
Samuel involved a small team of festival attendees in an improvisation theatre workshop. “It’s an awesome practice to bring a group together, to meet and exchange, he explains. It makes you work on comprehending, listening, and watching each other, and on interacting to play with others. It’s perfectly suitable for the building of relationships in an eco-place because it’s about seeing how everybody has their role to play in the group.” The warm-up games and little sketches convinced the participants and an idea came up of a one-week improvisation theatre workshop at Flores de Vida! To be continued…
Native American Chant
Thanks to Sarah who made us discover this Native North American song.
Lyrics:
He yama yo wana hene yo
He yama yo wana hene yo
Wahee yayana
Hey hey hey ho wahee
Hey hey hey hey hey ho wahee
(“We’re here in the now and everywhere we are one and all”)
Interpretation of the song by the band Curawaka
Eating Raw, When You’re Hungry
At Flores de Vida, food is entirely raw and vegan. Everyone helps themselves when they’re hungry in the nevera where there was, this summer: tomatoes, zucchinis, cucumbers, red bell peppers, but also watermelons and green melons. Without taking into account the few plums, nectarines, peaches and figs a little ahead of the season collected on the site. In the crudine, our raw kitchen space, dried or lacto-fermented olives and almonds were waiting to help fill some bellies, especially in the end of the day. Some like to gather at that moment to talk, others prefer to eat in silence and full awareness. Thus, there are no mealtimes. But there are plenty of other happy moments to get together and share!
Talking Circles… |
Talking circles, a common practice at Flores de Vida, helped many beautiful exchanges emerge during Fiesta Cruda. The circles also allowed to very rapidly create a feeling of proximity and affection between the people, who for the most part didn’t know each other two days before.
To finish this special edition, we’ll let Nat’ have the last word, expressed the last night of the festival:
” I love the circles, I love to listen to you. Every person is a different world and every word is a world that reveals itself. I find it magnificent! And expressing it allows our consciousness to evolve. The circles help me grow and know myself better… I feel like I’ve prepared the place for twelve years, that we enriched the soil with the online team this winter and now, we just sowed. It’s particularly powerful as I’ve been waiting for this moment for twelve years!”
A video! |
The Slow-Motion Race
A little video was taken of the Slow-Motion Race organised by Samuel during his improvisation theatre workshop. Here it is, preceded by a few beautiful pictures of Marina’s workshop!
On the
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Check the agenda of Flores Visit the website (undergoing renovation) See the interactive map of the team Become a member of the association Make a donation Join the private Facebook group Complete the questionnaire to participate |
Flores de Vida team, hola@floresdevida.org