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Spotlights & Insights, Vol.2 – October 2017

October 27, 2017October 26, 2017 By MairinNo Comments

Spotlights & Insights, Vol.2 – October 2017 October has flown by and I can’t believe we’re already here at the last Friday of the month. This month has been a doozy – from the news, to social media, to personal struggles, I know many of us have been left with our heads spinning; feeling anxious, sad and questioning ourselves and the world we live in. But through all this, there have also been great moments of solidarity, of encouragement, and of coming together to stand up for what’s right in the world. I have been a grateful witness to many deep acts of kindness and compassion this month and reflecting on those moments has also been important. So has you process and recover from all this and look to next month, here are some thoughts, insights and links for you on your journey – to help you stay strong, connected and resilient. Let’s dive in. ???? My October “Aha!” – Resilience: Ongoing and Growing I have always...

Me Too: Women & Performing

October 17, 2017October 20, 2017 By MairinNo Comments

I opened Facebook yesterday morning and my breath caught in my throat and my stomach twisted. The more I scrolled through my feed the more breathless I became and the more nauseous I felt. Page after page, post after post they came; from friends, from family members, from peers, from women older than me, and women younger than me. All of their statuses saying, “Me too.” My feelings rolled in and out like the waves of the ocean, churning and turning over faster than I could process them. Shock. Anger. Outrage. Devastation. Despair. Heartbreak. Then I looked down at my keyboard and typed, “Me too.” Because, of course me too. The more I thought about it, the more moments from my life came to me. Incidents and situations that I had not thought of in years – involving family members, friends, partners, teachers, classmates and strangers. More than I chose to count. But what devistates me the most about this, my story and the stories of others, is...

Staying Resilient

October 13, 2017October 12, 2017 By MairinNo Comments

This was not the post I intended to write this week. But with everything that is going on in the world - from wildfires and hurricanes, to economic instability, to racial and cultural discrimination, and serious acts of misogyny and sexual harassment – I felt it was important to take the time to pause and reflect on all that is surrounding us right now. With all this chaos, change and destruction it natural for us to want to retreat from it, to go into ourselves and to disengage to find some sense of safety and security. Even if we want to stay connected, it’s hard to figure out the boundaries we need to have with all the news that’s coming at us. It’s a challenge to know when to take a step back, or even how to do so. It makes our heads spin and our minds race, and our hearts stagger to keep up with it all. And for us performers, this is...

Spotlights & Insights, Vol. 1 – September 2017

September 29, 2017September 28, 2017 By MairinNo Comments

Spotlights & Insights, Vol. 1 - September, 2017 Welcome to the first issue of Spotlights & Insights - a new monthly feature on the Five Winds blog! Here, I’ll share with you the best links, resources and stories I’ve come across this month on the topic of Performance & Wellness. I’ve also included updates on Five Winds and my top insight this month from my work as a Performance & Wellness coach. It’ll be quick, fun and inspiring! So mark your calendar for the last Friday of the month, and subscribe to the blog below or in the sidebar to make sure you don’t miss an issues. Let’s dive in. ???? My September “Aha!” – Truth: It’s who you are. “Telling the truth is not just what you say, it’s how you show up. It’s being the truth.” – India.Arie I posted this quote on Facebook a few days ago, and I think it sums up pretty well what I’ve been thinking about this month. I’ve been inspired lately by so...

Who’s a Performer? – You Are!

September 22, 2017September 28, 2017 By MairinNo Comments

Perform. Performer. I use these words a lot. I say them all the time. I write them over and again in this blog, on this website, in social media posts, in articles and even in books. I even call myself a “Performance & Wellness Coach” (and I’ve got business cards to prove it!). Most of us probably have our own definitions of these words. We likely have images in our minds of what a “performer” looks like, or what a performance is. Maybe you hear the word “performer” an automatically know that means you. Maybe you feel like your work is a “performance”, but are unsure if these terms apply to you. So let’s get clear on what these words mean at Five Winds. And it’ll give you an idea of the kinds of people I work with and what it is we do together. Read on! … Perform According to the dictionary (Oxford English, please), the (abridged) definition of “to perform” is: • To carry out...

