June 2020
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Summer Solstice | For the Birds | Practioners of Feel Good
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Natasha Kubis Lavinia Plonka Peggy Ratusz Gigi Steel
Photographer Bren Dendy
CONTENTS 6 W elcoming summer with the solstice Natasha Kubis
8 The Practioners of feel good Peggy Ratusz
10 Time is on my side Lavinia Plonka
14 For the Birds Gigi Steel
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Welcoming Summer with The Solstice
By Natasha Kubis
S
ummer is that dreamy time of year when the grandeur of nature’s beauty is in its most robust and verdant phase. The summer solstice, occurring around June 20th, is when the northern hemisphere gets to celebrate the longest day of the year, when earth’s axis is at its maximum tilt, and the sun reaches its highest point in the sky. For most of us this marks the beginning of long, sun kissed days, fragrant, fresh cut grass, dew-steeped flowers, fireflies, and warm, breezy nights. Many cultures around the world 6
thesofiamagazine.com | June 2020
have held solstice rituals for thousands of years to celebrate the renewal of light, the potential for a good harvest, and the abundance of life itself. I would say those are important reasons to celebrate! Here is some inspiration from summer solstice celebrations from around the world. The Swedish celebrate the connection between the solstice and fertility by collecting summer flowers and herbs on the eve of the solstice, especially those believed to have potent medicinal properties to enhance fertility. These bunch-
es are hung in doorways or left in water overnight, to wash with the following morning. In Norway and Sweden, it is believed that placing flowers under the pillow of a maiden will make her dream of her future love. Show yourself some love this solstice by sipping on some tea blends with soothing aromas, and properties that support women’s health. I love red raspberry, chamomile, lavender, chasteberry, and rose. You can buy the herbs and flowers in bulk, and create your own tea bags to steep in hot water. You can
also create larger herbal bags with cheesecloth and add it to your bathtub for some extra luxury.
campfire and enjoy its splendor and warmth . . . minus the evil spirits. Don’t forget the marshmallows!
the Stone Circle, and rays of sunlight are channeled into the centre of the monument.
The ancient Romans celebrated the festival of Vestalia, in honor of the goddess of the hearth. Married women brought offerings to the temple of Vesta, hoping the goddess would bestow blessings upon their homes and families.
The Sioux Indian Tribe celebrates the summer solstice with their famous Sundance taking place during the day. The Bighorn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming was designed to align with the sunrise and sunset during the solstice, where tribes would converge for sun gazing dances around a sacred cottonwood tree.
Since most of us probably won’t be able to make it to Stonehenge this solstice, try to find your own outdoor temple to celebrate the dawn. Our beloved Blue Ridge Mountains are a perfect place to capture the magnificent rays of the morning sun. Bring a picnic and enjoy the splendor!
The solstice is the perfect excuse to let loose, dance, and celebrate life! There is nothing more liberating for your body and mind than moving in a way that feels natural and good. Jump around in your living room, take a belly dance class, or grab a date for some salsa dancing.
“The world begins with the coming of light," wrote Jungian analyst, Erich Neumann, in The Origins and History of Consciousness. This is true for Yogis and Hindus who consider light as a symbol of consciousness and self-illumination. For thousands of years, the Hindus have revered the sun, which they call Surya, as both the physical and spiritual heart of our world. One way of honoring the sun is through the dynamic asana sequence, Surya Namaskar (better known as Sun Salutation). A good way to greet the morning sun and welcome the day ahead is to practice Sun Salutations. The basic postures of a Sun Salutation, in order of performance, are pictured below:
The solstice is the perfect opportunity to show gratitude for your home and honor it in a special way. A fun family project might be to make a summer wreath for the front door using dried, fresh, or artificial flowers. In Northern Europe, pagans celebrated the occasion with bonfires, believing they banished evil spirits and demons, as well as cultivated magic. Bonfires are a recurrent theme across various cultures’ summer solstice celebrations, which almost always involved feasting and dancing. Hopefully this coming solstice will be a perfect evening to sit around a
We can’t talk about the summer solstice without mentioning Stonehenge. It is perhaps the most famous ode to the equinox. Druids, a group of Celtic pagans, were long believed to have built Stonehenge around 3000 B.C. On the summer solstice, the sun rises behind the Heel Stone, the ancient entrance to
Natasha Kubis is a licensed acupuncturist and certified yoga teacher. For more information, visit acuwellhealth.com June 2020 | thesofiamagazine.com
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The Practitioners of Feel Good! By Peggy Ratusz
W
hen the going gets tough, the creatives get more creative! It’s profoundly evident that artists, musicians and writers are juiced up and acting out the inspirations this pandemic has evoked, by sharing their various talents over social media just to make us feel better during our lockdown. I feel blessed that we dwell among these practitioners of feel-good. It’s as if all of them simultaneously began to brainstorm 8
thesofiamagazine.com | June 2020
ways they could bring comfort to our community, as a way to ease fear and boredom that seemed to quickly and firmly take hold. Watching live stream concerts and the like, has now become ‘regular TV viewing.’ Cellist and songwriter sublime, Melissa Hyman and her husband, Ryan the “lion-hearted” Furstenberg, were the first artists I saw performing on “Facebook Live” from their dining room.
