Stretching, bending, swaying from side to side and reaching our arms upward were a few of the moves we tried within the group. Holding hands can be a wonderful connecting movement for drawing individuals closer to one another for a particular encounter, but it can also be an exercise that not everyone is comfortable doing. Gauging the group and how comfortable they felt with one another provided an indication of whether or not the group was receptive to the exercise.

I had anticipated that the women might be hesitant to become involved in movement in a group setting. Feelings of embarrassment, awkwardness, and sometimes just the newness of the exercise can lead to hesitation. Once the women understood that they did not have to participate and were made to feel comfortable with the exercise, they took part to the best of their ability.

At least one participant was hesitant to try the movements and worried that she would not be able to "do it right." She did manage to take part although it was evident she would not be eager to either continue or take it up at a later date. For others, the movement exercises were pleasant, as made evident by their laughing and smiles, positive comments, and improvisational movements aside from those I introduced.

Singing

The popular notion that music has the power to influence general self-concept is firmly established in the educational community.... There is no shortage of anecdotal evidence or philosophical statements describing the effect of music on selfconcept. The Tanglewood Declaration states, "Music and other fine arts, largely nonverbal in nature, reach close to the social, psychological and physiological roots of man in his search for identity and self- realization." (Choate, 1968, p.139)

If we begin to use singing more fully in literacy work and to explore its potential for enhancing literacy learning the result may lead to surprising success in learning. (Horsman, 1999)

Many of the women in the project were initially hesitant to open up and share their feelings through even casual conversation, so singing may have seemed unnatural for some. We sang in the meeting room with the lights turned off and several candles burning. I think the darkened room proved inviting for those who worried about feeling embarrassed. We sang songs such as Tower of Strength, introduced to me at one of the VALTA Project meetings: