Groove & Flow with Eve October-December 2020

Groove & Flow Monday’s 7:00-8:00PM

Today is a great day to sign up for Groove and Flow to help keep you active, committed and moving forward.

Monday night is a great time to make time for yourself. Create the space in your calendar and join on in!

Groove and Flow Yoga is a special blend of yoga and mindful movement where the participants explore and experience the joy of movement and freedom of expression within a supportive, creative environment, regardless of experience and/or abilities. This class is balanced with movement, relaxation and meditation and participants can be on a mat or in a chair. All abilities welcomed for this one of a kind experience.

Classes will be split between the Morse Institute Library & Common Street Spiritual Center. You must register separately for each class.

Morse Institute Library:

Common Street Spiritual Center:

10/19 (Registration is open) 11/2, 11/16, 11/30 & 12/14 Library classes are available for registration 2-weeks in advance of each session and are funded through the libraries self-care grant

10/12, 10/26, 11/9, 11/23, 12/7, 12/21 For these classes, I am offering a sliding scale fee of $10-$20 per class (with $5-$10 for seniors). ***Please register by emailing Adamant_Eve@hotmail.com*** Zoom link will be sent when you register. Payments: Venmo (@Eve-Costarelli; cell -1643) Paypal AdamAnt_Eve@hotmail.com; (please make personal payments) Checks Eve Costarelli, 16 Porter Road, Natick, MA 01760

Registration is required. Once registered a link to join the program will be sent to you. *Please be sure to enter a valid email address, as zoom room code will be sent in your email confirmation.

I turn no one away from my programs. My goal is to promote connection and community.

With peace,

Eve, Always Be Dancing!

AdamAnt_Eve@hotmail.com

Eve Costarelli is passionate about bringing the joy of movement to all-bodies. Through her interactive, self-designed mindful movement program, Always Be Dancing: The Art of Movement, Eve uses yoga, dance & social consciousness to create a healthy, diverse, inclusive environment. Eve is the yoga coordinator for the Common Street Spiritual Center, the lead yoga & mindfulness educator for Open Spirit of Framingham’s Nourishing Teachers, Strengthening Classrooms’ project and facilitates all-inclusive yoga and dance programs throughout Massachusetts.For more information, please contact Eve at AdamAnt_Eve@hotmail.com.

Blog: https://alwaysbedancing.wordpress.com/

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/AlwaysBDancing

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/always_be_dancing/

Tres Mujeres in the Park

Picnic in the Park: Music and Dance of Spain

with the Boston Arts Consort

Sunday July 26, 2020

4:00PM

Knyvet Square, Brookline

(St. Paul & Thatcher Streets)

Clara Sandler ~ Mezzo-Soprano

Eve Costarelli ~ Flamenco Artist

Linda Papatopoli ~ Piano

Bring your picnic and blanket, and enjoy the colorful music and dance of Spain. (Cancelled if it rains. 617-835-0876)

Follow us on FaceBook and BostonArtsConsort.org

*Wear masks and practice social distancing.*

International Woman’s Day Event, Wayland MA

                                       International Women’s Day is 2 Weeks Away! 

                                                 Eve Costarelli, Always Be Dancing
Striking the #EachForEqual Pose!

Have you ever heard of a “Yoga Snack”? Well, if you’re interested in finding out more, join us March 8th for our International Women’s Day Event where our friend Eve will be leading her Yoga Snack!

Eve is passionate about bringing dance to all-bodies. She facilitates mindful movement experiences that increase positive vibrations and is on a mission to open people’s hearts and minds and will use all means necessary.

Learn more about Eve and Always Be Dancing by clicking here! 

International Women’s Day (IWD) is March 8th!

Sunday, March 8th, 3:30 pm, W Gallery, 57 Andrew Ave, Wayland, MA

One of the best things about International Women’s Day, besides the fact that it’s a special day for women all around the globe, is that YOU can celebrate in wherever you are! You can celebrate BIG or SMALL! The key is to gather with a friend, or two or a hundred (!) and talk about the issues facing women and girls in YOUR community!

An equal world is an enabled world.

Individually, we’re all responsible for our own thoughts and actions – all day, every day.

We can actively choose to challenge stereotypes, fight bias, broaden perceptions, improve situations and celebrate women’s achievements.

Collectively, each one of us can help create a gender equal world.

Let’s all be #EachforEqual.

***

Tickets for our 3rd Annual International Women’s Day are going fast and they are available in advance only.

If you want to join us and haven’t already reserved a spot or purchased your ticket, please send me an email so that I can include you! Also, please feel free to forward this email to others who you think would like to join us for the event.

All proceeds from ticket sales benefit the following MA-based nonprofits – RIA House, Neighbor Brigade & Dignity Matters.

Thanks for your support! I look forward to celebrating with you on March 8th!

– Drita, MAPA Translations

Learn More About International Women’s Day

Kundalini Woman’s Set

Quiet meditation in rock pose 3min

Life Nerve Stretch L-D-B; L/R 3min

Camel var./ Camel pose 3min

Shoulder Stand L-D-B 3min

Archer L/R 5min

Baby 3min

Bow L-D-B 3min

Locust 3min

Cow L-D-B 3min

Cat L-D-B 3min

Stretch B-O-F 3min

Corpse 8-10min

******************************************

#flamenco #yoga #kundalini #dance #speedyyogini #inclusive #alwaysbedancing #alwaysbedancingflamenco #olenamaste #evecostarelli #natickma #smallbusiness #kundalinifusion #peacemoji #iameve #innerpeas #todayskriya

Multicultural Children’s Book Day Reviews

In conjunction with the Multicultural Children’s Book Day, I received several wonderful, diverse books, from both Second Story Press and Star Bright Books. I really appreciate that both companies have shared missions to include a strong representation of underserved communities. Special shout out to the #readyourworld community for spreading this mission across the planet.

From Second Story Press

 

Dynamic Women Dancers by Anne Dublin
This book will help your child (or you) fall madly in love with dance. These women were risk takers, self-determined, creative forces in movement. The book offers a great variety of dance styles with dancers I both knew about and those I had never heard of before. I was able to expand my knowledge. This is a great mid-grade non-fiction book about dance. The author, Anne Sokolow, takes great pride in revealing unique details and a strong history for each dancer. This book is a marvelous jewel! 

 

Emily Included by Kathleen McDonnell 
This is a wonderful book! It is not just the earnest tale of a brave and determined young girl but it is an honest and openhearted story about a young girl with cerebral palsy that allows us to witness her feelings, experience her disability first hand and also how to become supportive, communicative allies. Not everyone knows how to act with people who are bound to wheel chairs or with other physical, developmental or learning restrictions but through the telling of her tale, Emily, shows us how to be respect, act with compassion and just allow that everyone is part of what makes life natural. This is the groundbreaking story of a family determined to fight for equality and justice, not just for themselves, but for all people with disabilities. Their message is heard loud and clear, “Inclusion benefits everybody.”

From Star Bright Books

Papa Gave Me A Stick by Janice Levy; Illustrated by Simone Shin
Love this book! So cute and sweet! The illustrations are totally charming. I love the similarity in the boy’s and his father’s faces. That really pulls you into the story. The color palette is soft and subtly textured and very beautiful. Very, very nice!
The story takes you through a series of mindful and kind hearted events that lead to its happy ending. I love this book and its positive message about the beauty of imagination, creativity and the belief in the unknown.

 

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/18) is in its 5^th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.

Current Sponsors:  MCBD 2018 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board.

2018 MCBD Medallion Sponsors

HONORARY: Children’s Book Council, Junior Library Guild

PLATINUM:Scholastic Book Clubs

GOLD:Audrey Press, Candlewick Press, Loving Lion Books, Second Story Press, Star Bright Books, Worldwide Buddies

SILVER:Capstone Publishing, Author Charlotte Riggle, Child’s Play USA, KidLit TV, Pack-n-Go Girls, Plum Street Press

BRONZE: Barefoot Books, Carole P. Roman, Charlesbridge Publishing, Dr. Crystal Bowe, Gokul! World, Green Kids Club, Gwen Jackson, Jacqueline Woodson, Juan J. Guerra, Language Lizard, Lee & Low Books, RhymeTime Storybooks, Sanya Whittaker Gragg, TimTimTom Books, WaterBrook & Multnomah, Wisdom Tales Press