With playful penguin props and jovial jive, their viewership reached into the hundreds. Others like troubadour extraordinaire Blake Elledge and local music giant Josh Blake collaborated with The Orange Peel to raise money for local musicians by introducing nightly “Quarantine Concerts,” before the “stay home/stay safe” ordinance took effect and the series had to be suspended. Since then, a plethora of musicians including yours truly, have
put ourselves out there, offering virtual live stream concerts on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, as a way to do our best to counterbalance the need to entertain with our need to make money to live on during a time when all of us have lost all our gig dates. Since bands are no longer able to get together and rehearse much less do shows together, music makers are getting mighty innovative and energized in order to keep up their connections and co-ops. Video sharing platforms are being utilized which allow musicians to video record themselves playing or singing parts of a composition from their home studios and/or computers, and then send those files electronically onto the next person, so they can add their parts. This has become as popular as live stream concerts! Jason DeCristafaro, “Asheville’s Patron Saint of Musicians,” has successfully kept weekly jazz music nights alive by collaborating in this way. Once he marries each track together, he uploads the completed video on social media and YouTube for all who choose to watch. Each musician and vocalist donates their time and talent to benefit the venues that sponsored these showcases and that Jason hopes to resume hosting, very soon! CaroMia Tiller chooses original songs of other area singer/songwriters, puts her own magic on them, asks others to do the same, and uses the same kind of video recording and sharing app that Jason does, to submit the finished video for the public and the songwriter to view and enjoy. With hundreds of views for each one so far, this concept is well “liked” not only because she’s brilliant, but for the way this lovingly honors her peer songsmiths! There are couples and soloists who stage live stream concerts from home, as a way to establish their own ‘residencies’ as it were, taking over time slots for weekly or nightly concerts. Caitlin Krisko and her live-in guitarist boyfriend,
Aaron Austin from The Broadcast, play each Thursday evening, a 30 minute set starting at 6:30pm called “Jamdemic.” Newcomer, bassist and guitarist Kim Butler plays a weekly happy hour called “Facemask Fridays” where she reminds everyone to BYOB! With my Corona Premier beer and lime within reach, I do my bi-weekly Saturday evening happy hour, called Silver Linings Live Streams, and Nikki Talley does “Porch Sessions” every morning complete with coffee, guitar, banjo, and song! “Keep Music Live Project” is an online streaming of music featuring Asheville acts and was spearheaded by bassist and Girls Rock Asheville faculty member, and creator of Streamside House Concerts, Sally Sparks. Singer Songwriter, Hannah Kaminer organized a service called “Music for Quarantine.” She designed it so the public can order a personal virtual concert and conversation from a list of participating local music artists, to celebrate a special occasion for a loved one they are unable to be with during this outbreak. Now, much to our surprise and delight, there are those in our sphere whose hidden talents have suddenly surfaced due to this unforeseen pandemic. Singer Songwriter Leigh Glass, along with Echo Mountain Recording Studio Manager, Jessica Tomasin and vocalist, Kendra Penland, merged to bring us their original character-friends, “Memaw, Granny and Abuela.” They hilariously improv their way through posted video conference calls, and we are laughing all the while. The women-of-a-certain-age they portray, are decked out in full southern regalia, with support hose, wigs, warts, and all. They scuttlebutt through hot topics like religion, pornography and liquor brands, all while giving each other delirious and mad cap, unsolicited advice about love and life. Ashley Heath, known as the ‘hardest working musician in Asheville,’ compiles videos texted by area musicians
