How Can I Start by Vivian Y. Ohtake-Urizar

Flowing 

How can I start with myself?  I can easily focus on someone else.  I could write about my Papa being a writer.  How many books?  How many best sellers?  How do I focus on myself?  Muse.  Creator.  Open to Creator.  Open to Nature.  Open to flow.  Breath. I have so many thoughts.  So many ideas.  So much to say.  So much to share.  My voice.  Open to Creator.  I can write.  I write.  I speak.  Open my throat.  Breath.  Speak. Record.  Speak up.  Speak out.  Voice.  Throat chakra.  Gargle with salt water.  Loosen the blocks.  Breath. Speak. Speak first.  No need to hesitate.  It can be a mess.  I know how to clean up a mess.  And maybe I don’t need to clean it up.  Someone else can figure it out.  Make mistakes.  Freedom.  Not perfection.  Learn.  Dance.  Fire.  Water.  Earth.  Air.  Nature.  Sun.  Ocean.  Ground.  Wind.  I have everything I need.  I just need to notice.  Receive.  Open.  I trust Creator.  I trust Nature.  She has never let me down.  I can relax.  Breath.  Let her take the wheel.  Let go.  Breath.  Relax. 

Staccato 

I am strong.  I have proof.  I can be direct.  I’m learning to be direct.  Directness is also kindness.  No room for questions.  Structure.  Foundation.  Aim.  Direction.  Clarity.  Go for it.  No doubt.  Dive in.  Trust.  I trust myself.  I trust Creator.  What I want matters.  I can make it happen.  I’ve made so many things happen.  I know what I want.  I’ve known what I want.  I know what I believe in.  I know what I value.  I value this body that I have been given by Creator.  This experience to this body and everything this body can experience.  I don’t take that for granted.  So much joy. So much pain.  So much anger.  So much.  There’s space for it all.  Space for the shadows.  Shadows.  I will face the shadows.  There is something to experience in the shadows.  Something to learn in the shadows. 

Chaos 

Chaos.  Chaos has my back.  Fierce energy.  Intense.  Movement.  Anywhere.  All the wheres.  Wild.  Out of control.  No apologies.  Unrelenting.  Unstoppable.  I can’t be stopped.  I won’t be stopped.  No one can stop me.  I don’t need to be stopped.  Uncontained.  No thought.  No care.  Force.  Strength.  Breath.  No fear.  Go. Go. Go.

 Lyrical 

Deep and not so deep.  I can be light.  I can release.  Let go.  Breath.  Move.  Kiss the earth with every footstep.  Lightness.  Play.  Playful.  Fun.  Smile.  No expectations.  Release.  As you are.  As I am.  Love.  Allow.  Not much to say.  Not much to think.  Not much to do.  Relax.  Play.  Laugh.  Breath.    Grateful.  Creator, there’s space, come through.  Experience leads here.  Open to experience.  Open to new experience.  Open to encouragement.  Open to support.  There’s support here.  I feel supported.  Experiment.  I can experiment.  I can take risks.  Lightness.  I can fall because I am light.  I can fall because I am strong.  I can fall because I am supported.  I can fall because maybe I can fly.  Lightness.  Fly.  Fly.  Fly. 

Stillness 

Trust.  I can trust.  I trust.  I trust Creator.  I trust Nature.  I trust myself.  I trust my supports because I have many.  If one fails, there are others.  I can be flowing.  I can be staccato.  I can be chaos.  I can be lyrical.  I can be still.  I am flexible.  I have everything I need.  Just do it.  Peace.  Trust the process.  Trust that I know what to do.  Go forth.  Dance.  Write.  Let Creator through.  Breath.  Seize the day.  I can do it.  I believe in myself.  Notice.  Only I will notice what I will notice.   The floor is black.  There are many streaks that shine the light.  A painting on the floor created by many.  Many dancers.  Perhaps also by whomever cleaned the floor.  Many strokes.  There is no other creation like this one.  Like a snowflake.  Unique.  Every movement is unique.  Every dance is unique.  Ephemeral.  In the moment.  Can’t be captured.  Always free.  Once in a lifetime.  Breath.  Let go.  Enjoy the moment.  There was never a moment like this.  There will never be a moment like this.  I can accept.  I accept. Breath.

Author: Vivian Y. Ohtake-Urizar, WritingWaves, February 2026

5Rhythms Body Waves Poems by Lora Heller

FLOWING 

Am I flowing or fleeing?  