2018 Author Sponsors

Honorary Author Sponsors: Author/Illustrator Aram Kim and Author/Illustrator Juana Medina

Author Janet Balletta, Author Susan Bernardo, Author Carmen Bernier-Grand, Author Tasheba Berry-McLaren and Space2Launch, Bollywood Groove Books, Author Anne Broyles, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Eugenia Chu, Author Lesa Cline-Ransome, Author Medeia Cohan and Shade 7 Publishing, Desi Babies, Author Dani Dixon and Tumble Creek Press, Author Judy Dodge Cummings, Author D.G. Driver, Author Nicole Fenner and Sister Girl Publishing, Debbi Michiko Florence, Author Josh Funk, Author Maria Gianferrari, Author Daphnie Glenn, Globe Smart Kids, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Author Quentin Holmes, Author Esther Iverem, Jennifer Joseph: Alphabet Oddities, Author Kizzie Jones, Author Faith L Justice , Author P.J. LaRue and MysticPrincesses.com, Author Karen Leggett Abouraya, Author Sylvia Liu, Author Sherri Maret, Author Melissa Martin Ph.D., Author Lesli Mitchell, Pinky Mukhi and We Are One, Author Miranda Paul, Author Carlotta Penn, Real Dads Read, Greg Ransom, Author Sandra L. Richards, RealMVPKids Author Andrea Scott, Alva Sachs and Three Wishes Publishing, Shelly Bean the Sports Queen, Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Gayle H. Swift Author Elsa Takaoka, Author Christine Taylor-Butler, Nicholette Thomas and  MFL Publishing Author Andrea Y. Wang, Author Jane Whittingham Author Natasha Yim

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.

Mindful Book Reviews by Eve: Two Wonderful Books By Gabi Garcia

 

Listening To My Body by Gabi Garcia is a really nice, effective book to aid children in understanding about sensations and feelings and how these things interact to better help them navigate understanding their own needs. The book is written with compassion and obvious desire to help kids tune in and trust themselves. There are great short noticing activities throughout and I really like the recap word list at the end for a visual reminder of the sensations and feelings brought up by the story. The noticing activities are also listed for easy access. A special shout out to Ying Hui Tan for her adorable illustrations. The characters are sweet and they clearly express the content of the book. The art is textural and creative and very endearing.

 

Listening With My Heart: A Story Of Kindness And Self-Compassion by Gabi Garcia shares the messages of awareness, self -respect and friendliness, using positive self talk within a story that empowers you to being true to yourself. The spirit of the book is openhearted and generous and the illustrations are super adorable. The message is clear-be compassionate and kind to yourself so that you can reach past yourself and extend the kindness to others. The illustrator, Ying Hui Tan, has really developed her style and palette. The children’s wide-eyed expressive faces display great emotion and work in beautiful unison with the words. I love the layering effects and the wide use of texture. The back of the book has some wonderful kindness activities. All around, this is simply a lovely book! 

 

I highly recommend these books. They make great read aloud’s to share with children, students, parents and teachers. These books should be in libraries, classrooms and homes!

Full Disclosure: The author sent me these books. All opinions expressed are my own.

 

¡Olé Namaste!

Pictured above from top left: Two students strike a pose, Hurley School, Boston; Eve Costarelli (AKA Eva Lorca); Students learning palmas at St. Stephens after-school program, Boston, MA; Visual representations of flamenco; Antonio Tiriti and Eve performing at the Natick Farmer’s Market; Students performing the story of Ferdinand The Bull; Eve teaching how braseo to students of St. Stephen’s after-school program, Boston, MA; Eve and some students. (Thank you to Celebrity Series and Robert Torres for the pictures of Eve and St. Stephen’s)

I am a flamenco dancer. Through this dance, I communicate my kinship to the gypsies, a group of wanderers/nomads/pilgrims who migrated from Northern India during the 8th and 9th centuries. One route that they took was through Saudi Arabia and Northern Africa, before arriving in Spain through the Straits of Gibraltar. These gypsies were comprised of expert metal workers, animal tenders and entertainers. They arrived in Spain when the country was controlled by the Moors (made up of Arabs, Syrians and Berbers). In Spain, the gypsies mixed freely amongst the veritable melting pot of cultures. In Andalucía, a region in Southern Spain known as the birth place of flamenco, the gypsies found a land that suited them and found a sense of connection with the people who lived there: the Jews, the Moors and the Spaniards. The gypsies absorbed the diverse cultures around them: the music of the Moors, the songs of the Sephardic Jews and the dances of the Spaniards and then coupled with their heritage from India, they transformed the music, song and dance into the art of flamenco.

