I’ve been thinking about synchronicity and the way it upends our experience of space and time. While I am always moved by the synchronistic arisings that happen within a moving and witnessing circle and the mystery of these spontaneous choreographies, I no longer find myself surprised. However, when it happens outside of the circle, in ‘real life’, it takes my breath away.

In mid-September, Nina Kungurova, a teacher of the Discipline of Authentic Movement in Russia, shared her vision of finding people who studied (in the 1960s and ’70s) with Mary Whitehouse, foremost pioneer of authentic movement, or what Mary called “Movement in Depth.” Nina hoped that some of Mary’s students would be willing to speak at the annual online gathering she hosts each year on International Authentic Movement Day, celebrated on Mary’s birthday, October 4th. Two days after Nina put out the call, I received a large envelope in the mail, sent by Berti Klein from Los Angeles. It was filled with photographs of Mary Whitehouse and some of her students who attended the workshops she led at Esalen and in Santa Monica, California in 1966 and ’67.

Out of sight for decades, the folder contains a couple of photos and four colored slides of Mary, plus a few loose pages from a scrapbook, and a bunch of contact sheets. There are scenes of Mary and students in what appears to be down-time during workshop retreats, also images of people in movement, both inside and outdoors with the mountains of Big Sur in the background. 

Berti does not know who took the photographs or, since it was many years ago, who gave her the folder. However, 2024 was the year that it resurfaced as Berti sorted through cupboards and files. So, on Friday October 4th, five women came forward to share memories of their time with Mary—Kathlyn Hendricks, Heidi Ehrenreich, and Cathy McFann, along with Joan Englander and Mary Ellen Klee, two of the women Nina and I found because of the photos. Listening to these women speak of their experiences of working directly with Mary Whitehouse was incredibly moving. An opportunity to witness and be part of love and inspiration spreading and reaching through the generations. 

Nina has prepared a recording of the event, now available in English and Russian.

With gratitude for the ever-surprising movement of time and the rich lineage and roots of a practice that continues to flourish around the world.

– Paula Sager