telling ‘stupid jokes’ and posts them on her social media profile pages. Heath is now offering singing telegrams too, where she’ll call a recipient of your choice, and sing them a special song for any occasion! Lee Barker, a farmer and charcoal portraitist from Polk County started a group called “Plague Artists 2020” where artists and crafts people can post and share photos of their works as a way to get to know one another. In just a week, Lee had garnered hundreds of members from all over the globe! As a way to assist and ease the mental strain that this pandemic creates on many levels, singer songwriter, Asher Leigh and others started a group called “Pandemic Expressions.” It’s a place to share art, conversation and opportunity. The intention of this group is creating, celebrating and supporting. It meets an extremely important need in our community. Finally and notably, I’d like to give a huge shout out to local musician and singer, Pam Jones (The Business, Dirty Logic) as well as accordionist and Gypsy Jazz trobairitz, Sparrow Pants. The two of them have been making protective masks for the community at large as well as health care professionals in our area and in other parts of the country too. Thank you! In closing I share with you an encouraging quote I meditate on daily that comes from my favorite spiritual guru, Abraham- Hicks: Normal will never be what it was; it’s going to be so much better.
Peggy Ratusz is a vocal coach, song interpreter, and songwriter. For vocal coaching email her at peggymarie43 @gmail.com
June 2020 | thesofiamagazine.com
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TIME is ON MY SIDE By Lavinia Plonka
W
hat’s today? It’s been six weeks since I shut my studio doors due to the pandemic. At least I think it’s been six weeks. Without an appointment book full of clients and classes, the days have blended into a temporal soup of drifting. I search my mind for familiar touchstones to guide me. Hmmm. Nothing comes up. What did I wear yesterday? Right. Sweat and a t-shirt. Is it Sunday? No. Wait. What was yesterday? My mind desperately sorts. Was yesterday the day I binge polished the chrome fixtures in the bathroom? No, that was two days ago . . . I think. Yesterday I rearranged all the cords from my computer, printer, modem, phone, lights that were a tangle under my desk for the last ten years. Now, where was I? Right. What day is it? I have entered the zone an unemployed friend once dubbed the no-day week. No more anticipation of a Sunday hike. I can hike every day, and Sunday feels like . . . wait? Is today Sunday? 10
thesofiamagazine.com | June 2020
You’re reading this in June, but I wrote it in May to meet the publication deadline. For all I know, there will be no magazine in June. Or by some miracle, I’ll be back to work. Or the entire world will have entered some Matrix like virtual reality and all of us will be sitting in our rooms lost in simulated environments and eating Soylent. There may be Mad Max type bandits roaring up and down NC 20 trying to break into people’s homes to get their toilet paper. Or we may find ourselves standing at the ends of our driveways, at least 6 feet apart, singing “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony” together as we raise our faces to the startlingly blue sky and breathe in gratitude for having been passed over by the angel of death. Or . . . while I can’t predict the future, I can marvel on a revelation that occurred since our confinement began. For at least 20 years, I have used the fact that I work every day as a reason to say I don’t have time. I don’t have time to write the
novel I think about. I don’t have time to study Chinese. I don’t have time to sew that button on my pants (thank god for tunic tops). And of course, my favorite answer to my long suffering husband, “I don’t have time to talk to you about that now!” So now I’m not going to the studio. I wake up in the morning, and the next thing I know, it’s lunchtime. Besides re-arranging the linen closet, what did I do? (Gosh, everything looks so nice, now.) Lunch, which used to be a ten minute shoveling of leftovers at my desk, has become a subject of conversation and debate. Should I make some tempeh reubens? Maybe today is the day I’ll go out and harvest the dandeli-
ons to make that dandelion fritter recipe my sister sent to me. While picking dandelions, I am knocked speechless by the exquisite palette carpeting my unmowed lawn of the yellow dandelions, pinkish blooming horsemint and delicate purple violets. Hey, wait, violets are edible too. Maybe I should really start the foraging process now in preparation for Armageddon. Or at least before Ron mows them all down. I grab a bunch of violets and start to snack. Wait. Why did I come out here? Right! Dandelions! What day is it anyway?