My journey to become a flamenco dancer has been a deeply personal artistic pursuit. I have found that the greatest joy of flamenco is discovering my interpretation and style within the art form. As a flamenco dancer, I possess the capacity for self-controlled passion and emotional expression which becomes the underlying energy which motivates me to dance. This is my life force, my soul, my chi, my prana. Duende, the passion and inspiration within, is the heart of the flamenco artist. It is the transfer of emotions across space. It is the energetic imprint of the raw emotion released as a result of a performer’s intense emotional involvement with the music, song and dance. It is in the sum the energy the dancer takes from the earth, drawing it up through the soles of their feet. It travels through the body electrifying the the base, the core, the heart and shines forth through the crown of her head.

It is in this sensation filled space that I find the connection between flamenco and yoga. I speculate that the gypsies created the movements in flamenco directly in correlation to the yoga body. The energy centers, the chakras, directly speaking to the emotional output of the artist. I believe that the gypsies brought with them an underlying understanding of yoga and that this physical, emotional and spiritual connection to the body was then naturally incorporated into flamenco’s expression. It is fascinating to teach flamenco under the label of mindfulness. I incorporate it (plus a smattering of other rhythmic and contemplative movement forms) into all of my youth yoga classes. I find that flamenco is a perfect addition as its many benefits go hand-in-hand with the benefits of yoga.

Flamenco and Yoga both:

• Stimulate memory, thinking and retention
• Increase the ability to focus, listen, observe and absorb
• Reduce Stress
• Strengthen the heart muscle, both physically and emotionally
• Increase positive energy
• Develop balance, flexibility and coordination
• Strengthen confidence, patience and risk taking skills
• Build community
• Deepen sense of self
• Expand world view
• Heighten happiness
• Help you get in touch with your emotions and give you a safe outlet for their release
• Cultivate accessibility, adaptability and inclusivity

“When you want to plant a flower, you first need to till the soil, nourish it, plant the seeds, water it, and then sit back and wait to see the blossom….now in relation to the flamenco body. If you imagine that the soil line is at the hips, so your legs and your feet are the roots below the surface. The roots grow down and ground the dance to the earth. From the waist up is the blossom, growing from the soil line (which is your hips). This is the blossom. With good, strong roots, you then use the upper body to create the shapes and lines true to flamenco, building out of the hips and allowing the legs and feet to move separately.”

My favorite part about teaching is sharing my love of movement and making both the arts of flamenco and yoga accessible. Yoga is not one tangible thing. It is not movement; it is not breath; it is not meditation. What it is, is all of these things. Each of these elements leaves an energetic imprint, a vibrational frequency on the person, and that is the yoga. I love both yoga and flamenco in my life and I live to share them. With each personal exploration of my own energy’s movement, I teach. Yoga and flamenco are deeply connected to my soul, and I am constantly evolving. I choreograph the dance between effort and surrender. I find such joy in these sensations. All I want to do is to share them with my students.

Halloween Yoga For Kids

Halloween Yoga Comes to Mini Miracles Childcare Center:

Class started, as it always does, with the ringing of the chime, breath in, breath out.

Me: Where does a skeleton live before it is dead and is buried in the ground?

Them: In the ground, in a scary house, icky and gooey….In your body!

Me: That’s It!

We had a talk about how some things are scary like skeletons, zombies, ghosts and witches, but they are not real, so even though you feel scared by them, they are not real and cannot hurt you. At Halloween, it is fun to dress up in scary costumes, but it is also fun to dress up in non-scary  ones, like Belle, Ariel, Superman and Elsa. Remember to respect other children’s’ feelings.Not everyone likes to be scared. Also remember, that even if you do feel scared, inside the costume is just a friend or a sibling or even a parent. Stay with your adult, do not run into the street and let your parent help choose the candy you can eat. Have a happy and safe Halloween!

