Word of Warning

I just want to reiterate that I AM NOT a professional Eurythmist yet.  I will be trained in the ways of the masters one day.  But for now, I am just a lowly homeschool mom who is trying her darndest to bring Eurythmy to her children as a part of their Waldorf education.  I have created this blog to uplift and encourage others to go ahead and give it a try!

Now, that being said, let me issue my word of warning.  Be sure to never share something with the children you do not understand. If you ask them to participate in an Eurythmy exercise and they start to question what you are doing and why, and you cannot answer them, then these exercises mean nothing as far as Eurythmy goes. However, there are times when a question will come up and you don’t know the answer, even if you do understand why you are doing the exercise you are doing. It is ok to not know the answer. Many questions are left unanswered by Eurythmy teachers in Waldorf schools on purpose to give the children something to ponder over. If this does happen to you, explore the answers together. Ask “why” and “how” for everything. You will be amazed at the realizations you can come up with for yourself.

Eurythmy connects to astral, etheric, and physical bodies.  It is called the three-fold body of Eurythmy. This is way more than just doing the motions.  Rudolph Steiner sent out this warning himself to the teachers!  He said, if this is not done properly, then it just becomes a sort of gymnastics or dance, and while good for the body, is not Eurythmy.  Gymnastics and dance “lives in the physical body and when it is pushed into the etheric body, that is eurythmy.”

Ok, now that that is off my chest, let me encourage you!  Do not let this dishearten or discourage you.  There is absolutely no harm in trying.  If for some reason, you thought you were prepared and knew why you were doing what you were doing, but it all went awry; it is going to be ok.  Worse case, you gave it your best shot and Eurythmy actually ends up being a glorified circle time!!  All I am asking of you, is that when you discover a new Eurythmy exercise, or lets say you want to present the letters (which have many, many layers), make sure you completely understand what it is all about before trying to tell your kids about it.  This way, they can get THE MOST out of it!  And if all goes well, that 3-fold body, can become united as one!  SUCCESS!!

image from openclipart.com