Slow down, it’s OK: Lessons from India.Arie

August 24, 2017August 23, 2017 By MairinNo Comments

Confession: I am addicted to inspirational stories. I subscribe to all the podcasts (Oprah’s SuperSoul Coversations, The RobCast, Magic Lessons, On Being, The Deconstructionists…) and I love all the inspirational people (yes Oprah, Glennon Doyle, Rob Bell, Krista Tippett, Elizabeth Gilbert…). I find motivation and comfort in hearing how others have walked through the fire and come out the other side. These stories help me process my own journey, provide insight and inspiration in my work, and make me feel deeply connected to myself and my fellow humans. Side Note: We all feel this way about inspirational stories. I think it's because these stories are the essence of the human existence; the quest, the struggle and challenge as we discover truth, and the growth that allows us to emerge stronger than we were before. To quote Glennon Doyle, “first the pain, then the rising”. These stories have been told to us since the beginning of time. We find them in the Bhagavad Gita,...

Sweet Relief: An Exercise for Releasing Heat

July 27, 2017July 27, 2017 By Mairin2 Comments

What a ride this summer has been! I can’t believe that August is almost upon us. ???? It’s been a whirlwind these past few weeks, between coaching, teaching and presenting at events! I’m so grateful for everyone who came out to practice with me at the Toronto Fringe, Hillside and Gerrard Art Space. It’s been great to connect with you and I’m excited to continue to share this work with you. While it’s all been very exciting, at times it has also felt overstimulating and I often leave events feeling like I’m buzzing on the inside from all the energy that was created (sound familiar?). Along with buzzing, I also often experience this excess energy as heat. My face gets red, I sweat more and my skin feels hot to the touch. While it seems like I’ve just been out in the sun for a while, this happens even when I present inside or in a cool space. This heat is not generated from...

Where in the World is Mairin this Summer?

June 28, 2017June 27, 2017 By MairinNo Comments

Well, it’s true! Summer is finally upon us. Yay! The sun (and even the rain), the long days and all the plants in bloom having been calling me outdoors every chance I get. Weekend hiking and road trips have been refreshing, and the chance to work on my back patio has helped me stay focused during the week, even though all I really want to do is run off to the beach (can you relate?). ;) In the midst of all this wanderlust, there’s been a lot of activity at Five Winds! Recently, an article of mine, Leaving Troubling Characters on the Stage, was published in Intermission Magazine. This article has been several months in the making and features interviews with a psychotherapist and professor on the psychology of performing and post-performance recovery. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, click here. I’m also excited to be taking my Five Winds work out on the road! I’ll be presenting and teaching...

Onstage Zen: My Recent Feature in Elephant Journal!

June 5, 2017June 5, 2017 By MairinNo Comments

Exciting news! Yesterday, an article of mine on meditation and performing was featured on Elephant Journal. Yay! This piece was a bit of a personal one, exploring one of the main reasons I've struggled so much as a performer for most of my adult life. But beyond the struggle, it also talks about one of the biggest game-changers in my life over the past few years: meditation. If you've been reading my blog or following my work, it's probably no surprise to you that I love meditation and that I see it as an important (if not fundamental) tool for performers. But I didn't always feel that way. In fact, for a large part of my life, I didn't think that I would ever be able to meditate. In order to be a meditator, I thought you had to be a certain "type" of person: an already zen, quiet and undramatic person (in my mind, not a performer). But all this changed for...

Instant Calm: An Exercise

May 18, 2017May 18, 2017 By MairinNo Comments

I remember clearly the first time I had a panic attack on stage. I was in high school, performing a play in drama competition. It was a two-person show; just me and another actor in front of the audience for 45 minutes. While I had acted in a similar style piece before, this felt much more high-stakes. It had been years since my school had made it this far in the competition and I took this responsibility both seriously and personally. We were the second show of our night. Before us had been a lively and intense piece with a large cast. Now, as I stepped out on stage, that entire cast was sitting in the first two rows of the audience staring up at me. They were buzzed from their performance, with too much energy to sit still. They chatted amongst themselves, so loudly that I could hear them clearly on stage. Thank goodness this was the time before cell phones....