Halloween Yoga Sequence for ages 15 Months+ All inclusive. Adapt as needed.

Happy Pumpkin Pose To Color

1. Happy Pumpkin: Easy pose with hands in Garuda Mudra at the heart center. Give yourself a heart hug as you breath in and out. 
2. Twisting Ghost : While making a Woooooooooo sund like a ghost.

3. Mixing the Candy : Slow to Faster one direction. Stop. Repeat opposite direction.

4. Candy Bowl: This can be done with hands in the back for support. Also, lift one hand, reach in and say “Trick or treat” as you pull out a piece of candy. Switch Sides. Then try both. Try mixing the candy while in bowl pose. Throw hands up and say “Happy Halloween.”

5. I Am Happy, I AM Good Meditation: Sitting, criss-cross yoga sauce. Pointer fingers stretched out and using thumb to hold other fingers curled.
I am happy; I am good. I am happy; I am good (Shake pointer fingers)
A-E-I-O (finger tips together at the belly button) ; A-E-I-O (finger tips together by the heart) ; A-E-I-O (finger tips together by the forehead); U (hands reaching up to sky).
Ha-ha-ha-ha (finger tips together by the forehead) ; He-he-he-he (finger tips together by the heart) ; Ho-ho-ho-ho(finger together at the belly button) ;Hooooooo (pronounced “who” hands reaching our by the knees). I have finger tips join as a brain gym activity.

6. Feel Your Heart Beat: Use Ride Your Bumpy Camel-up and down faster and faster, like a heart beat when you get scared. Then bring the tempo back down, to show resting heart rate.

7. Howling Wolf: Hooooooowwwwwoooooooo & Back Cat: Meoooowwwwwww

8. Haunted House: Lift one leg up for a chimney, swirl the ankle for the smoke coming out of the chimney. Switch sides. 

9. Kick Away The Ghosts: We did it 8x. 

10. Welcome Mat: Taking a rest mid class. Lay on your belly, rest head, eyes and energy. Listen to your heart and try to hear your heart beating. Can you slow it down? Do you notice how calm you feel? How Happy? How Safe? How strong? 

11. Zombie: Rise up and find your inner zombie. Similar to mountain and up mountain pose. Skip the last one  with the cut in 1/2, guts spilling out. But do say “arrrgggghhhh” and plod around on your mat a bit. 

12. Crescent Moon: Can do it with breath. 

13. Witch on a Broom (with hat), Witch Taking Flight & Flying Witch: “I am brave (Warrior I). I am bold (Warrior II). To our brooms, we take hold! (Warrior III)” 

14. Eye In The Sky: Twinkle fingers. Big smile.

15. Owl: “whoooooooooooo” breath. Turn head side-to-side. Tuck arms in like wings. 

16. Littlest Pumpkin in the Patch: 

17. Tootsie Roll: The most calming!  

 

18. Freeze Yoga Dance: Start out by leading them into poses and saying freeze to get them to hold the poses. Then let them do any poses they want and randomly stop the music. Then starting adding in suggestions, such as: Do a pose with one hand on the floor. Do a pose with your belly on the floor but not your feet. Make the smallest pose you can. The largest. And so on…

 Fun Halloween Songs:

1. Purple People Eater
2. Woolly Bully
3. Monster Mash
4. I Put A Spell On You
5. Love Potion No. 9

¡Olé! Happy Halloween! Love, Eve

Flamenco Arms

There are many different styles of arms, elongated and elegant; strong and sinuous. There is the classic style, lifting from the elbow or the modern style, with elbows bent and lowered first, riding tight to the body. Some arms are wild and unschooled. While still others are technical and calculated. All styles, when they are compatible with the dance, are authentic.

Your arms are never just your arms. They are an expression of your art. Next to facial expression, arms and hands are the most expressive element in flamenco dance. They capture attention as they create line, rhythm and feeling. They are the most difficult technique to master.

Learning to use your arms as part of your overall body line is of utmost importance, no matter what your style is. The arms must be extensions of the shoulders, chest, hips and legs. Arms held overhead are rarely held high enough and droopy arms are distracting and are definitely not flamenco!