Flitting like a butterfly, taking only what I need and giving the rest away 

So others can grow, thrive, feel nurtured 

I seek grounding, connection 

But I fly away and freeze 

Dissociation is the anchor that disrupts my flow 

Closes doors, disguised as safety… 

I long to root like a flower, eager to grow 

To be beautiful and free, flowing with the wind 

Yet I resist 

Finding security in the work of the butterfly 

Escaping – or is it truly free, grounded in its own rhythm 

Nurturing itself while empowering others 

I desire to flow in my own freedom, grounded in my own strength 

My body freezes, my thoughts fly 

I try not to fight, I attempt to breathe 

Seeking solace in music, in love, in safety 

That I know surrounds me if I allow myself to trust 

My steps are solid They circle, taking me where I need to go  

They ground me  

I’ve spent a lifetime attuning to others 

Now I attune to myself, moving the way I once rocked babies 

The way I still help to calm and connect, to cultivate… 

There’s grief in my hips, memories in my shoulders, compassion in my hands 

The music reminds me to listen, to breathe, that I am supported 

Tears suddenly fall – grieving and celebrating 

Flowing freely, unveiling my inner truth 

STACCATO 

Testing the limits I had set for myself 

Expanding the boundaries, inviting more in 

Taking risks that nurture my soul without judgement 

Seeking my truth, yet I resist – or do I? 

Opening the gate, I welcome it as I step forward 

My direction is clear 

The music gives me permission to take up space 

To express my strength 

To dance with the raindrops and to splash in the puddles 

I find balance as I navigate through my own presence 

I trust my choices – those I sat with and those that escaped before I could think

 I’ve spent years finding my voice in the world—naming, holding, guiding 

My body remembers old habits of restraint but here, I let them loosen 

Anger surfaces, clean and contained, with no need for justification 

It steadies me 

I neither forgive nor forget 

My feet remember, and guide me in the right direction 

I declare myself 

Lines and angles dance in synchrony 

CHAOS 

I yearn to let go though I resist 

My tears release me 

While my fears hold me still 

Do I fear the feeling, or what I might encounter?

 I resist desires, avoid pleasures, hesitate… 

I crave the release I see in others; perhaps I’m meant to witness first 

Before I step into the unknown 

Suddenly my body moves faster than thought, shaking loose grief, fear,  

Old loyalties that no longer fit 

It’s not madness—it’s liberation, transformation  

I struggle with physical pain and feel the tug of emotions I’m not certain I understand 

But I don’t stop 

I am undone and alive at the same time 

When I finally slow, I’m surprised to find myself standing 

I didn’t fall apart; I survived letting go 

LYRICAL  

I feel light, almost playful, like my body is remembering a language it used to speak fluently 

I spin without dizziness; my arms open without effort 

I carry deep joy and playfulness in my heart 

In my breath 

I have carried deep pain and darkness that has held hostage  

My light, my pleasures 

As I move to the beat, as the melody carries me I am reminded of the intrinsic joy of childhood 

My own child delighting in my happy tears, exclaiming ‘laugh until you cry!’ 

My movements grow expansive but not careless 

There’s pleasure here, and gratitude 

I think of the many roles I play and how I rarely move without obligation 

Here, I move because I choose to 

The rhythm lifts me, the movement becomes a conversation 

I smile, feeling generous, welcoming joy 

Accepting this gift of expression as laughter fills my breath 

STILLNESS 

Tears of joy, desire, release, relief 

Deeply moved by the music  

Unencumbered 

My mind is content, gently reflective 

Each step is deliberate, each pause is full 

I feel the ache in my joints, and I don’t fight it 

I feel the wisdom in my bones, and I trust it 

I stand in my breath, in my age, in the life I have lived, in my life as it is— 

In the one still unfolding, not as it once was or might have been 

I feel the residue of everything that came before—softness, anger, surrender, joy—

Now settled into something quieter 

The music is quiet as though it is listening  

Curiosity inspires me to move, remaining present, grounded 

Ready to carry this journey with me 

As I breathe myself home 

Author: Lora Heller, WritingWaves, February 2026

5Rhythms Body Waves Song by Lora Heller

I feel the music, I move to the rhythm 

I float away on the gentle melody

 I feel the music, I feel the music in me 

It has carried me away  

To a place beyond, to a place beyond this day 

I open up my heart, my mind, my wings are spread 

I’m flying – I’m soaring… I am free 

I feel the music, I feel the music in me 

I feel the music, I dance to the rhythm 

My feet are floating in circles all around 

I feel the music, I feel the music in me 

There’s a story in my dance 

As I turn and breathe, as I breathe and turn again 

I hear the beating of my heart, my steps, the drummer’s groove 

I am grounded, it’s clear and true… I am free 

I feel the music, I feel the music in me 

*Not sure where I’m going, I just follow the beat 

The curving of my body and my dancing feet 

My breath opens the space to let me bend and rise 

I’m arriving, I’m here, and I’m alive* 

I feel the music, I’m held by the rhythm 

I sense the pain, and I celebrate the joy 

I feel the music, I feel the music in me 

There’s a story in my dance 

That ebbs and flows, an adventure yet untold  

I feel the burning in my eyes, my voice, the tears just fall 

I am wailing, and harmonizing too… I am free 

I feel the music, I feel the music in me 

I feel the music, I move to the rhythm 

I float away on the gentle melody 

I feel the music, I feel the music in me 

It has carried me away  

To a place beyond, to a place beyond this day

 I open up my heart, my mind, my wings are spread I’m flying – I’m soaring… I am free 

I feel the music, I feel the music in me 

I feel the music, I feel the music in me

Author: Lora Heller, WritingWaves, February 2026