When I asked Molly to tell me about her Aikido, she replied, “I have been training in Aikido for 26 years, 11 on my feet and 15 from a wheelchair and [on the] floor…” For those of us who know Molly, this statement reflects her enlightened, matter-of-fact approach to life, and Aikido.
For those of you who have not met Molly, a little background is in order. Molly grew up in Gilroy (of garlic fame), attended Southern Colorado State University (she graduated Summa Cum Laude). She worked for a bank, began raising a family, had a business that was featured in Sunset Magazine, among other publications. In 1984 she began training in Aikido at Aikido West with Frank Doran, Shihan.
In 1993, she joined her husband’s independent musical label, Sugo Music. After the company had grown from 5 to 35 employees, Molly writes, “With the business flourishing [I] moved on to the next work, training in movement and healing modalities.” In June of 1995, Molly was involved in a serious automobile accident. She says, “Doctors claimed [I] would be paralyzed from [the] shoulders down for life.” She was able to draw upon her Aikido practice “…and [use] my trained, fluid responses to ‘what is.’ I did not panic, keeping my focus on what I could do.” 
“I was familiar with doing the same thing over and over again with focused attention and this comfortableness with repetition continues to serve.” She notes that during her hospital stay “this community of loving-heart people rallied around my family and [me]…they came by the hospital in droves. They sent prayers, brought her breakfast, lunch and dinner, fed her, massaged her and read to her. In short, she states, they “walked the talk.”
In 2001, Molly tested and passed her examination for her 3rd degree black belt (sandan) at Aikido West. She demonstrated from both her “wheelchair and from the floor.” When writing about this achievement, she dryly noted, “continuing to recover movement and function well beyond what was expected…” 
Molly’s list of awards and achievements is staggering: She was selected to carry the Olympic Torch as it passed through California in 2002. She has demonstrated at the International Aiki Expo in 2001; taught at the Aiki Expo in 2003 and 2005; was selected to teach at the Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists in 2002; taught at the National Association of Women Martial Artists Camps in 2006 and 2007; taught at the International Water Therapy Conference in 2004; filmed 5 segments for public access television in 2003; spoke as keynote speaker at the “Endless Possibilities Conference” in Vancover, Canada in 2005, and is now using equine therapy as an additional healing modality which I am sure will show up soon as a television documentary or in some public forum. 
“Moment by Moment: The Healing Journey of Molly Hale,” directed and produced by filmmakers Dorothy Fadiman and Anilise Hyllmon, can be found here. The film won a “Film-Makers Choice (Best Art) Award” in 2010. Molly and her husband Jeramy have formed a non-profit, Ability Productions, “to serve as a vehicle to bring what [I have] learned…to the public.”
With all the free time Molly has, she has become a Product Designer, “…bringing fuctionally appropriate, universally designed living aids into the workplace.” And she is continuing to teach, using what she calls “AikiAqua” as a vehicle to teach movement, relaxing, balance, and breathing “in a warm water pool.”
Molly is available for workshops and motivational speaking. And she and her husband Jeramy are always looking for “an increased community of people who [support] the work..." You can contact Molly here: Ability Productions.”
Molly, you're an inspiration to all of us!
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