 

To create the sweep for classic flamenco arms you must grow wings! Spread your back wide and lift your arms. Keep this image of wings as your back body spreads open to cradle the front body. As arms rise, shoulders must stay down and back. Not wrenched back, so that the shoulder blades pull in, but spread wide open to make the arms even longer than they already are. This is the key to the elegance and gypsy arrogance held in flamenco dance. Elbows must remain high throughout the movement as the shoulders remain down.  Feel the the initial extension of your wings from deep within muscles between the shoulders.  When you arrive at “T” position, shoulders must drop over the back of the rib cage. This will cause the front body, around the collar bones, to open wide, like a display case. There you will imagine that you are wearing a beautiful diamond necklace. This area is your display case, lift it up and display your necklace! Wear it proudly.

The arms must have energy all the way to the fingers; use Dynamic Tension. Feel your arms moving with the strength and unity of the whole shoulder girdle. 
Feel your arm pits are deep caverns with vaulted ceilings. You can create a small hollow opening inside as if to cradle a very ripe, very juicy apricot (do not squish it or drop it).

The passage of the arm must go through all the “stopping” points (3, 6, 9, 12 n  clock face) and create the shape necessary at each point (ie Never just bring your arm up with out passing through:  low “v” to “t” position to high “v” etc…). In low “v” & 6 o’clock,  make sure you do not compress the arm pits. 

Arms must always be controlled. Never throw them around as if you are directing air traffic. Arms are under constant tension. You can imagine from the torso to the wrists, as your arms rise, that an elastic band is pulling tights. Feel the tension, but do not show the tension. There is a buoyancy as they rise, like they are pushing through water. Keep the gently descending line from shoulders to elbow to wrist to finger tips. This picks up again as the arms pass through “T” position and then again the dynamic tension is created from the arms back into the body.  Make sure your arms flow.

A little about hands:

Hand movement are very personal and your hands are an extension of your personality and the emotional content to your dance. They are the fine sable hairs at the end of a paint brush. They add flourish, punctuation and can pull energy into your field or press it away. They add the final important details to your dance. the hands move from the circling of the wrists. The wrist circles do not involve any other part of the arms-so pay attention to your elbows!

 

There are two hand movement styles:

1. Gypsy: The little finger leads the way in opening and closing the hand-like a fan opening and closing.
2. Classic: The middle finger leads.

• Keep thumbs in as you turn your wrist.
• SEQUENCE: palm, fingers, wrist, fingers
• Bend wrists as much as possible. Bring your finger tips towards the very inside of the wrist before making the rotation. That is your accents point. The unfurling carries the rhythm till the next accent.
• Hands move with rhythm not randomly.

 

Cultivate Your Flamenco Body

My yoga teacher, Barbara Benagh used a metaphor for cultivating a plant in relation to growing a pose in yoga. This metaphor really resonated with me and I brought it with me to flamenco class this week.

At the beginning of class, we explore the body structure to be held during flamenco and  I describe the process physically:
*Feel a long lower back
*In return you will feel a response in your belly, a lifting in your belly
*Bring your belly into your spine, so you fill out your lower back
*Feel your side ribs lifting
*Have deep arm pits
*Lift your shoulder girdle up and then drop it over the top of the rib cage
*Do not pull your shoulders back, instead open your upper back wide
*At the same time, open your chest up wide too
*You need a micro-bend in your knees and elbows
*Pull the back of your cranium into your neck for a long straight line from tail to crown of head
*Eyes are down cast (hooded) in a far off type of way (do not look at the floor)

This week, however, I led the class using visualization to allow my students to create new habits in forming the flamenco body:

“When you want to plant a flower, you first need to till the soil, nourish it, plant the seeds, water it, and then sit back and wait to see the blossom….now in relation to the flamenco body. If you imagine that the soil line is at the hips, so your legs and your feet are the roots below the surface. The roots grow down and ground the dance to the earth. From the waist up is the blossom, growing from the soil line (which is your hips). This is the blossom.With good, strong roots, you then use the upper body to create the shapes and lines true to flamenco, building out of the hips and allowing the legs and feet to move separately.”

This is a much different image than if you imagine the feet are rooted to a soil line right below them. In this scenario, the legs are not rooted in the soil. But with the soil being at the hip line, you can instead imagine the legs to be strong roots growing deeply down into the soil and then allow the feet to hold you to the earth.