that it’s not that he doesn’t have time to go back to painting, he just doesn’t want to. I may finally admit that it’s not that I don’t have the time to create live Facebook videos to promote my practice. I just don’t want to. And in that moment of being liberated from the shoulds, I can take a big breath, grab some plastic bags and go out by the river and harvest the abundantly growing nettles, as I dream about a better world, and I won’t worry about how long it takes to pick, sort and hang them. Because I have all the time in the world.
By the time I’ve cleaned the kitchen from lunch (who knew one could spend an hour clearing after lunch) it’s time to think about dinner. One of the cats comes in begging for love. I usually never have time to indulge them, but now . . . we pet. We bond. And suddenly, it’s dinner time. And I still haven’t learned Chinese. But I have created another cool recipe for leftover beans.
What day is it anyway?
Perhaps the gift of this pandemic is that I will learn more what I really want to do, instead of what I think I “should” be doing. Maybe my husband, who has been saying he doesn’t have to go back to oil painting will finally admit
Body language expert, Lavinia Plonka has taught The Feldenkrais Method for over 25 years. For more information, visit her at laviniaplonka.com
June 2020 | thesofiamagazine.com
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For the Birds By Gigi Steel
I
t’s hard to imagine anything more peaceful than sitting in a rocking chair with a beverage and listening to songbirds as they flit around your backyard. Whether you live in the city or the country and whether you have a backyard or balcony, you can attract birds with just a few simple steps. Birds need a regular supply of food and water, so the first step in attracting them is to provide fresh water and quality food. A clean water supply not only provides birds with water to drink, but also gives them a place to bathe and preen. Bird baths work great but must be cleaned regularly to discourage the growth of bacteria and algae. A water feature with a pump will keep water moving to help avoid this problem. Many birds enjoy misters. On a sweltering afternoon, they will playfully dart in and out of the water mist.
Cardinals prefer to stand on a flat surface while eating dried fruit and sunflower seeds. Bluebirds seek out open spaces and find mealworms irresistible. Chickadees eat a variety of seeds, nuts, and insects. They prefer to dine near trees where they can quickly fly away to safety. Hummingbirds require a specific type of feeder, and will search for blooming petunias and bee balm. Offer food and install feeders to attract the kinds of birds you enjoy watching. For safety concerns, birds will typically go to a feeder placed high enough where other animals can’t interrupt their meal. Keep your feeders clean. Damp and moldy seed and feeders can spread disease. If the food isn’t eaten, don’t allow it to accumulate and harden. Clean it out and start over.
A habitat of trees, shrubs, and flowers will encourage birds to come to your backyard and make it their home. Fruit trees, berry-bearing shrubs, and long grasses offer natural sources of food and nesting material. Birds also seek out tasty bugs to eat. A scrap pile of logs at the corner of your yard will soon host enough bugs to feed several bird families. After you begin feeding birds, it’s important to continue feeding on a regular basis or they will move on to a more reliable source. By taking care to keep your space a safe and welcoming sanctuary for birds, they will see this as an invitation to visit and make your outdoor space their home.
Purchasing high quality bird food will keep your feathered friends healthy. It will also encourage them to come back for more and raise their families in your backyard. Remember that different varieties of birds have different preferences of what and how they eat. Putting out their favorite food will encourage them to come for a visit.
a safe spot for birds to raise their young. If building a birdhouse on your own, learn how big the entrance hole should be to accommodate the bird species you want to attract. The hole may look small to you, but to a bird, it looks like a safe place where larger birds can’t intrude.
Pretty bird houses can provide decor to your outdoor space and June 2020 | thesofiamagazine.com
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