AofA's Hot To Trot Talking Points

Every Friday

Well it’s been one helluva week here in the UK. And we’ve still been discussing all sorts of hot tops from the Green Woman of Brooklyn to our ability to ask for help or support as we get older.

1. The wonderful Green Lady of Brooklyn is 84 year old Elizabeth Sweetheart. We love her. ‘The Green Lady of Brooklyn is a gentle, joyful woman named Elizabeth Sweetheart. She’s called “The Green Lady” because she wears only green—bright green, soft green, sparkly green! Her clothes, her shoes, her hair, and even her home are all the happiest shades of green you can imagine.
   
   Elizabeth says green is the color of joy, nature, and peace. It makes her feel cheerful every day, and she loves to share that happiness with others. When people see her walking through the streets of Brooklyn, they can’t help but smile. She waves, she chats, and she brightens the day just by being herself.
   
   Elizabeth is also an artist who paints beautiful fabric designs. She once made clothes for big fashion names, but what she really loves is making the world a more colorful and loving place.
   
   She reminds everyone—big and small—that it’s okay to be different, and that when you follow your heart, you can spread magic wherever you go.
   
   (Credit: @greenladyofbrooklyn )’

2. There was quite a debate about this post. Was it possible to heal cancer by dancing. Well dancer Anna Halprin said it was. And she did it.

'At 51 years old, Anna Halprin was slowly dying. Doctors had diagnosed her with severe, incurable bowel cancer. All she had to do was resign herself to the approaching end. Instead, Halprin took up dance and, as fantastic as it sounds, defeated the cancer. Since then, for more than 40 years, she has danced – not for the sake of art, but for the sake of health. At 92, Anna Halprin frequently performs and teaches others how to heal. There is no magic or anything supernatural in her story. 'The natural self-healing mechanism is built into every cell of the body.'

A wonderful way to trigger this mechanism, says Halprin, is to start dancing. Not just any way, but to connect the movements with your feelings and experiences.

That's what happened to Anna. After learning about the illness, she took some paints and on a large canvas drew her cancer as she imagined it. The result was a threatening abstract blot. Anna hung the painting on the wall, invited a dozen friends, and performed the Dance of Cancer in front of the painting. The idea was to use the language of dance to 'speak out' fears and doubts. It looked quite unusual, and sometimes even frightening: while dancing, Halprin spread her arms, made sharp movements, squatted, hissed, and moaned. There was something almost religious about it.

'One day, when I was a child, I saw my uncle praying and swaying as he prayed,' says Anna Halprin. 'Then I thought that God must be a dancer.'

Surprisingly, the dance of cancer helped. Anna Halprin is completely cured. 'My struggle with the disease was an incredible gift for me,' she admits. 'Before the cancer, I lived to dance. After that, I dance to live.' This is the art of dancing to live that Halprin has been teaching her students ever since. Her method is to establish a deep connection between the mind, the unconscious, and the physical body itself. For example, she asks students to take a piece of paper and draw their fears, worries – whatever comes to mind. And then, improvising, 'dance' that drawing. That is, to talk about the same experiences, but in the language of movement. 'I teach people to listen to their bodies,' explains Anna Halprin. 'They heal themselves, I just guide them to resources. But that still makes me very happy.'

Now, on the eve of her 93rd birthday, Anna Halprin holds three-hour classes twice a week in her studio and also leads author's workshops.

For 40 years, Anna Halprin has been healing people through dance – one might say she dances with God.

God, it seems, is quite a good dancer." From the book "I Wanted It and I Could" / Cynthia Cynthia. TAT TVAM ASI/'

3. Nominations for the Advantages of Age Awards Ceremony 2025 are now open. And this week, I was asking for nominations for the Pro-Ageing Activist Category. If you would like to nominate someone - please put in the comments. Thank you. Date for diary is Nov 20th Hoxton Hall - it will be an incredible evening.

4. I asked the question above. Because I think it’s important for us to take on as we get older. Most people admitted that they weren’t that great at reaching out. Including me. One member mentioned that too much independence is a trauma sign. I agreed. One member said he and his partner practice sharing every day where they are at emotionally and that really works in terms of clearing and support. One member of 80 said he needed some more physical support that his wife with some disabilities couldn’t provide so he was saying who he’d try. I asked him to keep in touch about it.

5. We universally loved this image taken in Paris this April. By David Turnley.

   'I was riding the Metro this week, having a conversation with a couple across from me, tatoo artists from Bulgaria living in Norway, when this striking couple entered the wagon with great panache. I made these photographs and that had the privilege to meet Xavier et Caroline de Cointet. I asked if they were on their way to a ball or a fête, and they happily replied that Non, they always like to go out in their attire. As I share this photograph, I do so with tremendous respect and admiration for all those who simply go for it each day. Merci Xavier et Caroline.’

   ©photographs by [@davidturnley]

6. A study by Harvard found that a positive attitude to ageing could improve your health as you get older. No real surprise there. But good to hear. ‘“There’s a connection between mindsets and health behaviors,” said Eric Kim, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia and an affiliate researcher at the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in an August 19, 2022 article in American Heart Association News. “One leads to the other.”

   Kim offered suggestions on how to develop a more positive attitude about aging:

   • Maintain a sense of purpose by finding projects that align with your values

   • Reject negative stereotypes about aging, such as the idea that poor physical health is inevitable for older adults

   • Stay socially active, for instance by joining a club or getting involved with a community organization

   • Try new activities or teach skills or crafts to others’

   • https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/positive-attitude-about-aging-could-boost-health/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJ-EuxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFLTjVDemNrQTB3bVlxSlNxAR4Nusue4aCEWDOesQIDAq3CVXpEIRIZ5LfQjeXXJoOwVjtpPcDlsqgF4TjPkw_aem_qrjqpMJ5RLpSKqkTz6soZA