Crouching cat lingo

Barbara Neubauer

by Barbara Neubauer

Story

Language matters. I’ve known this for a long time but was still surprised to actually feel it in a Bowspring session. My first class in Spanish was with a teacher who used the feminine form for all postures. Bowspring was new to me, Spanish old, but I hadn’t practised it for a long time.

So, when my teacher said, ‘walk like a healthy cat,’ I understood that I was supposed to move like a rat. Even in English it sounds similar. You must know that I really don’t want to picture this creature in my head, nor did I want to incorporate the image and move like it. On the other hand, I love cats. There was the posture ‘crouching cat’ in Bowspring. I was sure of that. But a ‘walking rat’? Had I misunderstood something so wrongly?

Yes, I had. Out of habit I heard what I was used to hearing; ‘the norm.’ The Spanish word for cat is ‘gato’ and it is masculine according to grammar. My teacher was talking about a female cat, a ‘gata’ which sounds a lot like ‘rata,’ which consequently is the ‘rat’ in English. The acoustic difference between ‘g’ and ‘r’ disappeared just because of standards, norms, and traditions. Interesting, isn’t it?

Fortunately, the misunderstanding was quickly resolved and I was able to continue the lesson. Since that epiphany I move like a happy and healthy cat, sometimes even like a panther. Not pink, but black and elegant. We even sang songs whilst doing movement practice. Like meowing cats.

My teacher is a very lively, purposeful, intelligent woman with many great ideas and new visions. She is fighting for women’s rights, equality, and making the world a better place. Her classes are a bit spicy, powerful, and challenging. She pays close attention to our movements, loves repetitions, and offers solutions and adaptions if you are struggling.

Once, she had the idea that in each class another participant should be the model for the others. With very little prior Bowspring experience, I accepted the challenge. This was probably the session where I learned the most. There was no chance not to be fully present. All eyes were on me. I had to be an example for the others. My transitions had to be smooth instead of loose. My movement and mindfulness mattered.

And language matters. My teacher calls us family. It’s not just a community, it’s a family. And it feels a lot like it because some of her actual family members are truly always there. Even though it’s only via online platforms, I feel like I have met her mother, her father and sister already. I was invited to an expert talk by her mother about food. This lecture is still an inspiration in my daily cooking. In this respect, too, I would say: it’s the language that counts. It was the most logical classification of food I have ever seen, with words that immediately conjured pictures in my head.

How nice that the cat is crouching and not the rat.

© Barbara Neubauer 2021-06-02

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